Uses of Military Dogs in World War I

Authored by familysearch.org and submitted by thebelsnickle1991

More than 50,000 military dogs served in World War I. They proved just how valuable canines can be on the battlefield and beyond. Here is how their service in the Great War differed from what military dogs had done before.

For centuries, dogs have protected their human companions. The Assyrian, Babylonian, and Roman armies all enlisted dogs to help fight their battles. Napoleon Bonaparte set strays around his fortifications. Dogs guarded troops on both sides of the United States Civil War.

Several European nations officially began training military dogs in the early 20th century. By the opening of World War I, Germany had trained thousands of German shepherds and Doberman Pinschers along with English dogs they had purchased, such as Airedales, sheep dogs, and collies. Both the French and the English established official war dog schools. Russian, Swedish, Italian, Albanian, Belgian, and Bulgarian troops also used military dogs.

Most dogs used by the American Expeditionary Forces came from their allies. However, a few dogs from the United States did end up on the front lines. Perhaps the most famous is Sergeant Stubby, who served in France for 18 months.

First Name Last Name Place Year

World War I was the first war in which military dogs were mobilized on a massive, organized scale. More than an estimated 50,000 dogs served. This war was also the first conflict in which most official military dogs received formal training. They learned to tolerate battlefield chaos and gear such as gas masks. They also learned to serve in highly specialized roles that saved thousands of human lives.

Major uses of military dogs in World War I

With keen senses of sight, hearing, and smell, many military dogs were well-suited as watchdogs, especially at night. They were trained to raise alerts quietly. Rather than bark, as a domestic watchdog might do, military dogs growled quietly or stood at attention. This quiet signaling allowed soldiers to get ready for their foes without betraying their preparations. On patrol, military dogs could often sense an enemy presence—human or chemical—sooner than their human handlers.

Red Cross dogs or “mercy dogs” performed one of the most dangerous tasks on the battlefield: finding and assisting the wounded in the no-man’s land between the trenches. These ambulance dogs carried medical packs that men could use to treat themselves if they were able. Dogs would carry a wounded soldier’s cap back to the medics and then bring the medics to him. Compassionate canines even sat with the dying to comfort them.

Unfortunately, medics and their dogs were often killed in the line of duty. The casualty rate among dogs was so high that many units stopped using them. Ambulance dogs were highly effective on the Eastern front, though. During the Russian retreat, medical dogs reportedly saved thousands of German lives.

In the trenches, communication was often a problem. Heavy shelling destroyed telephone lines. Human runners were easy targets for enemy fire. Even close-range communication became difficult or impossible in the smoke and thunder of the artillery.

Early in the war, dogs were trained to deliver messages in combat. Images from the time show them leaping over coils of barbed-wire fences and carrying messages tied to their collars. They also sometimes carried small packages of food, cigarettes, explosives, or other supplies to soldiers in the trenches. Their speed, size, and nimble feet helped them evade enemy fire over difficult and dangerous terrain.

Some military dogs pulled small vehicles packed with arms, equipment, supplies, and food. Sometimes they transported soldiers too, both wounded and whole.

Discover World War I heroes in your family

What can you learn about the World War I heroics of men and women on your own family tree? Discover your ancestors in FamilySearch World War I records. If you have World War I (or any other) stories, photos or documents, share them with others on FamilySearch Memories.

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Sunny Morton is an internationally-known, award-winning writer, editor and speaker for the multibillion-dollar genealogy industry. Her voice is heard on the Genealogy Gems Podcast, which has more than 2.5 million downloads worldwide. She is a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine and the NGS-award-winning coeditor of Ohio Genealogy News. She has been a popular speaker at events across the country, including RootsTech. Sunny is especially known for expertise in tracing U.S. ancestors; unique comparisons of the industry’s leading websites; and inspiring presentations on how to reconstruct meaningful stories from genealogy records.

spyser on June 16th, 2021 at 13:21 UTC »

Did the dog know if the wounded was an enemy or an allied soldier, and it was an enemy would the medic still help them?

build6build6 on June 16th, 2021 at 12:15 UTC »

you've got to wonder, what were the dogs thinking about what was going on?

artillery, shelling, trenches, mud, rot, the smell, decay, rats, unclaimed bodies everywhere, and then they go out to find all these people, and then this keeps going on and not stopping...

do dogs get PTSD?

vapablythe on June 16th, 2021 at 12:09 UTC »

They also had trench cats, to help control the rat and mice populations