There is no doubt that a dog is a man’s best friend. But once this friend comes into action there is nothing that could stop it. Most people wouldn’t be aware that military dogs play the most vital role in the military. These four-legged creatures have been heroes since the time of World War II and have now emerged as life saviors.
The story starts from the time a pup gets adopted for military purposes. It is then trained thoroughly by expert dog trainers of the military from the age of five to six months and would live its life in the military itself.
Here are five ways by which a service dog plays a vital role in the military.
They Are Trained From The Age Of 5-6 Months
Dogs are adopted for military purposes and are insured when they are puppies. Dogs for the military are mostly adopted from Germany and the Netherlands.
When pups attain the age of five to six months, their training gets started. The US military has puppy development specialists who would carefully work with selected puppies from the time they are born and would train them once they eligible to do so. The specialists help the pups to develop basic social skills and help them prepare for their future jobs. Since special dog-breeds are trained for special military purposes, their physical, emotional, and nutritional needs are proper taken care of from the early days. This is why reputed petcare products are used to keep them happier and healthier.
Dogs Are Like Anthropologists And Psychiatrists
All the dogs are great observers and start to predict us as well. They seem to sense when a person is feeling low, dull or sad and notice every minute change in the chemistry.
Soldier dogs tend to go to its fellow handlers and make them happy by snuggling up to them or playing with bottles and balls or even sit up beside the soldiers crunching on the bottle periodically banging it against the soldier knowing that they would react. Soon the soldier would get in the game of tug-of-war.
The Soldier Dogs Love And Work For The Kong
War dogs are mostly chosen upon their love for balls or a Kong dog toy. Kong dog toy is mostly hidden to stimulate a bomb or drugs. While selecting the dog for such jobs, a dog has to be like a desperate one to find the Kong.
This job is also one of the crucial jobs as figuring out where the bomb has been deployed would be a game of several lives as well, especially in combat situations.
The Dogs Are Not Considered An Equipment In the Military Anymore
Back in the time, military working dogs (MWDs) were considered an equipment. This means that after the war got over, some military dogs were never brought back from the location. Unfortunately, some military dogs are still considered to be an equipment.
Around the year 2013, a bill was passed to consider service dogs like the members of the military instead of just four-legged animals that were fighting for the country as well. Even though the full resolution did not pass, military dogs are now called the Canine members of the armed forces. And they hold up a lot of value.
All Dogs Go Through Training And Only 50% Succeed The Test
MWD candidates go under a very thorough, rigorous, and selective assessment before they get selected for the job. These military working dogs are supposed to have a very keen sense of smell and must be highly reward-motivated. Additionally, the selected dogs must be free from physical problems like hip dysplasia.
The dogs that are chosen should be able to attack when commanded. Plus, military dogs must have a fine balance of aggression as well as excitability. There have been times where many puppies were disqualified from the program as they were exhibiting extreme stress at having to bite a human.
There have been times when dogs have died while fighting, have been honored for their valor, service as well as bravery, or times when dogs have mourned over the loss of their handler and vice-versa. There also have been times when a retired military officer who had once been a handler, would adopt the dog and live with it till dog’s life. Whatever it may have been or what it could be, soldier dogs are the best dogs to adopt and take care of.
