War Dog Training: "Canine College" 1959 US Army; The Big Picture TV-434

more at http://quickfound.net/

'With countless words being written on the Army's scientific accomplishments and its technological advancements, many otherwise intelligent citizens are inclined to smile indulgently at the idea of animals participating in our military efforts. However, the old and trusted Army dog is not only still very much with us, but he too has become a specialist -- complete with a college education. THE BIG PICTURE cameras follow Bendix, a recently inducted German shepherd, as he undergoes the rigorous, demanding, and character building training now expected of all canine combateers. Taking part in the narration, Private Bendix describes how he and his buddies are patiently molded into vigilant guards, tireless messengers, and loyal sentinels protecting our missile bases from trespassers. And so, ironically, the progress in the fields of mechanized and technological warfare which might be expected to retire our old friend has instead provided a new mission for him and insured his position as a necessary part in our national defense.'

Originally a public domain film, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogs_in_warfare

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Dogs in warfare have a long history starting in ancient times. From war dogs trained in combat to their use as scouts, sentries and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military usage...

War dogs were used by the Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Sarmatians, Baganda, Alans, Slavs, Britons, and the Romans. The Molossus dog of the Molossia region of Epirus was the strongest known to the Romans, and was specifically trained for battle. Among the Greeks and Romans, dogs served most often as sentries or patrols, though they were sometimes taken into battle. The earliest use of war dogs in a battle recorded in classical sources was by Alyattes of Lydia against the Cimmerians around 600 BC. The Lydian dogs killed some invaders and routed others.

During the Late Antiquity, Attila the Hun used molosser dogs in his campaigns. Gifts of war dog breeding stock between European royalty were seen as suitable tokens for exchange throughout the Middle Ages. Other civilizations used armored dogs to defend caravans or attack enemies...

The first official use of dogs for military purposes in the United States was during the Seminole Wars. Hounds were used in the American Civil War to protect, send messages, and guard prisoners. General Grant recounts how packs of southern bloodhounds were destroyed by Union troops wherever found due to their being trained to hunt men. Dogs were also used as mascots in American World War I propaganda and recruiting posters...

Contemporary dogs in military roles are also often referred to as police dogs, or in the United States and United Kingdom as a Military Working Dog (MWD), or K-9. Their roles are nearly as varied as those of their ancient cousins, though they tend to be more rarely used in front-line formations. As of 2011, 600 U.S. Military dogs were actively participating in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Traditionally, the most common breed for these police-type operations has been the German Shepherd; in recent years there has been a shift to smaller dogs with keener senses of smell for detection work, and more resilient breeds such as the Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherd for patrolling and law enforcement. All MWDs in use today are paired with a single individual after their training. This person is called a handler. While a handler usually won't stay with one dog for the length of either's career, usually a handler will stay partnered with a dog for at least a year, and sometimes much longer.

The latest canine tactical vests are outfitted with cameras and durable microphones that allow dogs to relay audio and visual information to their handlers.

In the 1970s the US Air Force used over 1,600 dogs worldwide. Today, personnel cutbacks have reduced USAF dog teams to approximately 530, stationed throughout the world. Many dogs that operate in these roles are trained at Lackland Air Force Base, the only United States facility that currently trains dogs for military use...