War Dogs

Military Working Dogs, or War dogs, have been part of the United States Armed Forces since World War I. They are an important part of the troops and can be found anywhere the troops are stationed. General David Petraeus explains the importance of this group of dogs by stating "The capability they [the dogs] bring to the fight cannot be replicated by man or machine." He goes on to say "By all measures of performance, their yield outperforms any asset we have in our industry. Our Army would be remiss if we failed to invest more in this incredibly valuable resource."

Where do these incredible dogs come from? As most might expect, many of them are purebred and are bred, raised and trained in the United States. The breeds that are often included in the list of War Dogs are Airedale Terrier, English Springer Spaniel, Boxer, Briard, Belgian Sheep Dog, Blood Hound, Alaskan Malamute, Collie, Chesapeake Bay retriever, Bull Mastiff, Dalmatians, Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, German Short Haired Pointer, Giant Schnauzer, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Irish Setter, Irish Water Spaniel, Jack Russell Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier, Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, Saint Bernard and Siberian Husky. According to www.uswardogs.org , purebred dogs are usually trained as war dogs, but when there is a shortage of them, then mixed breeds are used. In the beginning, German Shepherds and Doberman Pinschers were the dogs of choice, but soon Doberman Pinschers were replaced with Labrador Retrievers. But not all are purebred and not all are even bred to be War Dogs, and, not all War Dogs are from the United States. Some War Dogs are found by the soldiers and others actually find the soldiers themselves.

So what do War Dogs do? War Dogs have many duties, all important to the accomplishment of the mission in which they are associated with. They have been described as "are a fighting force on four legs that are able to parachute into action, rappel into combat and swim into a skirmish. They are outfitted with protective body armor and a powerful bite." These dogs are trained to find major explosives and weapons caches and chase the enemy out of cave, compounds, mines and tunnels. They are also scout dogs, sentry dogs and combat trackers. But, some are also simply companions to the soldiers at the post. These are the ones that watch as their soldiers leave on a mission and are patiently waiting for them to return, safe and sound. This job is an important one as well.

For all they do, War Dogs deserve to be thanked and respected, just as any veteran of the United States Armed Forces. A War Dog was even with the Navy Seals as they took care of Osama Bin Laden!

Sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/osama-bin-laden-raid-navy-seals-military-dog/story?id=13535070
http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/13/canine_combatants_and_those_not_so_combatant_but_in_war_zones_nonetheless
www.uswardogs.org