Post by Ninjaplushie on May 16, 2016 23:11:18 GMT
A Guide to HERDer Dogs
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In a world where the humans were quickly claiming the planet as their own, subjugating animals and reducing them to stored food or bests of burden, they looked upon the rough and savage apex predators of the old and found a kinship in them. They carved a hunter out of the old beasts, and as time grew on, they molded their hunters to be companions, helpers, and law enforcers.
This is one of the many truths that dogs of the Humanitarian and Ecology Reservation Department. It is an organization in which there are three primary objectives; 1.Build a stable ecology in which nature and humans can prosper in the wastelands as they do in Starlet City, 2.Assist the humans individually and as a whole to improve current quality of life for both species, and 3. Preserve the unique and historical bond between man and dog.
The dogs of HERD, universally known as HERDers, take on the roles of the working dogs of the old and more; dogs such as disaster relief dogs, therapy dogs, messengers, seeing eye dogs, guard dogs, and detection dogs along with new roles such as IT dogs, surveyors, journalists, mechanics, rangers, and so on. In fact, most worker dogs who are not trained by independent parties are trained through HERD with the exception of police and military dogs.
Life as a HERDer
-Conception: All of HERDing dogs have been born and raised into the program. It is a process so meticulously handled that 98% of dogs bred for HERD are above the standard of acceptance for a role that is provided by the department. Only 10% of HERDers have a parent whose mother was a specially selected certified purebred rather than having two HERDer parents. Needless to say, the organization is very selective of which dogs get to breed and with whom. Younger dogs are replaced on hormone suppressors during their "breeding prime". It is only until a dog has reached 6 years of age that they become candidates for breeding selection. Only dogs who are the pinnacle of HERD expectations are selected to sire or birth offspring and they are usually paired with equally respectable HERD members. The few exceptions are basals who have valuable raw DNA for recreating breeds in future purposes.
-Birth to 6 Weeks: HERDers spend the first moments of their life the way all dogs should; in the primary care of their loving parents. However, their exposure to human manipulation starts sooner than most dogs would; they have checkups with some of the top veterinary care workers 3 times a week to monitor current health and help predict future health. On rare occasions that there is a possibility of a health problem developing, different procedures such as stem cell injections, vitamin enriched dietary supplements, or surgical procedures are conducted to try to preserve the possibility of optimal health.
-6 Weeks to 3 Months: Puppies are still reared primarily by both their dog parents, though they are often handled by various HERD professionals for short intervals to increase docility towards neutral and friendly strangers. Puppies of this age also go on parent and human supervised "field trips" through various locations in Starlet City to develop their confidence in strange environments.
-3 Months to 6 Months: Puppies are officially starting their first classes which mainly focus on problem solving, exposure to environments with the addition of situation events, proper and respectful code of conduct and ethics, and confidence building . The majority of the things they will be doing will revolve around teamwork to familiarize them with the concept of working alongside canines who aren't their family in a respectful and comfortable manner. Unless something like an extreme phobia or social withdrawal appears, the results of these classes rarely are considered when placing a dog in its future profession. They have long break times for nap and feeding, and they often get visits between classes from their parents. While their parents are encouraged to talk about their classes, praise them for what they did well, and suggest alternatives if they didn't do so well, family moments are approached as respectfully as possible.
-6 Months to 12 Months: Puppies undergo a graduation ceremony and will now be considered juveniles. They now are also administered a yearly hormone treatment that induces temporary sterility and suppresses sexual urges. While its a more controversial aspect to HERD, it is also why HERD is an organization of equal opportunity of sexes. Juveniles start taking diplomacy classes, human and canine history classes, and classes that inform them on mutations, esper powers, and augment abilities, and skill development. Class time is longer and visitation from their parents is encouraged to be more professional. Classes from this period on are included in the profile that determines placement.
-12 Months to 18 Months: Juveniles undergo a graduation ceremony into young adults. Afterwards, there is a very emotional farewell ceremony in which their parents return to their professions. The young adults live in a canine equivalent of whats considered a co-ed dorms and are now placed in profession-based classes that are almost exclusively ran and managed by dogs. They drop whatever non-history classes that aren't relevant to their professions for longer training time. Profession is still subject to change if any development occurs.
-18 Months to 3 Years: Young adults are hard-locked into their professional classes and their future professions. If they are in a profession that involves teamwork, they are officially introduced to their lifelong team and will take their classes alongside them. Canines who work in labs or with machines are introduced to their tools and instruments. They are now enrolled in a mentorship program to better understand the profession they are taking up.
-3 Years to 6 Years: Young adults have finally graduated into being workers and are placed into their jobs. They are often overseen by a supervisor, but otherwise function as independently as any human who is given a job if not more. Some remain in starlet city and others are sailed over to the wastelands. The later are put into decisions depending on whether they will be in the Heartlands, Southlands, or Northlands and then given base territories within their respective lands.
-6 Years to 7 Years: Workers are given a year of rest. Some dedicated workers are offered the opportunity to have a mate and family of their own. These dogs are given as many additional months up to 12 months to be with their family until their pups reach 1 year of age.
-7 Years to 10 Years: The older dogs return to work. During this time, some of them are given the opportunity to be mentors of the younger generation, or teachers and managers for the HERDer training program. For obvious reasons, those who currently have pups enrolled in training cannot take on trainer,mentor, or training management positions.
-10 Years Onward: The dogs officially are eligible for retirement. Retirement for HERDers consist of getting their own private rooms in one of the many luxurious canine-accommodating apartments and access to almost any retirement services offered to humans. As comfortable of a living as that may be, many HERDers begin to yearn for the working lifestyle they were born into and are given different supervisor positions or positions that by majority are held by humans.
-Conception: All of HERDing dogs have been born and raised into the program. It is a process so meticulously handled that 98% of dogs bred for HERD are above the standard of acceptance for a role that is provided by the department. Only 10% of HERDers have a parent whose mother was a specially selected certified purebred rather than having two HERDer parents. Needless to say, the organization is very selective of which dogs get to breed and with whom. Younger dogs are replaced on hormone suppressors during their "breeding prime". It is only until a dog has reached 6 years of age that they become candidates for breeding selection. Only dogs who are the pinnacle of HERD expectations are selected to sire or birth offspring and they are usually paired with equally respectable HERD members. The few exceptions are basals who have valuable raw DNA for recreating breeds in future purposes.
-Birth to 6 Weeks: HERDers spend the first moments of their life the way all dogs should; in the primary care of their loving parents. However, their exposure to human manipulation starts sooner than most dogs would; they have checkups with some of the top veterinary care workers 3 times a week to monitor current health and help predict future health. On rare occasions that there is a possibility of a health problem developing, different procedures such as stem cell injections, vitamin enriched dietary supplements, or surgical procedures are conducted to try to preserve the possibility of optimal health.
-6 Weeks to 3 Months: Puppies are still reared primarily by both their dog parents, though they are often handled by various HERD professionals for short intervals to increase docility towards neutral and friendly strangers. Puppies of this age also go on parent and human supervised "field trips" through various locations in Starlet City to develop their confidence in strange environments.
-3 Months to 6 Months: Puppies are officially starting their first classes which mainly focus on problem solving, exposure to environments with the addition of situation events, proper and respectful code of conduct and ethics, and confidence building . The majority of the things they will be doing will revolve around teamwork to familiarize them with the concept of working alongside canines who aren't their family in a respectful and comfortable manner. Unless something like an extreme phobia or social withdrawal appears, the results of these classes rarely are considered when placing a dog in its future profession. They have long break times for nap and feeding, and they often get visits between classes from their parents. While their parents are encouraged to talk about their classes, praise them for what they did well, and suggest alternatives if they didn't do so well, family moments are approached as respectfully as possible.
-6 Months to 12 Months: Puppies undergo a graduation ceremony and will now be considered juveniles. They now are also administered a yearly hormone treatment that induces temporary sterility and suppresses sexual urges. While its a more controversial aspect to HERD, it is also why HERD is an organization of equal opportunity of sexes. Juveniles start taking diplomacy classes, human and canine history classes, and classes that inform them on mutations, esper powers, and augment abilities, and skill development. Class time is longer and visitation from their parents is encouraged to be more professional. Classes from this period on are included in the profile that determines placement.
-12 Months to 18 Months: Juveniles undergo a graduation ceremony into young adults. Afterwards, there is a very emotional farewell ceremony in which their parents return to their professions. The young adults live in a canine equivalent of whats considered a co-ed dorms and are now placed in profession-based classes that are almost exclusively ran and managed by dogs. They drop whatever non-history classes that aren't relevant to their professions for longer training time. Profession is still subject to change if any development occurs.
-18 Months to 3 Years: Young adults are hard-locked into their professional classes and their future professions. If they are in a profession that involves teamwork, they are officially introduced to their lifelong team and will take their classes alongside them. Canines who work in labs or with machines are introduced to their tools and instruments. They are now enrolled in a mentorship program to better understand the profession they are taking up.
-3 Years to 6 Years: Young adults have finally graduated into being workers and are placed into their jobs. They are often overseen by a supervisor, but otherwise function as independently as any human who is given a job if not more. Some remain in starlet city and others are sailed over to the wastelands. The later are put into decisions depending on whether they will be in the Heartlands, Southlands, or Northlands and then given base territories within their respective lands.
-6 Years to 7 Years: Workers are given a year of rest. Some dedicated workers are offered the opportunity to have a mate and family of their own. These dogs are given as many additional months up to 12 months to be with their family until their pups reach 1 year of age.
-7 Years to 10 Years: The older dogs return to work. During this time, some of them are given the opportunity to be mentors of the younger generation, or teachers and managers for the HERDer training program. For obvious reasons, those who currently have pups enrolled in training cannot take on trainer,mentor, or training management positions.
-10 Years Onward: The dogs officially are eligible for retirement. Retirement for HERDers consist of getting their own private rooms in one of the many luxurious canine-accommodating apartments and access to almost any retirement services offered to humans. As comfortable of a living as that may be, many HERDers begin to yearn for the working lifestyle they were born into and are given different supervisor positions or positions that by majority are held by humans.
Watchers
Watchers are very important to the HERDer community, especially with dog teams and dogs who spend the majority of the time stationed in the wastelands. HERD watchers come in the Tanager, Chough, Ifrit, and Accentor variety and have special modifications classified by Greek symbols. Their versions are Ξ (xi), Σ (sigma), and Φ (phi).
Σ-class watchers are like bowerbird hybrids; they have been modified to have very little personality codes and are easily synched with, sometimes capable of accommodating multiple dogs for short periods of time. They are often used in teams that may need a utility belt that can be shared between them or journalists and surveyors because of their high quality filming and lighting capabilities.
Ξ-class watchers are very intuitive to their HERDer's special needs. They are often modified to accommodate for any disability or mental illness that they may have. If the dog is missing or blind their left eye, the watcher will always hover at left-eye level of them. If their dog is prone to anxiety attacks, they can administer therapeutic waves or medical mists to help calm them.
Φ-class watchers have strong and evolving personality codes; so much so that some identify themselves as herders. They are always personalities of a devoted agent of HERD and can be trusted to handle tasks from far distances independently from their dog. They are often given to daring dogs who like to bend the rules of HERD to keep them in place.
Watchers are very important to the HERDer community, especially with dog teams and dogs who spend the majority of the time stationed in the wastelands. HERD watchers come in the Tanager, Chough, Ifrit, and Accentor variety and have special modifications classified by Greek symbols. Their versions are Ξ (xi), Σ (sigma), and Φ (phi).
Σ-class watchers are like bowerbird hybrids; they have been modified to have very little personality codes and are easily synched with, sometimes capable of accommodating multiple dogs for short periods of time. They are often used in teams that may need a utility belt that can be shared between them or journalists and surveyors because of their high quality filming and lighting capabilities.
Ξ-class watchers are very intuitive to their HERDer's special needs. They are often modified to accommodate for any disability or mental illness that they may have. If the dog is missing or blind their left eye, the watcher will always hover at left-eye level of them. If their dog is prone to anxiety attacks, they can administer therapeutic waves or medical mists to help calm them.
Φ-class watchers have strong and evolving personality codes; so much so that some identify themselves as herders. They are always personalities of a devoted agent of HERD and can be trusted to handle tasks from far distances independently from their dog. They are often given to daring dogs who like to bend the rules of HERD to keep them in place.
Playing a HERDer
HERDers come in vast varieties with seemingly endless professions, but not all of them are necessarily best for roleplaying purposes. For starters, you will want to choose a profession that spends the majority of the time in Wastelands unless you want to box your character into Starlet City. While every profession gets to spend its time outside of Whither Isle, very few of them are actually based in the Wastelands. These are the professions that meet that standard.
Rangers: They work in teams of 3 or 4, at least one of which is required to have a chough capable of speaking to humans. They are the catch-all of the professions, doing anything from simple chores like livestock guarding to saving children from hostage situations or responding to bomb threats. They the most extensively trained of all HERD dogs because their job requires a rare combination of functioning independent of human guidance and responding appropriately to dire situations. They take classes that are often dubbed "danger classes" due to the fact that a dog can be critically injured if behaving recklessly in the simulations. Fortunately, there has been no deaths and only one instance of fatal injury in all the existence of HERD; most dogs eligible to take them have to have a high maturity score overall. Pups who are eligible for rangers an above average enthusiasm and dedication to HERD even within their younger months. They are one of the most admired professions of HERD, and the most often one chosen to be breeding candidates.
Detectives: One step below (or arguably above) rangers are detectives. They are almost exclusively solo during their training period, but are teamed with a trained police dog and given an ifrit or human-communicating chough depending on their partner's accommodations. Because of the unpredictability element of being partnered with a dog trained outside of HERD, they are typically the most mature, patient,flexible and emotionally strong of the canines. That being said, detectives are definitely more rare than rangers; only 2 or 3 detectives per Canaria province. Even then, its very rare to see them in action; they only are active in a situation where further investigation is required exclusively in situations where a law is broken and a human may need to be arrested...which is quite rare in a lawless land. This typically involves the death of a government agent; a lot of times being rangers who stuck their nose too far in deep. Detectives are seen by other HERDers either in a very high or low esteem. They can be viewed as "cooler rangers" or a step above rangers or as a lazy and useless profession because of the ranger-detective job overlap and how inactive they tend to be on a day-by-day basis.
HERDers come in vast varieties with seemingly endless professions, but not all of them are necessarily best for roleplaying purposes. For starters, you will want to choose a profession that spends the majority of the time in Wastelands unless you want to box your character into Starlet City. While every profession gets to spend its time outside of Whither Isle, very few of them are actually based in the Wastelands. These are the professions that meet that standard.
Rangers: They work in teams of 3 or 4, at least one of which is required to have a chough capable of speaking to humans. They are the catch-all of the professions, doing anything from simple chores like livestock guarding to saving children from hostage situations or responding to bomb threats. They the most extensively trained of all HERD dogs because their job requires a rare combination of functioning independent of human guidance and responding appropriately to dire situations. They take classes that are often dubbed "danger classes" due to the fact that a dog can be critically injured if behaving recklessly in the simulations. Fortunately, there has been no deaths and only one instance of fatal injury in all the existence of HERD; most dogs eligible to take them have to have a high maturity score overall. Pups who are eligible for rangers an above average enthusiasm and dedication to HERD even within their younger months. They are one of the most admired professions of HERD, and the most often one chosen to be breeding candidates.
Detectives: One step below (or arguably above) rangers are detectives. They are almost exclusively solo during their training period, but are teamed with a trained police dog and given an ifrit or human-communicating chough depending on their partner's accommodations. Because of the unpredictability element of being partnered with a dog trained outside of HERD, they are typically the most mature, patient,flexible and emotionally strong of the canines. That being said, detectives are definitely more rare than rangers; only 2 or 3 detectives per Canaria province. Even then, its very rare to see them in action; they only are active in a situation where further investigation is required exclusively in situations where a law is broken and a human may need to be arrested...which is quite rare in a lawless land. This typically involves the death of a government agent; a lot of times being rangers who stuck their nose too far in deep. Detectives are seen by other HERDers either in a very high or low esteem. They can be viewed as "cooler rangers" or a step above rangers or as a lazy and useless profession because of the ranger-detective job overlap and how inactive they tend to be on a day-by-day basis.