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In 1914, Captain Max von Stephanitz trained German shepherds and recommended them to be military working dogs. They were going to be used to carry ammo, guards, messengers, and search and rescue dogs.
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In WWI German shepherds were used for many reasons. Their courage surprised both the German and American soldiers.
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German Shepherds were also used to guide blinded soldiers in war. That eventually led to the Seeing Eye Dog services.
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Corporal Lee Duncan and his squad found a bombed bunker in Lorraine, France. Inside it had a mother German shepherd and her litter. He adopted two of the puppies. The rest of the squad carried the rest of the dogs. Sadly one of the puppies that Duncan adopted died of Dog Dempster which is like human chicken pox.
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Duncan trained the dogs for war. He used dogs donated that were donated to him. Over the course of the war, over 5,000 dogs and handlers were trained.
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Soviet and Russian armies trained and used anti-tank bombs strapped to dogs in WWII against the Germans.
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During WWII, War Dogs were used in places such as Puerto Rico. German Shepherds were one of the most common types of dogs used during the war.
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The U.S. Army and Marines brought in scout and patrol dogs for use in the Vietnam War.
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Many Australian soldiers grew attached to their dogs. The Australian Army policy would not let them bring their dogs back home with them when the war was over. Some soldiers were killed and their family wanted to bring the dog that worked with them home but the policy wouldn't let them, which made many families upset and sad.
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The dogs they used in the Vietnam War were trained from as young as 10 months old.
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A Tracking Team had two dogs and their handlers and two coverman (a gunner and a signaller). They were flown in by a helicopter which the dogs loved.
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Detection dogs are used by the police and counter terrorism. The dogs are used for detection of bombs, explosives, and firearms. There are also Narcotic dogs which are used to detect drugs.
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These dogs are used to protect their handlers and assist them in many different tasks. They are also used to hold the suspects, and investigating the crime scene.
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Military dogs are not used as often as they were in the Vietnam War and WWII. They are mostly used now for FBI, police forces, search and rescue, etc.