On This Day in American History |
|
|
On March 13, 1942, the United States Army establishes the “War Dog Program,” or “K-9 Corps.” Dogs were widely used in World War I, but the U.S. largely abandoned the training of military dogs after the war. After the U.S. entered World War II, the need for trained military dogs was apparent. After initially accepting 30 breeds, the Army decided only seven breeds were suitable: German Shepherds, Belgian sheep dogs, Doberman Pinschers, Collies, Siberian Huskies, Malamutes and Eskimo dogs. After basic obedience training, the dogs went on to take specialized training to prepare them for duty as sentry dogs, scout or patrol dogs, messenger dogs or mine-detection dogs. |
|
|