Jungle Patrols/Fighting and Dogs

[Dark Storm]

I know dogs have been used in warfare as far back as Roman times, but does anyone have any information on dogs being used tactically in jungle environments to screen ahead of troops to dislodge snipers and concealed defenders?

It seems to me the liberal use of 2 or 3 dogs per squad could be extremely useful when conducting small scale probing attacks. Thoughts? Am I completely retarded?

However naive this sounds, when you think of any Vietnam movie, you always see the single platoon moving through dense jungle on patrol and inevitably they get ambushed. It seems to me that providing trained dogs who could be used to scout out to a few hundred yards in front of an advancing platoon could easily spring an ambush before it ensnared its target.

I'm not a huge expert on WW2, but in the pacific theatre the japanese might have been easier to route out with the use of screening dogs.

Obviously there are a lot of issues, but its an interesting thought that occurred to me.

 

[Waylander]

I know dogs have been used in warfare as far back as Roman times, but does anyone have any information on dogs being used tactically in jungle environments to screen ahead of troops to dislodge snipers and concealed defenders?

It seems to me the liberal use of 2 or 3 dogs per squad could be extremely useful when conducting small scale probing attacks. Thoughts? Am I completely retarded?

However naive this sounds, when you think of any Vietnam movie, you always see the single platoon moving through dense jungle on patrol and inevitably they get ambushed. It seems to me that providing trained dogs who could be used to scout out to a few hundred yards in front of an advancing platoon could easily spring an ambush before it ensnared its target.

I'm not a huge expert on WW2, but in the pacific theatre the japanese might have been easier to route out with the use of screening dogs.

Obviously there are a lot of issues, but its an interesting thought that occurred to me.

At least in Germany we use trained dogs during hunting scenarios in the woods. However our woods are not as dense as a tropical jungle.
Nevertheless these dogs seem to work.

 

[Dark Storm]

At least in Germany we use trained dogs during hunting scenarios in the woods. However our woods are not as dense as a tropical jungle.
Nevertheless these dogs seem to work.

What breed of dog did you use?

 

[riksavage]

Dogs can be a great asset if trained well and supervised by an equally well trained handler. The handler is critical, on E&E you don't try and outrun the tracker dog, but try and knacker out the handler, and hope his fitness is worse than yours.

Critically in a Jungle environment you need to ensure the animal is not confused by the shear volume of smells out there. Particularly if you are using a sniffer dog rather than the attack variety. The dog or bitch will have to get used to working with the escorting section / platoon so it is able differentiate friend from foe (unless they operate well out in front - not advisable in dense jungle). Sniffer dogs also need rest, they can only operate at their peak for a limited number of hours before their senses deteriorate.

The other critical issue with dogs is noise, particularly attack dogs, they get very excited when in the vicinity of a potential target. In a CQB environment they make excellent four-legged flash-bangs, but you need to ensure they are trained to sit quiet until the get-go. Once released they are terrifying, and with the right training they will attack only those targets with a weapon (requires a lot of training, and the dog must work with the same friendly forces, or else you can end up with a blue on blue biting frenzy in all the excitement).

Where they are excellent is SAR. Many Para-Jumpers train to jump with tracker dogs, once on the deck the dog will find the downed pilot very quickly, allowing the para-jumper to administer first-aid and call in the helo recovery before being compromised.

 

[gf0012-aust]

I
However naive this sounds, when you think of any Vietnam movie, you always see the single platoon moving through dense jungle on patrol and inevitably they get ambushed. It seems to me that providing trained dogs who could be used to scout out to a few hundred yards in front of an advancing platoon could easily spring an ambush before it ensnared its target.

Australia is a long time and committed user of military working dogs. A useful book to read about Aust military working dogs in Vietnam is "Trackers"

 

[Waylander]

What breed of dog did you use?

German Shepherds.
Some of these dogs are also jump qualified.

They were also at high demand during the hotter times in Kosovo.
Very nice assets for riot control.
As usual such a dog is much more terrifiying than guys with guns.

 

[Rythm]

Dogs are great for european woodland and urban settings. The key is the handler like Riksavage says. I have numerous times been saved from walking into an ambush or being attacked without warning, by our dogs. They are a very cheap resource IMHO and should be used much more.

 

[Waylander]

They are not that cheap.
One has to consider that one needs alot of facilities and working hours for an effectively trained dog.
Not to talk of time.
Replacing lost dogs is not that easy either due to the long time needed to train them.

 

[Duffy]

Dogs have been used in the US since WWI. Its funny there was just a show on cable not to long ago about them. Below is a link tells the history. Thy saved a lot of lives.One of many unsung hero's.


The United States War Dogs Association

 

[the road runner]

Working dogs are very usefull in detection of enemys.

Like any service of the defence force its all about the training.I was looking at the Aussie gov DOD site and i came across Harry a Explosive detection dog(EDD).

Harry is part of the MRTF1 Engineers in Afghanistan. His ability to detect IEDs and find hidden weapons cahes has made Harry,a hated enemy of the Taliban.

Explosive Detection Dog Harry and his handler Sapper Joshua Colbourne,pictures of Afghanistan.(click on below link and scroll down a few pictures to see Harry,doing what Harry dose)

Image Gallery - Operation SLIPPER Afghanistan - Department of Defence

I am glad to see that detection Dogs are being used in Afghanistan to find hidden weapons caches and IEDs.Once areas of Afghanistan have been sanitised by grunts,it would seem a logical step to have EDD dogs take a walk around villages to locate hidden weapons caches/IED

I would assume that Harry was expensive to train.Harry would be tasked with a number of Dangerouse assignments,and it seems to me Poilitically,that when a Dog is killed it dose not have the same effect on moral or the repucutions on the Government ,than a Soldier being KIA.

Maybee we should make 11 RAR,full of Harry and mates

 

[dragonfire]

The Indian Army has about 12000 Trained Dogs who are used in the fronlines of the COIN Ops, search and rescue, detection of hidden materials and explosives, patrol duties along the LOC. It has been a succesful program and the dogs have been awarded many times along with their handlers. The Dogs are used in different environments, the cold wood areas of Jammu and Kashmir on anti millitant ops, the dense forests of the North East against guerillas, and also in Anti Naxal operations in the heartlands. Dogs are also used by the Paramillitary forces as well as the BSF in such operations. The dogs are also used in the UN Peacekeeping missions by the participating Indian forces. Some dogs are also trained to be dropped from choppers on rescue missions in avalanche situations

Slightly Off Topic

I remember reading that the USN used trained dolphins on patrol duties around the Ships during the Recent Iraq War