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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 in to Canada, through an
Eastern corridor of impenetrable swamp and forest, where a Newfoundland
Dog, was considered to be, an important member of the group.
It was many years before the Revolutionary
War, that 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. 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, and of course they accompanied troops
as mascots.
Dogs saw some use in The Spanish-American
War, and were used with good results to alert troops of guerrilla ambushes.
Even this was not enough to convince the U S government to implement a
military dog program. However, it may have helped convince the English,
the effort put into a dog program would be well worth the expenditure.
At the time of World War I Americas only
military dogs were the sled dogs from Alaska, that were used by the French
to haul ammunition, primarily in the Vosges Mountains. For the countries
involved in this war, the loyal service of the dog 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.
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