Sanitary Dog

SANITARY DOG is intended for finding the wounded on the battlefield, for delivering first aid items to them under fire, and for notifying (signaling) the orderly about the found wounded person, to whom it then leads that orderly. Sanitary dogs are especially useful during troop operations in mountains and forests, where the wounded may remain unlocated due to extreme difficulties in the work of the orderlies. In the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, sanitary dogs in wartime are maintained at the medical units of infantry regiments. A sanitary dog must possess good scent and hearing, be agile and at the same time sufficiently strong, capable of working in the area of terrain assigned to it. Sanitary dogs are equipped with special packs with two holsters containing flasks of water, dressing materials, and a tourniquet for stopping hemorrhage. For protection against chemical warfare agents, military dogs are provided with special gas masks and stockings that protect the paws from persistent chemical agents when moving across contaminated terrain. Better than other breeds, the shepherd dog group (family) satisfies the requirements for a military dog (Gaston du Vael). The training of dogs begins at the age of 8-12 months up to 2-4 years and, in order to develop the necessary reflexes, lasts at least a month, subsequently requiring systematic training to reinforce the skills. Regarding the training of military dogs, there is an extensive literature and various plans and methods of working with the dog have been developed. Supplying the army with dogs for wartime is achieved, on the one hand, by a series of incentive measures aimed at developing dog breeding (privileges for owners of purebred dogs, exhibitions, competitions with prizes, etc.), registering dogs that can be utilized in the troops upon the declaration of mobilization, and on the other hand, by organizing school-kennels for training qualified cadres of instructor-trainers in peacetime. Such cadres for the medical service are trained from medical orderlies and medical assistants who receive special additional education in the field of cynology and the training of sanitary dogs. The trainer is required to love animals and possess a number of qualities necessary for working with a dog: energy, persistence, attentiveness, a calm and even temperament, as well as the necessary scientific (in physiology, reflexology, veterinary science) knowledge and technical skills in training.