 police
dogs . military dogs . a little history. protection dogs .
The canine's oldest profession
The use of dogs for protection
may predate the domestication of the dog. Some authorities have hypothesized
that the dogs ancestors may have been used for protection, or early warning
devices, before we had actually domesticated the dog. If this is true, it
would make protection the oldest K-9 profession, in the dog's long history
with mankind.
Dogs are well suited to protecting their family
group.
Pound for pound, dogs are about twice as strong
as people. This strength, along with the dogs predatory heritage can make
the proper dog a formidable opponent. Dogs are well equipped to do a great
deal of damage in a short amount of time. The Romans proved this by pitting
dogs against other animals as well as against humans.
Dogs have been successfully used in personal
combat since the stone age. Over 2500 years ago, war dogs were used as
forward attacking elements by several Southern European armies. Even in
this age of high-tech warfare, mankind's first early warning device is
still being used by the most technologically advanced armies of the world.
Police dogs
The organized use of dogs in law enforcement
was established in the early 1900's. The use of police dogs was largely
brought about by the development and organization of purebred dog clubs.
This development took place in Europe. The most notable police dog programs
were those of Germany, Belgium, and England.
Military dogs
America was a bit slow to officially adopt dogs
for military or law enforcement. America seems to have had a difficult
time accepting dogs as viable assets for protecting her military troops.
This held true for many years in spite of the fact that some of America's
earliest military campaigns were accompanied by dogs. Although these dogs
were primarily mascots they also served as sentry dogs and as scouts.
One example is the Revolutionary War campaign into Canada through an Eastern
corridor of impenetrable swamp and forest. This campaign was a feat in
itself and it was the first time an American military dog was used in
a foreign county. The dog was a Newfoundland and he was considered to
be an important member of the group.
Many years before the Revolutionary War one
of America's most notable citizens developed an organized method for deploying
military dogs. His tactical use of the dog was apparently based on a Spanish
model. The Spanish technique of deploying dogs was quite barbaric. However,
it did make dogs into formidable weapons that had a big psychological
impact when deployed. This citizen was involved with organizing a militia
and is known throughout the world, his name is Benjamin Franklin.
Explorer dogs
In discussing dogs who both protect and are friends
who could forget one of America's most famous dogs, the Newfoundland Scannon
of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
During the Civil War dogs, were used for sentry
duty and to guard prisoners. It seems no matter where people go our best
friends always by out side, so it is no surprise that dogs also accompanied
troops as mascots.
Dogs saw some use in The Spanish-American War.
It's reported that dogs were used with good results at alerting troops
of guerrilla ambushes. It’s logical to think this ability to prevent
ambushes would encourage the United States to start a scout dog program.
The scout dog program did not start until many years later. Even early
warning of enemy troops wasn’t enough to convince the U S government
to implement a military dog program. While America didn’t start
a k9 program all the lessons America leaned during the war weren’t
lost. It’s likely that studying the effectiveness of dogs in battle
with the American’s encouraged the English to invest in a military
dog program.
When World War I started Americas only military
dogs were sled dogs from Alaska. I have read that these draft dogs were
mainly used by the French to haul ammunition in Mountains. But there were
many counties that used draft dog in the First World War. I am sure that
it was a natural outcome that dogs used to pull carts would also be used
to transport military hardware. For the countries involved in World War
I the loyal service of dogs saved many lives. The dog's primary roll in
World War I was that of sentry, red cross dog, messenger dog, and ambulance
dog (draft dog), and of course the ever present mascot who would often
provide an extra degree of protection by acting as the unofficial sentry.
38th Infantry and a YMCA dog on "Lawsville"
going over.
Military dogs come of
age
During World War II America got serious about
using dogs to protect its military and military related property. It's
also during this time that the term K-9 comes into common use.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor there were several
people in the dog fancy who prompted the army to use sentry dogs. As support
for their position they would say "a single dog could replace eight guards".
It was only when the Plant Protection Branch of the Quartermaster Corps
needed to improve security at supply depots that an experimental sentry
dog program was started.
This sentry dog program got started with the
help of "Dogs For Defense" an organization made up of civilian breeders
and dog trainers. The sentry dog program was a successful start to America's
entry into using military working dogs. The task of protecting America's
harbors and coastline, was the responsibility of the Coast Guard and they
used more than 3,000 sentry dogs to keep America's shores safe from sabotage
and foreign invasion.
As the war changed so did the dog’s role.
It’s during the jungle warfare of the South Pacific that we see
an structured American scout dog program. The scout dogs also proved to
be very effective in the South Pacific.
After World War II there was continued interest
in the training and use of sentry dogs. After the war it was found that
in Japan 65 sentry dogs could secure warehouses with no losses. But 600
men guarding the same warehouses lost over $600,000 of inventory. Unfortunately
scout dog training for the most part was halted.
The U S army entered the Korean War with about
100 sentry dogs in Korea and one scout dog platoon.
After the Korean War the army began to dismantle
many of the dog programs. While the army got rid of dogs the air force
really needed dogs to protect air bases and missile sites. This is when
the procurement and a good deal of the training began to shift to the
air force.
During the Vietnam War there was considerable
activity in the training and use of dogs to protect people and equipment.
Sentry dogs were widely used in Vietnam. The first American dogs probably
arrived in 1960. In 1968 the air force started to train patrol dogs as
a replacement for the sentry dog. Patrol dogs were more manageable than
sentry dogs and more versatile. Patrol dogs are much more like Police
dogs or a highly trained protection dog.
Scout dogs were also used to good advantage in
Vietnam and they served double duty as security dogs in their off time.
Mine detector dogs and tunnel dogs were both
trained during this conflict. Vietnam saw the development of the American
military tracker dog. Tracker dogs were used to hunt down and reestablish
contact with the enemy, so the enemy could be destroyed.
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