Dogs of war

[full_circle]

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... g?page=0,0

110504_wardogs4.jpg

[Vikram]

Fascinating post. I was reading a few minutes back about Airedales being used in the World War-I.Thanks for sharing.

Best-
Vikram

[timmy]

Very interesting article! Thanks for this. I especially liked this part:

Rusk did not survive the assault, but Eli was granted early retirement so he could live with Rusk's family.

I have read a little about the huge Chinese war dogs that were also used in attacks, as well.

This is a fascinating subject and the pictures are great.

[The Doc]

Thank you full_circle for sharing this. I learnt a new word - "Doggles" !
And I loved the last picture, that Labrador Retriever is actually smiling .

best,
Rp.

[dr.jayakumar]

hmm,
that was really interesting.german sheperds have been always loyal to an owner.the labs are loyal but less aggressive.thanks a lot full circle felt like watching a movie.

[Katana]

Was watching CNN this morning where they showed a short clip of the possibility that dogs may have been used in the Abbotabad raid. Unfortunately this was at 7 am and I was busy in the loo! All said and done, I've had 4 GSDs in the past 30 odd years and can vouch for the fact that they make the best dogs for security in the current scenario.

Using dogs in warfare is not new to India. There are recorded instances that they have been used extensively in the Deccan and South India, but then again that is an altogether separate topic.

[full_circle]

When I first saw the article, the first photo... I thought the dog was jumping with a parachute... and I was thinking, this is crazzzyyyy... Only after another look did I realise that the dog (and the handler) is jumping into water... a much smaller jump. Also, the "parachute" isnt nearly big enough (who knows? ) and the handler isnt wearing one either...

Dogs have always been a part of my life, and their unconditional love and the pure fun they are sometimes masks the reality that they can be a truly awesome guard. I remember a time when we were living in Pune in the early 1980s, it used to be much less populated back then, and our place was on the outskirts... and the few neighbours we had were all very happy that we had dogs... for a few years, there were no complaints of things going bump in the dark. Ofcourse, Pune is no longer that sparsely populated, and there are very few stand-alone houses left... everyone lives in flats... and a dog should have space to run around...