Behavioral considerations in the management of working dogs

This article is not intended as a comprehensive exploration of all issues related to the behavioral management of working dogs or as a survey of all manners of canine employment. Rather, it is one person's perspective into the challenges of managing a behavioral medicine program in a large-scale working dog program environment. The issues presented, however, are those that are commonly encountered when selecting, assessing, diagnosing, and treating working dogs. I hope this article provides insight not only into the author's program but also into some of the unique challenges in working with working dogs as well as some of the commonalities of this kind of behavioral practice with companion animal settings.