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A US Air Force dog atop an M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Iraq in 2007.

A U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and his war dog wait at a safe house before conducting an assault against insurgents in Buhriz, Iraq on April 10, 2007.

Dogs in warfare have a long history starting in ancient times. From 'war dogs' trained in combat to their use as scouts, sentries and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military usage.

History

War dogs were used by the Egyptians, Greeks, Britons and the Romans. The Molossian 'Canis Molossus' dog of Epirus was the strongest known to the Romans, and was specifically trained for battle. However, when fought against the broad-mouthed, powerful mastiff of Britannia, they were outmatched. The Romans exported many of this breed of mastiff to Rome and then disseminated them over the known world. Often war dogs would be sent into battle with large protective spiked metal collars and coats of chain mail. The Romans had attack formations made entirely of dogs. Native Americans also used dogs, though not on this scale.

During the Middle Ages Atilla the Hun used giant Molosser dogs in his campaigns. Gifts of war dog breeding stock between European royalty were seen as suitable tokens for exchange throughout the Middle Ages. Other civilizations used armored dogs to defend caravans or attack enemies. The Spanish conquistadors used dogs when they invaded the land controlled by South American natives. The British used dogs when they attacked the Irish and the Irish in turn used Irish Wolfhounds to attack invading Norman knights on horseback. Two wolfhounds, or even a single one were perfectly capable of taking a mounted man in armour off his horse, where the lightly armed Irish dog handler would render the coup de grâce to the Norman, if that was still necessary.

Later on, Frederick the Great used dogs as messengers during the Seven Years' War in Russia. Napoleon would also use dogs during his campaigns. Dogs were used up until 1770 to guard naval installations in France.

The first official use of dogs for military purposes in the United States was during the Seminole Wars. Dogs were used in the American Civil War to protect, send messages, and as mascots.

There are two War Dog Memorials; one at March Field Air Museum, and the other at The Infantry School, Ft. Benning.^[1]

Historical examples

The use of dogs in warfare has been common even in many early civilizations. As warfare has progressed, their purposes have changed greatly.

• 628 BC - The Lydians deployed a separate battalion of fighting dogs.
• 525 BC - Kambyses used huge fighting dogs against Egyptian spearmen and archers.
• 490 BC - Battle of Marathon - A brave fighting dog was immortalized in a mural.
• 385 BC - Siege of Mantineia - Fighting dogs cut off enemy reinforcements.
• 210 BC - Hammurabi equipped his warriors with huge dogs.
• 101 BC - Battle of Vercellae - Large Kimber dogs led by women defend their laagers.
• 50 - Rome conquers Britannia. Giant fighting dogs called Pugnaces Britanniae are discovered and exported for integration into the military of ancient Rome.
• 101 - The Romans employ one fighting dog company per legion.
• 1525 - Henry VIII exports 400 mastiffs to support Spain.
• 1580 - Elizabeth I sends 800 fighting dogs to fight in the Desmond Rebellions.
• 1799 - Napoleon assembles large numbers of fighting dogs in front of his reserves.
• 1915 - The Belgian Army use carabiniers, strong-muscled Bouvier des Flandres to haul heavy machine guns to the front.
• 1914-1918 - Dogs are used by international forces to deliver vital messages.
• 1941-1945 - The Soviet Union used dogs strapped with explosives to destroy invading German tanks.
• 1966-1973-Over 4,000 US War Dogs served in the Vietnam War; estimated to have saved over 10,000 human lives. Approximately 1000 were killed as a result of disease, combat, etc. of the remaining 3,000, only 200 made it back to US soil. The rest were either euthanized or donated to the Vietnamese Military.^{citation needed}

Uses

U.S. Naval Security Force K-9 Unit

Dogs have been used for many different purposes. Different breeds were used for different things, but always met the demands of the handlers.

For anti-tank warfare

Main article: Anti-tank dogs

During World War II, the Soviet Union trained anti-tank dogs. These dogs were taught to expect food under tanks. They were then starved until a battle occurred, during which they would be released to seek food. The dogs wore a kind of pouched, canvas overcoat, similar to a modern doggie bodywarmer, in which high explosives were placed. When they ducked under a tank, the explosives were actuated by means of a tilt fuse on the dog's back, which when bent or broken set off the explosives in the dog's overcoat, with the hope of destroying the tank.

These dogs were reportedly successful at disabling a reported 300 German tanks.^{citation needed} They were considered dangerous enough by the Nazis that Panzergrenadiers were ordered to shoot all dogs on sight. However, the dogs were unable to distinguish allied from enemy tanks, and were also easily scared away from battle, and from moving tanks, despite their hunger. The project was eventually abandoned.

For fighting

Working dog in Afghanistan, wearing a bulletproof vest, being trained.

In ancient times, dogs, usually large ancient mastiff and rottweiler-type breeds, would be strapped with armor and spiked collars, and sent into battle to attack the enemy. This strategy was used by various civilizations, such as the Romans and the Greeks. This approach has been largely abandoned in modern day militaries due to the fact that modern weapons would allow the dogs to be destroyed almost immediately, as on Okinawa when US soldiers quickly eliminated a platoon of Japanese soldiers and their dogs.^[2]

For logistics

At the beginning of the first World War, the Belgian army used dogs to pull their Maxim machine guns as well as sometimes other supplies or wounded in their carts.^[3] The French had 250 dogs at the start of World War I. The Dutch army copied the idea and had hundreds of dogs trained and ready by the end of World War I (the Netherlands remained neutral).

Many poor Europeans used dogs to pull small carts at that time. This is described in the novel A Dog of Flanders by Ouida, from 1872. For a transformation of a cart dog into a war dog, see the novel Pierrot the Carabinier by Walter A. Dyer. More historical and scientific data in British War Dogs; their training and psychology by E.H. Richardson, pub. Skeffington, London 1920.

For mascots

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Main article: Military mascot

Dogs were often used as unit mascots for military units. The dog in question might be an officer's dog, a random animal that the unit chose to adopt, or one of their canines employed in another role as a working dog. Some units also chose to employ a particular breed of dog as their standard mascot, with new dogs replacing the old when it died or was retired.

For medical research

Medical researchers, and their allies in the armed forces, awarded military-style medals to animals in laboratories to emphasize the martial significance of animal experimentation. Here, Army Surgeon General Major General Norman T. Kirk, on behalf of the Friends of Medical Research, bestows medals upon research dogs Trixie and Josie "for outstanding services to humanity."

Post WWII cartoon emphasizing the importance of canines in important medical research.

In World War II, dogs took on a new role in medical experimentation, as the primary animals chosen for medical research.^[4] The animal experimentation allowed doctors to test new medicine without risking human lives, though these practices came under more scrutiny after the war. The United States' government responded by proclaiming these dogs as heroes.

The Cold War sparked a heated debate over the ethics of animal experimentation in the U.S., particularly aimed at how canines were treated in World War II^[5]. In 1966, major reforms came to this field with the adoption of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act.^[6]

For messengers

These dogs were used to carry messages in battle. They would be turned loose to move silently to a second handler. This required a dog which was very loyal to two masters, otherwise the dog would not deliver the message on time, or at all.

A Russian war dog was sent to deliver a message during the battle of Stalingrad. The dog travelled for about 10 kilometres and was wounded nine times during the trip.

Some messenger dogs also performed other jobs, such as pulling radio lines from one station to another, or as was common in World War II, to boost morale in the trenches.

For mine detection

These dogs were used to locate mines. They did not prove to be very effective under combat conditions.

According to Lt. William Putney^[7] DVM, USMC War Dog Platoon, GUAM, WW2, mine detecting dogs were trained using bare electric wires beneath the ground surface. The wires shocked the dogs, teaching them that danger lurked under the dirt. Once the dog's focus was properly directed, dummy mines were planted and the dogs were trained to signal their presence.

Dr. Putney related that while the dogs effectively found the mines, the task proved so stressful for the dogs they were only able to work between 20 and 30 minutes at a time. The mine detecting war dogs anticipated random shocks from the heretofore friendly earth, making them extremely nervous. The useful service life of the dogs was not long. Experiments with lab rats show that this trend can be very extreme, in some tests rats even huddled in the corner to the point of starvation to avoid electric shock.

Marine Raiders take scouting and messenger dogs to the frontlines on Bougainville, late 1943

For scouts

These dogs are trained to silently locate booby traps and concealed enemies such as snipers. The dog's keen senses of smell and hearing would make them far more effective at detecting these dangers than humans. The best scout dogs are described as an in-between between docile tracking dogs and aggressive attack dogs.^[8]

Scout Dogs were used in World War II, Korea, and during the Vietnam War. In that war, they were used by the United States for example to detect ambushes, weapon caches or enemy fighters hiding underwater, with only reed breathing straws showing above the waterline. The US operated a number of scout dog platoons (assigned on a handler-and-dog team basis to individual patrols) and had a dedicated dog training school in Fort Benning, Georgia.^[8]

For sentries

See also: Guard dog

Probably one of the earliest military-related uses, sentry dogs were used to defend camps or other priority areas at night and sometimes during the day. They would bark or growl to alert civilian or military guards of a stranger's presence. During the cold war, the American military used sentry dog teams outside of nuclear weapons storage areas. A test program was conducted in Vietnam to test sentry dogs. It was launched two days after a successful Viet Cong attack (July 1, 1965) on Da Nang Air Base. Forty dog teams were deployed to Vietnam for a four month test period. Dog teams were placed on the perimeter in front of machine gun towers/bunkers. The detection of intruders resulted in a rapid deployment of reinforcements. The test was successful. Handlers returned to the US and dogs were reassigned to new handlers. The Air Force immediately started to ship dog teams to all the bases in Viet Nam and Thailand.

The buildup of American forces in Viet Nam created large dog sections at USAF Southeast Asia (SEA) bases. 467 dogs were eventually assigned to Bien Hoa, Bien Thuy, Cam Ranh Bay, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Tuy Hoa, Phu Cat, Phan Rang, Tan Son Nhut, and Pleiku Air Bases. Within a year of deployment, attacks on several bases had been stopped when the enemy forces were detected by dog teams. Captured Viet Cong told of the fear and respect that they had for the dogs. The Viet Cong even placed a bounty on lives of handlers and dogs. The success of sentry dogs was determined by the lack of successful penetrations of bases in Vietnam and Thailand. It is estimated by the United States War Dogs Association that war dogs saved over 10,000 U.S. lives in Vietnam^[9]. Sentry Dogs were also used by the Army, Navy, and Marines to protect the perimeter of large bases.

For tracking

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Dogs have historically also been used in many cases to track fugitives and enemy troops (note that this overlaps only partly with the uses of scout dogs, which are a form of 'mobile sentry' rather than being used for their olfactory skill in tracking a scent.

Further uses

Contemporary dogs in military roles are also often referred to as police dogs, or in the United States as a Military Working Dog (MWD), or K-9. Their roles are nearly as varied as their ancient cousins, though they tend to be much more rarely used in front-line formations.

Traditionally, the most common breed for these police-type operations has been the German Shepherd; in recent years there has been a shift to smaller dogs with keener senses of smell for detection work, and more resilient breeds such as the Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherd for patrolling and law enforcement. All MWDs in use today are paired with a single individual after their training. This person is called a handler. While a handler usually won't stay with one dog for the length of either's career, usually a handler will stay partnered with a dog for at least a year, and sometimes much longer.

In the 1970s the US Air Force used over 1600 dogs worldwide. Today, personnel cutbacks have reduced USAF dog teams to approximately 530, stationed throughout the world. Many dogs that operate in these roles are trained at the Lackland Air Force Base, the only facility that currently trains dogs for military use^[10].

Change has also come in legislature for the benefit of the canines. Prior to 2000, older war dogs were required to be euthanized. Thanks to a new law, retired military dogs may now be adopted.^[11]

There are two War Dog Memorials; one at March Field Air Museum, and the other at The Infantry School, Ft. Benning.^[12]

Drug and explosives detection

United States Army working dog, in Afghanistan, wearing a bulletproof vest, clears a building.

Main article: Detection dog

Both MWDs and their civilian counterparts provide an invaluable service in drug detection, sniffing out a broad range of psychoactives despite efforts at concealment. Provided they have been trained to detect it, MWDs can smell small traces of nearly any substance, even if it is in a sealed container. Dogs trained in drug detection are normally used at airports and other places where there is high security and a need for anti-contraband measures.

MWDs are perhaps at their most valuable when they are trained to detect explosives. Just as with narcotics, trained MWDs can detect minuscule amounts of a wide range of explosives, making them an invaluable addition both to entry points and patrolling within secure installations. These dogs are capable of achieving over a 98% success rate in bomb detection^[13].

Law enforcement

Main article: Police dog

A dog inspects baggage for HMX-1 aircraft.

As a partner in everyday police work, few humans can match the versatility and loyalty of a Police Dog. Police dogs can chase suspects, track them if they are hidden, and guard them when they are caught. They are trained to respond viciously if their handler is attacked, and otherwise not to react at all unless they are commanded to do so by their handler.

Use against prisoners

A bound prisoner in an orange jumpsuit is intimidated with a dog by US forces.

The use of War Dogs on prisoners by the United States during or after recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has been very controversial.

• US occupation of Iraq - The U.S. has used dogs to intimidate prisoners in Iraq^[14].
• Guantanamo Bay - It is believed that the use of dogs on prisoners in Iraq was learned from practices at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base^[15].

In court testimony following the revelations of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, it was stated that Col. Thomas M. Pappas approved the use of dogs for interrogations. Pvt. Ivan L. Frederick testified that interrogators were authorized to use dogs and that a civilian contract interrogator left him lists of the cells he wanted dog handlers to visit. "They were allowed to use them to ... intimidate inmates", Frederick stated. Two soldiers, Sgt. Santos A. Cardona and Sgt. Michael J. Smith, were then charged with maltreatment of detainees, for allegedly encouraging and permitting unmuzzled working dogs to threaten and attack them. Prosecutors have focused on an incident caught in published photographs, when the two men allegedly cornered a naked detainee and allowed the dogs to bite him on each thigh as he cowered in fear^[16].

The use of dogs on prisoners by regular US forces in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base was prohibited by Donald Rumsfeld in April 2003. A few months later following revelations of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, including use of dogs to terrify naked prisoners; Rumsfeld then issued a further order prohibiting their use by the regular US forces in Iraq. ^[17].

In fiction

In books

Even in military science fiction, the use of war dogs is somewhat rare. One notable exception is Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers. In it, genetically modified dogs known as "Calebs" are used, for the most part, for comic relief.

In Harry Turtledove's Worldwar: In the Balance, an alternate history novel where aliens invade the Earth during the Second World War, the Soviets use anti-tank dogs on alien tanks.

In Max Brooks's "World War Z", where zombies attack the world, during the counter-attack dogs were used to bring swarms of zombies to the firing lines of US armies in order to shoot them as they approached. They were also used as advanced scouts to locate any other swarms of zombies in cities and in various locations around the country and to detect if anyone was infected and risked turning into a zombie.

In movies

Scout dogs are used to scent detect cyborg robots at the entrance to human settlements in James Cameron's sci-fi 1984 movie Terminator.

In video games

• In the Killzone video game series, the Helghast are reported to have employed dogs in their campaign on Vekta. Dogs did not appear in the first Killzone game, but do in the PlayStation Portable game Killzone: Liberation.

• In Command and Conquer: Red Alert, Soviet commanders can train and use attack dogs to kill infantry units with one bite. In Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, both the Allies and Soviets can train dogs that kill infantry and sniff out spies. They are also useful when exploring the map.

• In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, dogs are used as sentries and can detect the player by smell, and will become alerted by sound.

• In Age of Empires 3, players can use War Dogs as the Spanish civilization to explore or participate in battle.

• In Wolfenstein 3D, the player is confronted with Nazi attack dogs. Following complaints from animal-rights activists, however, the dogs were replaced with mutant rats in the Super Nintendo version of the game.

• In Rome: Total War, the player can use wardogs by positioning their handlers and then releasing them at the desired time to charge and attack the enemy. The dogs are later recovered after the battle.

• In Splinter Cell and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, agent Sam Fisher occasionally encounters guard dogs during operations, which can detect him with smell as well as sight and sound, making them a particular threat. No guard dogs feature in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Splinter Cell: Double Agent.

• In Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, German shepherds are employed in German bases, roaring to notify the Germans when the player is discovered, and running towards the player to kill him.

• In Call of Duty 4, the protagonist occasionally encounters guard dogs. They do not, however, seem to be able to detect the player with scent or enhanced hearing, and only attack when the player's presence has already been detected. They can kill the player instantly if they are able to jump on him or her, though the player has a brief window in which to stop the dog's attack. They can also be killed by being shot or knifed like humans.

See also

• Ancient warfare
• Canes Pugnaces
• Pugnaces Britanniae, the extinct "War Dog of Britannia" breed.
• Specific dogs
  • Chips
  • Lex
  • Rags, messenger dog credited with saving many lives during World War I
  • Sergeant Stubby
  • Smoky

References

Further reading

• Rags, The Dog Who Went to War, Jack Rohan, Diggory Press, ISBN 978-1846853647.
• Only A Dog, Bertha Whitridge-Smith, ISBN 978-1846853654 .
• Captain Loxley's Little Dog And Lassie The Life-saving Collie: Hero Dogs of the First World War Associated With The Sinking of H.M.S. Formidable, ISBN 978-1905363131.
• Pierrot the Carabinier: Dog of Belgium, Walter A. Dyer, ISBN 1846850363.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Military working dogs

• US war dogs remembered
• US war dogs
• War Dogs
• Quartermaster Dog Training Program: History
• K-9 History: The Dogs of War
• Vietnam Security Police Association K-9 Pages
• "Dogs in war receive loyalty, top care"
• War Dogs Bibliography
• The Military Working Dog Memorial