War Dogs Research Paper

Dogs have been an important part of fighting wars all throughout history. Their ability to detect enemies invading, smell out hazards such as bombs and landmines, and their loyalty to protect has made them a key element in fighting wars. According to the author Jane Desmond “the use of animals in war goes much farther back than WWI, and much farther forward too, and spans more species and places than we would expect. Elephants, camels, dogs, dolphins, sea lions and carrier pigeons have been used (or are currently in use) on the battlefront in various parts of the world.” Different animals have been an important part of fighting wars all throughout history. War dogs in particular have many purposes, have been used in different wars throughout
America’s history, and there have been dogs that stood out and have been recognized, one dog was even granted the title of a sergeant.

Historically dogs have had many purposes in fighting wars. One of the main purposes is being used as scout or patrol dogs. According to The United States War Dogs Association, INC. “Scout dogs could detect the presence of the enemy at distances up to 1,000 yards, long before men became aware of them. When a scout dog alerted to the enemy, the dog would stiffen its body, raise its hackles, prick its ears and hold its tail rigid. The presence of the dogs with patrols greatly lessened the danger of ambush and tended to boost morale.” Without the dogs to protect them, many soldiers lives would have been lost due to enemies sneaking up on them. Dogs are a very important part of the war because they have the abilities humans could never have. Dogs have an amazing sense of smell “they possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in us. And the part of a dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is, proportionally speaking, 40 times greater than ours.” With their keen sense of smell dogs are a very valuable part of War because they have super abilities to detect things that humans can not. There is no technology that can smell out intruders or bombs and landmines. Without the help of dogs there are many things we would not be able to accomplish. War dogs can also be used as a non-fatal way to attack the enemy. With their superior sense of strength in their bite they are able to bite enemies instead of soldiers having to resort to gun violence to get an enemy down. Dogs have been so highly respected in being a part of the war that they are considered soldiers. If a dog gets injured in the war depending on how serious it it they may have to retire their services and are given medals for their honorable service. Dogs have been used throughout the history of warfare by humans as early as the days of the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Persians and the conquests of the Roman Empire.

Dogs have been helping people all throughout history. Canine and mankind have been helping each other for thousands of years. As early as the cavemen and prehistoric ages. Wolves would protect the humans and help them in exchange for shelter and food. After years of domestication wolves became domesticated dogs. Dogs are very loyal animals and because of that they can be trained and used to fight in wars. “In the early part of the 14th Century, the French Navy started to use attack dogs in St. Malo, France, to guard naval dock installations. These were used up to 1770, when they were abolished after a young naval officer was unfortunately killed by one of the dogs.” Dogs have been used as protection for centuries. Their ability to be able to wake up alert at the sound or sense someone in the middle of the night has benefited and saved many peoples. Without the help of dogs humans would have to take shifts in the night and stay up no matter what. If they fall asleep by accident and an intruder comes they may never hear them coming. Napoleon Bonaparte is considered one of the world’s greatest military leaders. He had dogs posted as sentries at the gates of Alexandria, Egypt to warn his troop of any intruders. The Persian Gulf war was an international conflict that was triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. The war lasted a year and Iraq’s leader ordered the war in an attempt to acquire the nation’s large oil reserves. “During the Gulf War, at least 1,177 highly trained German Shepherds were use by the French forces to guard and protect their troops, supplies and aircraft. The USA used 88 teams.” Without all those dogs to help serve and protect the army would have had a hard time keeping the supplies guarded. Dogs and mankind have been working together side by side since the earliest human civilization. Without the help of dogs our lives would not be the same.

Sergeant Stubby was the most decorated war dog for world war 1 and the only dog to be ranked as a sergeant. Sergeant Stubby was found wandering the grounds of Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut in July 1917. The dog hung around as the members of the 102nd infantry were training. One soldier; Corporal Robert Conroy, developed a fondness for the dog. On February 5, 1918 Stubby acquired his first injury. Stubby ended up inhaling toxic gas, Stubby went to the hospital and was treated alongside the soldiers. He then became very sensitive to the smell of the dangerous gas “the encounter with the dangerous gas left Stubby sensitive to the smell. This came in very useful during a German gas attack a while later, which happened in the morning while most of the soldiers were asleep. When Stubby smelled the offending gas, he started barking and roused most of the soldiers before they inhaled too much, saving many lives.” Sergeant Stubby was loved for his ability to smell toxic gas. Sergeant Stubby had the ability to detect something that nobody else could so he had a very important job in the army. Without his ability to detect the dangerous gas many live would have been lost. Stubby also served another purpose in the war. He also worked as a therapy dog when he got shot in the leg by keeping wounded soldiers company. Not only did Stubby have an amazing sense of smell but his hearing was too. “Not only did Stubby’s sense of smell save lives, but so did his sense of hearing. He was aware of the whine of artillery shells before the soldiers could hear it, so he would bark to let them know they should take cover.” Hearing and smelling were not his only abilities, because of his size Stubby was easily able to go under barbed wire in “no man’s lands” to fetch supplies for wounded soldiers. “When a spy began speaking German to Stubby, the dog chomped onto the seat of his pants and held on until his fellow soldiers arrived.” Stubby was so intelligent that he was able to tell the difference between the two languages and help the soldiers by identifying the spies. When Stubby came home he got a hero’s welcome. He met presidents, led in parades, and became an honorary lifetime member of the American Legion, Red Cross and YMCA. Stubby definitely left his mark on this world and became the first and only dog granted the title of a sergeant.

There are many different types of war dogs.
There are sentry dogs, scout or patrol dogs messenger dogs, mine dogs, tunnel dogs, explosive detection dogs and many more. Dogs have visual and olfactory sensory abilities that are literally superhuman. Scout or patrol dogs are trained to work in silence and be able to detect snipers, ambushes and other enemy forces. Mine detection dogs are trained to find trip wires, booby traps, and metallic and nonmetallic mines. Explosive detection dogs are used to smell out bombs. “In the war on terrorism a common threat is explosives hidden on a person, in a vehicle, or roadside location. Explosives Detection dogs are trained to alert on the scent of chemicals used in explosives. With their superior sense of smell it is very difficult to package explosives in a way a dog cannot detect. Explosives dogs are deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and in many other CONUS and OCONUS locations for this purpose.” Without the ability of the dogs to smell out explosives there would be a lot more lives lost due to hidden bombs. Casualty dogs are trained to search for and report any casualties lying in obscure places. They are able to detect casualties that are difficult for people to locate. The dogs detect some casualties that often mean the difference between life and death. Messenger dogs are very loyal dogs that are trained to be motivated by the desire to work between the two handlers. They are able transfer messages between two soldiers and they learn how to travel silently and take advantage of natural cover when moving between the two handlers. Dual-purpose dogs can do both patrol work, protection, aggression when needed, detection work and basic scouting. CTD (Combat tracker Dogs) can detect where IEDs and weapons caches are located, “but it’s up to the highly-trained CTDs to track down the person who stashed the explosives. This is a Marine program only. Although the job is in our single-purpose dog list, combat tracker dogs are more
typically dual-purpose dog breeds these days.” There are many different types of war dogs that each serve an important role in wars today. Each job is valuable to the force and without these dogs serving there would be a lot less soldiers alive today. Their main purpose is being used as scout or patrol dogs. Their sense of smell and hearing are no match for any technology that can be created. War dogs have been used all throughout history and were even