Storycrafting Dogs Into Your Fiction

What are the jobs your character could train their dog for? What are the important things to consider as you write your dog? What do working dogs have to do with milk and zombies? Find out on this episode. 

Transcript

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What are the jobs your character could train their dog for? What are the important things to consider as you write your dog? What do working dogs have to do with milk and zombies? Find out on this episode. Welcome to Writing Rural With Alley, the fiction writers inspiration station for rural life and lifestyles. From historical to post apocalyptic, helping you bring your rural stories to life. I'm Alley, and this is episode number 59. Dogs in Fiction. Stick around to the end to find out all the ways things could possibly go wrong. Now let's get into this. Dog characters, whether they are the center of the story or the character's pet, need to have a purpose in your story, even if it's just comedic relief. Man's best friend has taken a place in stories since caveman times, which is likely when they were first domesticated, at least in my opinion. I did a Google search and there is a crazy debate about when and where dogs were domesticated and if two types were domesticated in different sections of the earth at the same time. Honestly, I don't know and it doesn't really make any difference to our stories. But if you ever need a rabbit hole, you can find the answer to that. There are many different purposes for dogs in stories, and today I will cover some. I like to think of more after this episode is out at the rate of new things that keep popping into my head, and if so, there will be a part two. So without further ado, let's get into this. And conveniently, if you hear my dog barking in the background, apparently they wanted to join us for the dog cast. It's not a podcast, it's now a dog cast. Many dogs today in history, and I assume in the apocalypse, have a job or role or in other words are a working dog. This can come in many shapes, sizes, and with various skills. Nowadays, many families have dogs for companionship, entertainment and teaching children responsibilities. Companionship is not a new idea. Papalons were originally bred as lap dogs for high ranking ladies in Europe during the 13th century. Japan had the japanese spaniel, and in China, Pekingese was the lap dog choice of those in the imperial palace. Although that might be because only those who lived in the chinese imperial palace were allowed to own them at the time. Here in America, many elderly women own chiweenies. They are good company for them and also do a great job of sounding an alarm if someone is there that should not be, and sometimes if they should be. The next thing many people think about is a guard dog. Not everyone's definition of this is the same. Some people define it as standing sentry, barking and looking scary and intimidating. Sorry, but Grandma's chihuahua is not scary and intimidating. In fact, most bad guys would try to punt the dog. If you don't know what that means, it means they'll try to kick it really hard. However, a rotweiler who has enough bite force to break through bones will make most people think twice about breaking into a home. However, others define a guard dog as one that will bark, bite and die protecting whatever it is they're supposed to be protecting. Now this can be scary or sad; like Lassie. Context matters when deciding what kind of guard dog to use and how far the dog would go to protect whatever they are protecting. They might protect people, homes, junkyards, military bases, capitol buildings, banks, gangs or mob homes or headquarters, shipping containers, a person or group of people after the apocalypse and more. The list is as large as your imagination. Next up is a hunting dog. These dogs are basically trained to track and tree animals. However, some hunters have trained their dogs to take down the animals they are hunting. Deer is the one that I've heard about most often. I've also heard of dogs being trained to herd wild animals, like deer, to the hunter. The same tracking skills can and is used for tracking people. Sometimes they are tracking escaped inmates and other times they are tracking bank robbers. In fact, Blake Shelton did an entire song about this one. However, some are trained in search and rescue for things such as avalanches, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and natural or man made disasters. This would be very useful in the aftermath of an apocalypse. They are also used to track kidnapped people, lost children, or even the elderly. Many dementia and Alzheimer's patients wander away because they think they need to be somewhere or meet someone and then they can't remember their way home. Some dogs also use tracking skills to hunt down things like truffles. I hear people can make good money selling them. Weirdly, I have never tried them. Along the same lines as tracking are the detection dogs. These dogs are trained to find certain things. Modern times includes drugs, guns, bombs, explosives as one of the main things they are used for. Other uses include bedbug infestation, (Heebie-jeebies there) cancer detection, electronics, fire accelerants, mold, termites, finding invasive or endangered species, radiation, and more. Other types that fall under service dogs are dogs that smell the high and lows in people with diabetes and smelling when a seizure is about to happen, and more. They can also be trained to detect types of food or substances a person is allergic to. Another wellknown type is the cadaver dog. These dogs detect where dead bodies have been. That sounds like a really useful way to know where the zombies are during a zombie apocalypse. A built in doggy alarm system. Speaking of the apocalypse, it's going to leave a lot of traumatized people. A therapy dog trained in PTSD would be a great way to cope. These dogs are trained to give noseies. Okay, it might be called nudges, but nosies sounds cuter. This is to help break flashbacks and help them stay more grounded in the here and now. This type of training is also great for abuse victims. Some have been trained to apply pressure to accomplish the same thing, and I'll be honest, I still don't know what applying pressure means. Let me know if you do. Another modern type of therapy dog includes dogs trained to help people with special needs, most often children, but adults too. Additionally, are dogs trained to sit attentively as children with dyslexia read to them. I can tell you as someone who has dyslexia, this is a struggle, and not having other people interrupt you to tell you when you get it wrong can be very appreciated. Too bad there were only stuffed animals to try this one out on when I was young. On the topic of service dogs, there is a guide dog for the blind and visually impaired. They help people to navigate the world and obstacles. This can include traffic or even going to the toilet. Then there is the service dog for people who are deaf or hearing impaired. These dogs can alert them to sounds such as the phone, doorbell, cars, a baby crying, or zombies, kind of like a standing sentry with them. Each dog will be trained to meet the needs of the individual person. The last type of service dogs are police and military dogs. These dogs can do many things. Some will only do one type, while others do several. It really depends on the dog and their training. These can include searching for explosives, guns, usbs, ieds, drugs, taking down and holding criminals or suspects, taking messages or objects in places where people cannot go or cannot go safely, protecting officers or soldiers, search and rescue, standing sentry and much more. Both police dogs and military dogs are considered working dogs. Another kind of working dog is a sled pulling dog, sometimes called drafting dogs. If you didn't guess it, they pull sleds on snow or carts in dry areas. The most well known sled dog came from Alaska in 1925 when a remote Alaskan village needed serum to treat an outbreak of diphtheria. Balto was credited with braving the blizzard in a river of thin ice to bring life saving medicine back to the village. Other lesser known, but just as important ones are sled dogs for trappers and mountain men. Back before my time, there were still milkmen. Dogs were sometimes used to pull carts of milk. The carts looked like smaller versions of what horses pull. Bread has also been a well documented one that dogs have pulled in carts. This could be many things as long as they are not too heavy for the dog. The amount of time that they will be able to pull anything depends on the weight and how long they've been pulling things, plus how old they are. The next type of working dog is the herding dog. As I said earlier, some are used to roundup and herd game like deer or elk for hunters. However, the most commonly known type is the sheepdog. The popularity of the movie Babe might have something to do with this. They can herd other kinds of animals, too. Cows, reindeer and wild mustangs are common in North America. I'm sure other countries have other animals. While we are on the subject of herds, there is the livestock guardian dog. The livestock guardian can herd them, but their main job is to guard them. Sheep are the first thing that comes to mind. However, almost all farms with animals will have one, including us. These dogs are large and while loving towards their people, they are not likely to be towards strangers unless your character trained them to be. These dogs can go one of two ways, guarding with surprise attacks or intimidation until force is needed. Dogs that live full time with the animals that they are guarding, such as sheep, often use surprise. Dogs are often the same coloration as the sheep so that wolves and other predators do not know that there is a danger unless it runs up on them. However, most farm dogs like ours that protect our chickens will bark and alert and intimidate first. Only if pressed do they attack. Livestock guardian dogs are tough dogs. Many single handedly take on wolf packs and run them off. Our last livestock guardian dog, who died of old age a few years ago, once fought off a mountain lion and won. I've heard stories from Africa about them fighting off lions. I distinctly remember a history lesson in school that shortly after rabbits were domesticated by monks, they trained dogs to guard their rabbits. Keep in mind that the right dog breed will be important. A Cane Corso dog is a great protection dog for a strong handler. A golden retriever is not so much unless your bad guy is terrified of being licked to death. A chiweenie will not take out a mountain lion and a great dame is not a lap dog. No matter what they think. Grandma doesn't want the great Dane on the lap. Take breeds into consideration when writing. Border collies have a lot of energy, while bulldogs and some hounds are low energy. Don't forget to look into that too. Combining breeds can make for interesting mixes of breed traits. Personality is something to take into consideration too. Rotweilers are big and scary, but are known for what is referred to as doggy ADD. Dobermans are intense and it would not be easy to distract them from their person as they are what is called a velcro dog. That means that they stick to their person like Velcro as they are a one person dog. That does not mean that they do not get along with others, but that there is a main person that they have bonded with. Some dogs are confident but not leaders and will happily look to their person. Other dogs are more independent. This could be good or bad if not trained well. Some dogs are timid. This could be bad if they are trapped and they could easily bite in fear. Interactions with their humans are important too. If the human is scared every time the scary landlord comes over, they will either want to protect the human or hide depending on their personality. If a person always makes a big deal out of leaving home, it's likely to cause the dog to have issues with them leaving home and they might destroy the house while they're gone. These are all things to think about. Remember, some dogs defy the breed. I have a dash hound and I was told how horrible they would be and they only listen when they want to. Mine listens the first time about 98% of the time, which is good for any dog. While you might think that is amazing, there are two super important things you likely didn't know. First, she's mostly blind and somehow I ended up being her seeing eye person. Second, we put in a ton of time training and we still practice at least a few minutes every day. Nothing intense, but enough to know that I don't have to worry that she didn't listen if I need her to for her safety. If your dog defies the ods, you most likely need a good reason. And last but not least, many homeless people have dogs. This gives them a companion and someone to love and care about. Many homeless people are depressed and dealing with drugs or trauma. A dog can give them a purpose to live again. Many studies show that dogs help with the emotional well being and that can help homeless people to get clean and sober, leave abusive relationships, and improve their lives, to help improve the dogs. Other things include sharing warmth on cold nights, talking to someone and protection. Even a tiny dog can stand sentry and bark to let a person know if something is off and they need to pay attention.

Fun fact: 13:43

as of 2022, it is estimated that a little over 44% of the people in the United States own dogs. Not only that, but the dog is the number one pet worldwide. Now for everyone's favorite part, what could possibly go wrong? Before we get into the best part, if you enjoyed this podcast, I hope you'll take a minute to follow, rate, and review on your favorite podcasting platform. And if you're listening on YouTube, subscribe and hit that like button. Don't forget to share with a friend. And now for everyone's favorite part.

Likely to go wrong: 14:16

your character's little lap dog thinks it is a protection dog and barks at everything. One day, a bigger dog attacks it after being barked at. The dog could be injured and require veterinarian care.

Also likely to go wrong: 14:29

your character works with the police dog. One day they send the dog after a bad guy, and when the dog bites the bad guy, they instinctively try to get the dog off by hitting it. The dog could be hurt and require veterinarian care.

Possible to go wrong: 14:44

your character has a seizure alert dog. One day at the store, a disrespectful parent lets their young child pet the dog. While the dog is paying attention to the child, it misses the signs that your character is going to have a seizure. Just as the child finishes, your character has a seizure right in front of the child and it traumatizes them. your homeless character has a dog. One day, an uncaring animal control officer takes the dog away simply because the person is homeless. This could be devastating for both your character and the dog.

Also possible to go wrong: 15:18

your character's livestock guardian dog fights off a pack of wolves and is injured in the process. Your character will need to get them veterinarian help or care for it themselves.

Unlikely to go wrong: 15:29

your character's dog is pulling a milk cart half full of milk when something spooks them. They could run off or startle in a way that tips the cart over and spills all of the milk.

Also unlikely to go wrong: 15:41

your character's bomb sniffing dog gets too close to a bomb and accidentally detonates it. This could be deadly. your character is stealing sheep. As they try to round the sheep up to take them away, the livestock guardian dog attacks them. Improbable, but still technically in the realm of possibilities. Your character's sled dog has worked its way up to lead sled dog. However, they are not as good at this as the handler believed and they'll lead the team off a cliff. Also improbable, but still technically in the realm of possibilities: your elderly character owns a great dame who thinks it is a lap dog. One day it knocks them over and they break a hip. Also improbable, but still technically in the realm of possibilities: your character's cadaver dog is in the zombie apocalypse, but now there are so many dead zombies that everything smells dead to the dog. They no longer know when to signal and when not to signal. Thanks for listening.