#WW2 DOG GAS MASK HOW TO#

They did not anticipate the thousands of hours of retraining needed and the cost that such a promise would require. And that promise proved difficult for the US Military to fulfill. Interestingly enough though, when the dogs were recruited, owners were promised return of their dogs if they survived the war. Trained and sent into battle together, war dogs and their partners developed mutual loyalty, protectiveness, and love. Hester of the US Marine Corps’ 7th War Dog Platoon on Iwo Jima takes a nap while Butch stands guard. Everyone wanted to go on patrol with a war dog and to have one in the foxhole next to him. By the time American troops reached the Philippines in January 1945, dogs were in great demand. Although initially shunned by fellow service men, dogs and handlers soon demonstrated their skills saving many soldier and Marine lives. There are numerous stories of how these dogs went on to prove vital in combat operations. Dogs soon learned the type of behavior expected of them by the specific collar worn. The dog wore a certain type of collar while training or working and another type of collar while resting.

#WW2 DOG GAS MASK HOW TO#

Additionally, scout dogs learned how to work off leash. Scout, sentry, and patrol dogs learned when to alert their handler to the presence of another person. Dogs were screened to determine which job they were best suited to perform. Once a dog completed basic obedience training, military procedure training, and noise desensitization, it began specialized training for its specific job. One of the most important parts of the dog’s training was desensitizing the animal to rifle and artillery fire. These ran the gamut from riding in jeeps and trucks to wearing a gas mask or a muzzle. Courtesy Linda (Lindy) Harmon Good, in memory of Floyd Eugene Harmon, K-9 Corps, Fort Robinson, Nebraska.Īfter a dog had mastered basic obedience, it had to become accustomed to the various military procedures it would encounter. Military policemen and dogs pose on part of the training course all dogs had to complete to become war dogs.

They were also trained on obstacle courses, where they were required to jump, climb, crawl, wade, and swim to reach their objective. To this end, dogs were trained not to bark or growl. In combat, any sound could alert the enemy to the presence of a patrol, so nonverbal communication between the dog and its handler was critical to their success. At first, these commands would be given verbally by the handler, but it was crucial that the dogs also learn to obey commands given with hand signals. Dogs had to know the elementary commands sit, stay, and heel. Dogs that passed were then assigned to a regiment and a handler to begin their military training.Īll war-dog training began with basic obedience. There, they would undergo more medical exams and intelligence testing. Dogs that did not pass the medical tests were returned to their owners those that were selected were sent on to one of the Army or Marine Corps training centers. Donated dogs were given a battery of medical tests to ensure they were fit for training and military duties. In a typical situation, a patriotic owner would volunteer their dog for war service by contacting Dogs for Defense, which had many regional offices where dogs could be taken. Most of the United States' 20,000 war dogs were volunteered for service by their owners. Some of the early symptoms of a VX vapor exposure to nerve agent may be rhinorrhea (runny nose) and/or tightness in the chest with shortness of breath (bronchial constriction).Clyde Porter gives his dog Junior to Dogs for Defense. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destructionĮarly symptoms of percutaneous exposure (skin contact) may be local muscular twitching or sweating at the area of exposure followed by nausea or vomiting. VX is the most toxic nerve agent ever synthesized its an extremely toxic substance that has no known uses except in chemical warfare as a nerve agent.

A WW2 soldier wearing a gas mask with his dog in case of chemical attack which was common and countries were racing to develop more deadly weapons.

Ww2 dog gas mask