While today, most dogs serve strictly as pets, for much of history, dogs had a more professional relationship with humans, performing all sorts of tasks for their human masters. Spaniels, for example, were bred to aid in hunting, by flushing out fowl that are hiding in dense brush and retrieving downed birds. Cockers were specifically trained in hunting woodcocks, hence “cockers”.
6. Doberman Pinscher
Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann (1834-1894) from Thuringia in Germany had two jobs: one as the proprietor of a dog pound, the other as a tax collector. The latter job saw him travel to rather seedy, crime-ridden areas to demand people pay up their taxes. Not a safe job, to say the least. Dobermann had the idea of breeding himself guards that will protect him from would-be muggers. His ideal dog would be fiercely loyal, ferocious in a fight and clever. More than a century later, Doberman Pinschers are still favored as guard dogs.
7. Terriers
One of the most diverse groups of dogs, terriers vary from tiny Yorkshire terriers to the large Airedale. Originally, terriers were bred to burrow, crawl and weed out vermin, which is why they were called in French chiens terrier- earth dogs.
8. St. Bernards
Though their benevolent nature could possibly qualify them for canonization, these famous gentle giants are actually named for the hospice and monastery in Switzerland where they were bred. St. Bernard dogs have famously aided many a traveler who got lost or buried in the snowy mountain pass, getting them out of danger and into a safe haven.
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