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Dogs of WarBecause of the dog's amazing intelligence, it has been used throughout the years for many duties, including law enforcement. However, what you might not know is that a close parallel to law enforcement is wartime duty, and dogs often undertake this work in their lives as well.
War dogs are also typically known as "K9s." They have been used by armies and others in authority almost from the beginning of time because they can detect and track human scent very easily,
due to their incredibly sensitive noses. It is also notable that dogs can perform these duties in very dangerous situations, the protecting their human comrades from danger, such as in a war zone. However, because of their incredible tracking abilities, they've done everything from tracking individuals to bringing down entire enemy units. They can even track smells of individual horses, such as in the time of the cavalry.
In today's modern world, the dogs of war still perform a myriad of duties. In military and naval forces, they function as sentry dogs, where they are sent out at night to defend and protect military camps. They make excellent guard dogs because their sensitive hearing allows them to hear noises that a human soldier might not. Therefore, if a sentry dog growls or barks, he alerts his human comrade that there may be danger afoot before the soldier would be aware of it him- or herself.
Because of their ability to track human scent, a dog of war can also sniff out (literally) snipers, prisoners of war, or other enemy troops who may be hiding from his own soldiers. Dogs of war can also use their sense of smell to sniff out bomb devices or mines, for example, in such places where they may not be obvious to human soldiers. These types of dogs are often called "scout dogs."
Most dogs of war were traditionally trained to act as messengers between troops. Today, they can still carry messages between troops in areas where modern communication is either not possible or would be inadvisable. Oftentimes, they can do this simply by pulling radio lines between troops.
Finally, dogs of war can also attack opponents. This practice has been in use since ancient times, when dogs themselves were outfitted with armor to attack the enemy. Although Greeks and Romans originally started this practice, it is still in use today, with modern troops. |
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