F e a t u r e s
Dogs Save Lives Military Working Dogs are a Breed Apart
U
nder the heading ‘Your Country Needs Your Dog’ the Defence Animal Centre at Melton Mowbray have
been busy appealing for animals to be donated for military training to bolster the ranks. But what is in store for these hounds once they join up? Sergeant Mark Lloyd RAF reports.
The Defence Animal Centre (DAC) is the joint training establishment of 100 personnel from the Royal Army Veterinary and RAF Police. The centre, now fully integrated, procures and trains 205 Military Working Dogs and 534 students a year in order to provide Service customers with a credible force effect.
Major Chris Ham, of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, is in charge of the canine division at the Centre, he said: “The dogs are life-saving pieces
of equipment for the Forces. The Springer Spaniels, Labradors and Retrievers sniff out explosives, drugs and sometimes people and the Shepherd breeds are used for protection and guard duties”.
Major Ham continues, “While some people might hesitate to give their dogs to the armed services in case they are put in danger, and there is always a chance in the military, very few dogs are hurt through enemy action. Handlers are trained to anticipate and avoid anything which will put the animal at risk and if they do get hurt, they get the best possible
treatment. Some dogs come from the animal rescue charities because they know the animals are guaranteed to receive high- quality care, attention and exercise”.
The Protection Force
The majority of dogs trained at the Defence Animal Centre are German and Belgium Shepherds and are used in protection work (guard dogs in old money) and as Police Dogs for both the RAF and MoD Police.
Major Ham says, “We can use Rottweilers and Belgian Malinois, but we prefer the German Shepherds with a steady temperament. A German shepherd looks the part, he looks a beast and the whole idea of a dog patrol around a base is to give a deterrent. Anyone who might want to break in then thinks ‘I won’t bother’. Some of the more intelligent German Shepherds may go on to be used in a more specialised role, such as a police dog.”
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