Thursday, February 2, 2012

WWII Military Dogs & Poodles



This postcard is from WWII and shows U. S. Army canine training, canines on sentry duty, and U. S. Army dogs in military formation at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. The caption on the back gives some general information about Fort Snelling but makes no reference to training or dogs.



The images on the postcard imply that Fort Snelling was a center for dog training, but that was not really true. Fort Snelling was not one of the five War Dog Reception and Training Centers that were operated by the Quartermaster Corps during the war. Those centers were located at Front Royal, Virginia; Fort Robinson, Nebraska; Cat Island, Gulfport, Mississippi; Camp Rimini at Helena, Montana and San Carlos, California.

During World War II, Fort Snelling was primarily an induction point for recruits who joined the armed forces. Most recruits stayed at Fort Snelling for only a short time before they were transferred to other military posts for their basic training. Some specialized units, including military police, were trained at Fort Snelling. The army dogs apparently were at Fort Snelling for work with the military police.

The only reference I could find for dogs at Fort Snelling was in a short article from the Greeley (Colorado) Daily Tribune of February 19, 1944 about dogs arriving from Fort Snelling:
Twenty army-trained sentry dogs that arrived here Thursday for use at the Greeley Prisoner of War camp came here from Fort Snelling, Minnesota camp officials announced Saturday. The dogs had been attached to a military police unit at Fort Snelling and this will be their first duty at a prisoner of war camp. The dogs were accompanied by five trainers who will have charge of the dogs. Each trainer will handle four of the dogs. On the way here the dogs stopped at Fort Robinson, Nebr. for a refresher course of training. Most dogs trained for army service are police dogs or shepherd dogs. The dogs here not only are expected to be used for sentry duty but probably will go to the fields this summer with groups of prisoners working on farms.
I found a couple of interesting articles reproduced online about the use of military dogs by the United States during World War II. One article is The Truth About War Dogs by Alene Erlanger that was in The Quartermaster Review, March-April 1944. Another article is Dogs and National Defense written in 1958 by Anna M. Waller that gives the history of war dog training and utilization during and after World War II.

Erlanger was a breeder of poodles, an exhibitor, and a judge of dogs who was one of the leaders in organizing Dogs for Defense and an author of war dog training materials. Her article gives some history and discusses how dogs were being used. At that time dogs (with the exception of sledge dogs and pack dogs) were divided into two groups: dogs for interior guard and dogs for tactical use. The guard dogs included sentry dogs and the police dogs. The sentry dog patrolled with sentries and gave alerts by growling or barking. The police dog (formerly classed as the attack dog) was used by the military police. The tactical dogs included the silent scout dog, the messenger dog, the casualty dog, and the classified dog. The silent scout dog was a "super sentry dog" used by reconnaissance patrols to discover whether an area was free of hostile presence. The messenger dog was used as a runner in place of a man to deliver messages more rapidly and safely. It could also be used for packing limited emergency supplies and a quick means of laying wires over short distances. The casualty dog was used to aid the Medical Corps in locating wounded soldiers.

There were no plans for training army dogs when the United States entered the war. It soon became evident that they could be used for sentry and other work. Their use expanded and included other branches of the service. The next two pictures show Coast Guard Dogs which were used to help guard America's shores and coastline from attempts by enemy spies and saboteurs to land or prowl around.





My family had a standard poodle when I was young, so I found the article about Poodles in WWII especially interesting. That article includes a photo of a black poodle on patrol with the Coast Guard. Poodles were included on the original lists of acceptable breeds of war dogs, though they were eliminated when the list was reduced to five breeds. A 1943 technical training manual included the following section concerning poodles:
52. Standard Poodle. a. General appearance. The Standard Poodle as a military dog presents a far different appearance from the traditionally landscaped Poodle seen at a dog show. He is clipped all over for Army work, and his coat is allowed to grow out to a length of 1 or 2 inches, either all over, or with the face and feet clipped bare. Thus cut down, the Poodle looks like a medium-sized retriever. He stands from 20 to 25 inches high, weighing from 50 to 75 pounds. His coat is tightly curled, very dense, of any solid color. He is a sturdy, squarely built dog, active and poised. b. Special traits. Unusual ability to learn rapidly, good retention, patience, agility, versatility, courage, keen nose and hearing. The Poodle's one drawback is his rapidly growing coat, which is never shed and must constantly be cut down to prevent its becoming matted or knotted, or entangled with foreign matter. Some specimens are too small or too light to be serviceable.
The last two pictures show my father on the shore of Lake Michigan with our poodle Beau, circa 1961. My father is wearing an old Army jacket, and it is not too hard to imagine him patrolling the shore with his sentry dog.






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19 comments:

  1. That last photo of the poodle reminds me of a little golden book I used to have about a big poodle who became a baker.

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  2. I am so glad that you have highlighted these dogs and the programs using them during wartime. This is super interesting to me, and your photos are beautiful. Nice to see your Dad and doggy enjoying their time together.

    Thank you so much for stopping by to say hello. Hope your weekend is grand.

    Kathy M.

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  3. Interesting that the military dogs are all German Shepherds. Dogs have a major role today in places like Afghanistan and in the war about the drugs trade. Now it's their sense of smell that's important and breeds other than German Shepherds are used.

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  4. I didn't realize military dogs had so many different classifications and duties. Excellent post!

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  5. Ah yes, the long-forgotten military poodles....great postcard!

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  6. Apparently dogs are very versatile. I had never pictured a poodle as a war dog though. The last photo is very nice!

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  7. A great postcard though....the buildings in the background remind me of the ones near the airport...where much of all those remaining old buildings are crumbling away...I think they all still belong to Fort Snelling but not the actual Fort....that I was lucky enough to tour again just before the 4th of July when they shut everything down last year...

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  8. The very essence of what Sepia Saturday is all about - images and memories intertwined to perfection.

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  9. Fort Snelling. Very interesting. Love the postcards. Thanks for sharing!
    Colleen
    http://leavesnbranches.blogspot.com/

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  10. I didn't know poodles do not shed their coat, perfect for the home. Looks nice and sandy by the lake. The grading of dogs and training is fascinating, you've done some marvellous research.

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  11. Interesting. I would never have thought of a poodle as a working dog.

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  12. A great post. I'm reminded of a story that was only recently revealed. It seems that some Japanese American men who volunteered for army service were taken in secret to one of the dog training centers. There they were used as "bait" to train war dogs to attack Japanese soldiers during a planned invasion. The program failed but was the result of some very bizarre racism and odd notions of dogs.

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  13. My parents always had poodles, too. Wonderful dogs. I enjoyed seeing the postcard and learning more about military dogs.

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  14. I"d love to see a clipped poodle posed in a photo with the military German Shepherds. I love reading about the heroics of the military dogs but I'm always distressed at the thought that they didn't have the choice of "joining up". Such a nice photo of your Dad and your cute poodle...they're both cute!
    Barbara

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  15. Very cool postcard and pictures about wartime dogs. Love the long line of coast guard dogs. And a poodle in the military - who knew!

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  16. It makes me sad to think of dogs in the military-I think that they're sort of considered expendable, less valuable than humans. But no less brave.

    My vet has always had standard poodles, when I was a kid he had two black ones and now he has a white one.

    --OrdinaryJanet (Blogger hasn't been accepting my comments with word verification.)

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  17. wonderful post. I didn't know about the role these dogs played. My fave uncle had a French poodle we adored.

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  18. Interesting post - there's the Dickin medal which is awarded to animals (dogs, horses and even a cat) for military bravery in the UK. Love the photo of your Dad and dog at the beach :-) Jo (imagespast.wordpress.com)

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  19. Poodles are often considered a lady's dog but they are sturdier than that, and fiercely loyal, from what I've seen of them... and oh so energetic!!
    :D~
    HUGZ

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