Great topic.

I like the phrase "what it means to you" as the the term 'dogman' will have as many definitions as it does responses.

For me, it can be as much as everything entailed all the way down to a person who owns a dog.

I like the first post as I too grew up with dogs and have always loved any dog that does what he was bred to do or what he was trained to do.

My first real job was walking bulldogs. 10-12 years old. My best friend's Pops would have one on a mill and I would walk one around this huge field. As I was coming back his son would take the dog from the mill and make his trip around the field. The dog I had would then be put on the mill. His "keep" was known locally as the 'five gallon bucket keep'. That is where he sat working his dogs.

I do not think you have to be 'all of the above' to be a dog man.

My definition would have to include time spent with the dogs not only daily but over time. When your vacations and time away from work have to have dogs factored. When you are the 'vet' for friends and family. When you know more about dogs than you do anything else. When you care more about the dogs than you do people (in general).

I think the definition is a varied as all out.

EWO