Police dogs are trained to guard their handler and assist in a variety of tasks for law enforcement. They are used for finding and holding suspects and some are specially trained to help investigate at crime scenes.

Some police dogs are trained as detection dogs and are used by the police and customs agencies. These dogs use their ultra sensitive noses to detect bombs, explosives and firearms. Some of these types of dogs are trained in detection of narcotics and can sniff out all sorts of drugs, including marijuana and cocaine. There are a number of breeds that are used as police and detection dogs including; German Shepard, Doberman Pincher, Akita, and Boxer.

There are many different types of situations that search and rescue dogs can be used in. They are used to locate a missing person and to find survivors and cadavers after tornadoes, and other disasters. Dogs who work in search and rescue can either do field or disaster work.

Dogs who do field work do activities including tracking, trailing and water searches. A trailing dog uses a scent article they are given that belonged to the person whose trail they are going to follow. This type of dog is trained to go off of a scent and is not able to work if they have no scent to follow. On the other hand, tracking dogs which are used for tracking criminals and rescue operations physically track the path the person took.

Air scent dogs are similar to tracking dogs because they do not use scent to follow a trail. Instead of following a track close to the ground they pick of traces of a person's scent through the air. These dogs are used when buildings collapse and will detect the scent of a human in piles of debris.

Some dogs are trained to do water searches. They work with a handler from the shoreline or in a boat. They are trained to sniff-out body gasses that rise up from the water. Cadaver dogs will react to the scents left by a dead person. Disaster dogs are trained to find humans in disasters such as tornadoes and earthquakes. These dogs must be able to work in small confined spaces and unstable surfaces. Avalanche dogs are trained to do their rescue work in deep snow.

These working dogs help physically and mentally disabled people in their daily activities. A guide dog can assist a blind or visually impaired person. There are also dogs trained to open and close doors and to help a person in a wheelchair. Not only do these dogs assist people they also have a positive effect on the person's overall condition and self esteem.

Therapy dogs do not perform specific tasks like a service dog would. They are used for helping people recover from an illness more quickly and to be companions to the elderly. They seem to have a therapeutic effect on people and have been known to lower blood pressure. Their kind and loyal presence helps people to relax and they build a bond which builds up the person's confidence level.

Therapy dogs are also being used to assist inmates in their re-socialization and rehabilitation process. They have been used with juvenile offenders to teach them how to be compassionate and to learn to be responsible.

As you can see from the descriptions above, dogs do play a vital role in today's society. Dogs make loving pets and are also very intelligent and hard working animals. You can find a variety of dogs at your local shelter that are looking for good homes and will make a great addition to your family.