work dog

plural work dogs · alternative workdog

1. A working dog; a dog breed created to perform specific tasks (e.g. herding).

   Border collies are the only dogs I like. […] They are work dogs, not lap dogs.

   2013 August 26, Dan Nosowitz, “I Met the World’s Smartest Dog”, in Popular Science

   3 more examples

   Wisps of straw stuck in the workdog’s coat, mud was on her feet, she reeked of cow.

   1944, Emily Carr, “The Cousins’ Bobtails”, in The House of All Sorts

   Roy is my best work dog, a real powerhouse. He is very intelligent and I can trust him to do anything — whether it’s bringing in the big aggressive male sheep […] or gently catching a baby lamb who’s become separated from its mother.

   2012 April 13, Emma Gray, “Love me, love my dogs”, in The Daily Mail

   He's such a good dog. He's headstrong and incorrigible and relentless and I love him for it. He's half French Briard and half Maremmane, the South Tuscan sheepdog. So he's all workdog and smart as a whip.

   2015, Stephen Sumner, Phantom Pain: A Memoire: It’s All in Your Head