logo: Bring Your Dog To Work Day

A CJS Meet the Team article by CJS Editor Kerryn Humphreys for Bring Your Dog to Work Day 2024

We've written many times before about Bring your Dog to Work Day, but what about if your dog is actually one of your vital tools?

There are many countryside jobs where your dog is not just a loveable canine companion but also an integral part of the job, from a shepherd with his sheepdog on the quad (watch Sean The Sheepman's amazing Kate on TikTok) to a gamekeeper with his spaniel in the 4x4.

a wet black labrador sitting in dead bracken stems, she's looking to the left
Meet Juno, the first CJS Office Dog

 

For many countryside workers the dog in the van may be their only companion on long days working alone or perhaps is a very welcome stress reliever when leaving a difficult site visit or after a complex, high intensity meeting. When I was running my own environmental education business, HareBrained, before I got tied to a computer here at CJS my dog, Juno, was usually in the car and taking her out for a quick puddle and walk or sitting on the tailboard sharing my lunch with her provided a welcome break from dealing with classes of school children. If it was a full day, usually with older children or for A level type study days, then she often met the group at break times / lunchtime, sometimes assisting with fieldwork bringing her gundog instincts to the fore pointing out signs of wildlife and even alerting us to the presence of ground nesting birds on the moors. She made an excellent point of contact with some of the more difficult to reach groups - even though, like her owner, she didn't really like children! So, although she might not have been as vital as a sheepdog, over time she became an important teaching assistant and some schools asked for her to come along too when booking HareBrained for a session!

logo: Operation Recall

   

When I was leading guided walks, Juno would often join us at the lunch stop (on circular walks) hoovering up "dropped" sandwich crumbs and if I was second guide or acting as backup, occasionally she would come with us as we walked providing a talking point as she padded quietly alongside; we were able to discuss how calm she was around everything and specifically animals. It's vital that all dogs (and their owners) when out in the countryside are mindful of livestock. At the beginning of the year Cheshire Police, the RSPCA and Naturewatch Foundation joined forces to launch Operation Recall highlighting importance of dogs having a good recall to prevent the devastation wrought on livestock and wildlife by loose, not necessarily out of control dogs succumbing to their instinct to chase.

small gate in a drystone wall looking onto a farm track with grazing adn lying sheep and lambs
hefted, free roaming sheep wander across the commons in Goathland, literally outside your garden gate

 

We've mentioned before what an important role the CJS Team dogs, aka CJS Welfare Officers, play and although they are mainly working in offices now they are also country dogs getting us out for our daily dose of greenery. For Features Commissioning Editor Amy and I who live in Goathland our dogs grow up with sheep literally on the other side of the garden gate. Therefore it's even more imperative to ensure our dogs have an awareness of livestock and work very hard from the puppy days to make sure they always come back when called, even when their inner working collie instincts kick in.

back view of a a black and white collie looking down a moorland road towards some sheep
Amy's young collie doing his best not to herd the sheep! (photo: Amy Worley)

We both have funny tales of dogs and stock, from Amy's young collie being far more interested in the goose pond than the geese to one of my labs setting off at great speed across the moor to greet what she thought was another labrador friend only to stop dead when she realised it was in fact a black sheep - have you ever seen a black dog blush? I swear she was! Like all the team, we're both very conscious of keeping our dog in close, staying on top of their training and always on the look out for distractions be that sheep, lambs, grouse, curlew, deer or hares to ensure disaster does not befall.

If your dog doesn't come back at top speed every time then it should be on a lead.

And regardless of how good the recall is or how well trained you think your dog is when around stock, especially those with young at foot, keep them on a short fixed lead. There would be nothing worse than taking that much earned break and your canine companion becoming "self-employed" and worrying stock, disturbing wildlife or worse. So be a responsible owner, make your dog a model employee and like Juno a vis aid for explaining the countryside - you never know when a member of the public is lurking behind a tree ready to ambush you with a hundred questions!

More:

Find out more about Operation Recall here and read the article Naturewatch Foundation wrote for CJS, find this one here.

Juno was my dog of a lifetime and you can read more about her in her obituary here or find out more in general about the CJS Office Dogs here.

 

There are lots of excellent dog training classes and instructors around the UK.

Dogs Trust have a list of classes and offer advice.

Sign up to the Kennel Club's Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme.

  

And if you get lots of dogs on your site Stephen Jenkinson has some great advice on how to manage dogs (and their owners) in this article he wrote for CJS.