Guard Dog Training - Military and Law Enforcement Uses

Dogs go through extensive guard dog training when used by the military and law enforcement. These canine companions can become elite soldiers and formidable weapons out in the field. A dog's fierce loyalty to its handler does not go away when put under pressure in the heat of combat. A dog will risk life and limb to serve and protect its handler without a second thought.

In the military, dogs are trained to serve as scouts and perform search and rescue duties. With their superior hearing and sense of smell, dogs can detect hidden dangers far more readily and easily than humans can. Dogs can be trained to detect booby traps and mines. They can ferret out enemy snipers that may be hiding in camaflouge. Camaflouge may elude detection by human eyes, but they are no match a dog's nose. Dogs are also excellent camp defenders and sentries. Sometimes, the early warning provided by canines mean the difference between glorious victory and utter defeat. Recently, in a controversial practice, dogs have also been used to intimidate enemy combatants during military interrogations.

Dogs have also become a vital part of the modern law enforcement arsenal. The typical police dog is trained by a handler to to chase running suspects and hold suspects at bay until their slower human officers arrive. Police dogs are also useful threat devices. A lunging, snarling dog is threatened to be released and attack the suspect unless the criminal suspect comply immediately with police instructions. Law enforcement dogs are also used to sniff for drug contrabands that may be hidden in attempts to smuggle across borders. Seen primarily at airports and border crossings, police dogs routinely sniff luggage and automobiles for illegal drugs and substances. A dog's keen sense of smell is also sometimes used to locate missing persons lost in the wilderness or to locate dead bodies.

Dogs have been used militarily since ancient times. At times serving as front-line soldiers attacking knights on horseback, modern uses of dogs in military and law enforcement have been relegated to mostly support functions. But these are vital support functions which dogs with their superior senses perform better and faster than anything else. Dogs are highly intelligent animals that can be trained to do man many things. Guard dog training is not only for home and residential protection; guard dog training has many uses in the military and law enforcement arena as well.