A carriage dog or coach dog refers to a type of

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

rather than a specific

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

. Dogs of this type were usually bred and trained to trot alongside

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

s to protect the occupants from

banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

or other interference. They were usually owned and used by the wealthy or traders and merchants. The dogs were trained to attack the horses used by

highwaymen A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to fo ...

, giving the owners' human security time to respond to the actual robbers. When the Dalmatian breed was introduced to England in the 18th century, they quickly became the carriage-dog breed of choice. Because of this, "carriage dog" became synonymous with "Dalmatian". The British Carriage Dog Society exists to preserve "the working heritage of the Dalmatian as a coaching dog." Previously any breed with long legs and some weight in the body had been used. The number of dogs accompanying any coach could be an indicator of the occupants' wealth or status: some well-situated people would run six or eight dogs. Coach dogs were kennelled in the stables, and bonded with the horses as pups. They were trained to regard strange horses on the road as hostile, and it was up to the human security to ensure other riders were warned to stay clear of the coach on the road. A more civic usage was as fire-engine escorts, helping to clear the way in crowded streets as well as guarding the very expensive horses in their stables. With the demise of horse-drawn transport, the need for the dogs declined, and they became largely ceremonial assets, but were often repurposed as static house and barn guard dogs. Today carriage dogs are valued as loyal pets and companions.

References

Dog roles {{dog-stub