The Bouvier des Flandres is a dog that serves many purposes in the lives of the people who own them. They're highly regarded as a watchdog, guardian, and family pet, in addition to all they do as a working dog. They have also been used as a seeing eye dog to guide the blind. They are also used in Search & Rescue, an organization designed to help find missing people, and their assistance in police and military work has been invaluable.

The Bouvier des Flandres has participated in protection dog sports, which are dog sports that test the dog's temperament as well as ability to protect its owner. They participate in many dog competitions to test their abilities as working and protection dogs. Some of the competitions, which are part of the protection dog sports, are French ring sport, Mondio Ring sport, North American Protection, dog Sport, and Schutzhund. Their names may be different, but most of these competitions are very similar. They give the dog and handler the opportunity to compete in obedience, tracking and protection.

The obedience part consists of the Bouvier responding to basic commands such as heel, sit, stay, down, and come. They are scored based on how quickly they respond. The tracking part of the competitions involves following their scent and retrieving certain objects that are hidden. Some of the events are in a straight line and others are hidden. The protection part involves the dog being able to guard the handler, chase after a decoy, and attack upon command. Many times as part of the attack, the dog is also tested on his ability to "stop" as soon as he is commanded to stop.

The Bouvier des Flandres participates in real life work as well as the competitions. Some of these duties involve apprehension of police suspects in crimes, search and rescue for narcotics or explosives, and personal protection. There is much training involved in the search and rescue or specific objects such as these. It takes a dog with an excellent sense of smell, dedication, and intelligence to fulfill these job duties.

The Bouvier des Flandres is originally from Flanders. The people there have many uses for the Bouvier right at their homes. Some of the jobs are cattle droving, which is the Bouvier going out to get the cattle and driving them home to the farm. They also have the task of sheep herding, a job they have had it seems since their origination. Many of the townspeople use the Bouvier des Flandres for cart pulling as well. The Bouvier des Flandres is a dog that has been used for numerous work related jobs including guard dog and security dog. With all the talent this dog possesses, it's no surprise that they make such a wonderful pet.

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