The aims of the thesis are to describe all possible negative and positive factors that influence the welfare of working dogs. The thesis is based on a review of the foreign scientific literature on the welfare of working dogs and the possible consequences and stresses that working dogs may experience when working with people. The working dogs considered and scrutinised were assistance dogs, rescue dogs, police dogs and military dogs. Trust and cooperation with humans, built up over many years, is very important for a working dog to be successful. Assistance dogs face stress factors in their work, such as lack of time to relieve themselves, aggressive behaviour of their clients, change in daily routine, etc. When rescue teams go to the scene of an accident with their dogs, they never really know what is waiting for them. Rescue dogs can be severely injured when retrieving missing and injured people from rubble. The most
common negative factors that can affect search and rescue dogs include cuts, exposure to harsh chemicals and infections, skin and gastrointestinal problems, orthopaedic
problems and so on. Police and military dogs may also be deployed to accident scenes, primarily tasked with defense and the detection of explosives and prohibited substances. Factors negatively impacting the well-being of police and military dogs primarily include trauma, cuts, hearing loss, orthopedic problems, gastrointestinal issues, etc. Factors that positively affect the well-being of assistance dogs include regular exercise and a positive attitude. For search and rescue dogs, positive training methods with rewards, the care of their handlers, and protection from various
influences at the rescue and search site are important. For police and military dogs, spending time with their handlers outside of working hours and engaging in plenty of exercise and recreation during their free time are beneficial.
|
