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Any of the books along the dry erase board. 

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Any of the books along the dry erase board. 

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Omni Military Loans Blog:

The recently released movie "Max" from Warner Bros. is about a military dog that returns to the United States from Afghanistan and is adopted by the family of his handler, a U.S. Marine who was killed in action. The movie highlights the contributions that dogs have made to the military and honors the dogs, their hero handlers, and the powerful bond that they share.

Dogs have been officially serving as four-legged soldiers in the United States military since World War I. Known as military working dogs (MWDs), they stand side-by-side with our servicemen and servicewomen and are more than just their companions - they are their protectors and actively contribute to U.S. combat operations. In fact, according to the American Humane Association, each MWD saves between 150-200 lives.
Here are some other facts you may not know about these K-9 comrades-in-arms.

2700+ Military Dogs

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, there are approximately 2,700 active-duty military working dogs in the U.S. Armed Forces. They are deployed around the world, with a large number serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Trained in Texas

All military working dogs and their handlers are trained at the 341st Training Squadron located at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Each year approximately 425 Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine students are trained to be handlers, 185 dogs are trained and certified to detect explosives, and 85 dogs are trained for patrol and drug detection.

Standard Military Dog Breeds

Standard MWD breeds are German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, and Labradors.

MWDs are Primarily Trained for:

* Explosive detection
* Narcotics detection
* Search & rescue
* Sentry
* Guard Duty
* Scout and patrol

Traits of a MWD

* Acute sense of smell, hearing and vision
* Drive to prey and hunt
* Sociable
* Aggressiveness
* Possessiveness
* Easily trained
* Motivated to please

MWDs are Being Returned Home to the U.S.

In the past, military dogs were considered "equipment" and either left behind or euthanized when they were no longer able to work. This has changed. In 2000, " Robby's Law " was passed that facilitates "the adoption of retired military working dogs by law enforcement agencies, former handlers of these dogs, and other persons capable of caring for these dogs." Save-A-Vet is one organization that helps find suitable homes for K-9 veterans.

Another positive development is the passing of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) . Previously handlers who wanted to bring a dog home after their tour duty was over could do so, but they had to pay for the transportation, which is very expensive. This act mandates the return of retiring military working dogs to U.S. soil and the first rights of adoption go to former handlers and their families. Visit the American Humane Association website for details on this important act.

There is a U.S. War Dogs Memorial

Holmdel, New Jersey is home to the United States War Dogs Memorial. The memorial's centerpiece is a bronze statue of a Vietnam War soldier and his dog. The memorial pays tribute to all of America's war dogs, past present, and future.

Dogs are more than man's best friend; they are heroes! To learn more about military working dogs, visit The United States War Dogs Association website. If you are interested in adopting a retired MWD, visit Saveavet.org.

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Military Working Dogs Facts | Omni Financial®

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Omni Military Loans Blog: The recently released movie "Max" from Warner Bros. is about a military dog that returns to the United States from Afghanistan and is adopted by the family of his handler, a U.S. Marine who was killed in action.

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Editor's note: This story originally ran in March of 2012. We're rerunning in honor of K9 Veteran's Day, March 13, 2015.
Until the now-famous Navy SEAL Team Six raid on Osama bin Laden's compound last year, most people had no idea that dogs are a vital part of the military. But these four-legged heroes have saved tens of thousands of lives since World War II, when the U.S. embarked on its military working dog program.

I grew up steeped in the importance of war dogs thanks to my dad, who was a very young soldier back then. He told me about the bonds the handlers had with their dogs, and how the dogs - as important as they were on missions - were just as essential for the morale of troops. His stories struck a chord with me, and I was thrilled years later when I got a chance to write a book about brave, loyal, amazing dogs and their devoted handlers.

My book, Soldier Dogs: The Untold Story of America's Canine Heroes, was published two weeks ago, and I'm excited that after all the hard work and boots-on-the-ground reporting the book entailed, people are really starting to take notice of these incredible dogs and their handlers. The book has received a lot of attention, including a great review in the April 9, 2012, edition of People magazine, and a fun stint for me on The Daily Show. (Update: Soldier Dogs is a New York Times Best Seller!)

This puts a wag in my tail, because I am passionate about these dog teams. The more people know about them, the better off the dogs and handlers will be. So today I bring my loyal Dogster readers an exclusive look at 10 things you may really want to know about soldier dogs. All photos except the plane jumper are of dogs and handlers featured in my book. Here's to our paws-on-the-ground heroes!
(Note from Dogster HQ: We read and loved Maria's book and think you'll dig it, too. Besides getting it at your local bookstore, you can order Soldier Dogs from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Indiebound. It's even available as an audiobook for all you commuters in the house, at Blackstone Audio.)

1. Soldier dogs are selected for the military based in part on their love of a ball or a Kong.
This reward is going to be part of their "paycheck" for years to come (a handler's heartfelt praise is the other part), and they have to want the ball really badly to work as hard as they need to in order to save lives in combat situations.

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2. Soldier dogs believe in magic.
If they didn't, they may not be the lifesavers they are. The main job for military dogs in today's wars is sniffing out IEDs, which are the number one killer in Afghanistan. But how does a dog get to know the difference between an explosive and an interesting-smelling rock? Magic, of a sort.

A dog's early encounters associating a scent with a reward are all about the surprising appearance of a Kong that seems to spring right out of the scent itself. Trainers hide a Kong toy or ball somewhere, and place a few drops of a scent in the area. When the dog hits the scent, he thinks, "Whoa! I've never smelled this before!" and shows a tiny change of behavior, perhaps stopping or wagging or tilting his head. At that moment, a trainer throws the ball so it lands right on the source of the odor, and the dog is cheered on for his "feat."

This happens a few more times, placing the odor in various spots and having a ball "magically" land on it when the dog successfully sniffs the odor. Many dogs learn extremely rapidly to associate an odor and a ball. (Eventually they're weaned from this and get the ball reward in a different way.) That dogs can believe the scent of something like potassium chlorate magically creates a bouncing Kong is just one of those things that makes them so loveable and endearing.

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3. The bond between a deployed handler and soldier dog is like no other.
I was blown away by the love that even the toughest of these soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have for their canine comrades. When you're at war and you're together almost 24/7 (sometimes sharing a tent, or even a sleeping bag or foxhole, for weeks on end), when you depend on each other for everything, including your very lives, an incomparable bond forms. Hearing a war-hardened Marine's voice break when he talks about his best friend is a very moving experience.

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4. Not all soldier dogs are big, tough warriors.
Sure, breeds like German shepherds and Belgian Malinois are the most common war dogs these days, but affable Labrador retrievers play a major role as sniffer dogs in Afghanistan. And there are also some very little dogs in the military. But I learned that "little" does not mean "diminutive."

I had the pleasure of meeting a Jack Russell terrier, Lars J274, on a nuclear submarine as he sniffed around for explosives last summer. He was a jaunty little fellow with a Napoleon complex. Submariners would laugh has he trotted down the narrow walkways, but he didn't care. "Inside, he's a big dog with a big attitude," his handler told me.

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5. Dogs are the ultimate anthropologists.
They study us. They observe us. They smell changes in our very chemistry. They learn to predict us. And they seem to know when their people are having a bad day.

Rex L274 was a big, sensitive German shepherd. He had failed out of aggression training because anytime he bit someone wearing protective gear during practice, and they yelled or screamed in response, he immediately let go and seemed to look concerned and sad. So his career path changed, and he became a highly trained off-leash bomb sniffer.

His sensitivity to the people around him played out in the form of becoming a sort of unofficial therapy dog wherever he went. "He'd always find the one soldier who was having a hard day and hang out with them," his handler, Army Sgt. Amanda Ingraham, told me. His favorite therapy was to cheer up down soldiers by getting them to play with a water bottle. After all, he liked playing with water bottles, so it would seem natural that they would too. He'd run up and bonk them with a water bottle (empty or full, it didn't matter). Or he'd sit next to him crunching the bottle and periodically banging it against the soldier with the blues. Eventually the soldier would take the bait, and a grand game of tug-of-war or a big chase would ensue.

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6. Some dogs really do jump from planes.
These extremely resilient, super-high-drive dogs are specially procured and trained by military contractors, not the DOD's Military Working Dog program. Some join their human partners in parachute jumps from planes, others rappel with their handlers from helicopters. The dogs who do this are known as multi-purpose canines (MPCs), and are used used in Special Operations teams, including the Navy SEALs. They're a tiny subset of military dogs, but can serve very important roles, as Cairo, the dog involved in the SEAL Team Six raid on the Bin Laden compound, demonstrated.

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7. Soldier dogs can get PTSD.
Until last year, canine post traumatic stress disorder wasn't officially recognized by the military, but now that it is, it's being taken very seriously. Signs of Canine PTSD include hypervigilance, increased startle response, attempts to run away or escape, withdrawal, changes in rapport with a handler, and problems performing trained tasks - like a bomb dog who just can't focus on sniffing out bombs any more.

As with people, some dogs can go to hell and back and not be badly scarred. Others are profoundly affected by less. There are treatments, but they aren't as effective as they need to be. Research into canine PTSD is in its infancy, but I hope it will one day soon offer some better solutions for the dogs who are suffering so.

While at Lackland Air Force Base, which is where most military dogs get trained, I visited the base's adoption kennels and was greeted by the loads of barking, energetic dogs. But this one beautiful chocolate Lab, Buck P027, was curled up tightly, staring out into nothingness. It turns out Buck had been a bomb dog in Afghanistan. He may have seen too much action or been close to one too many explosions. It was really heartbreaking to see this dog who was crushed by PTSD lying alone. Thankfully the next day he went home with a couple who loves him to pieces. They're working on helping him through his PTSD every day. I am in touch with them and get regular reports on his progress.

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8. Soldier dog names can be downright embarrassing to their handlers.
Dogs are named by their breeders, who are hail from places like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Netherlands, and Germany. There are plenty of regal or at least normal names, like Rex, Nero, and Rocky. And then there are the unfortunate or oddball ones. Imagine being downrange in a life-or-death situation, and shouting for "Baby Cakes!" "Baby Bear!" "Busty!" or "Moo!" Yes, those are real military working dog names.

Male dogs sometimes have female names, like Kitty, or Freida, and vice-versa. The handler of Freida said it was very awkward calling his name. He swears the breeders are just messing with American handlers, and I have a feeling he's right.

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9. When soldier dogs die, their memorial services will rip your heart out.
Their bowls are placed upside down, to symbolize that they won't need them anymore. Their collars and leashes are hung up in remembrance of the dog. And if the memorial is at a kennel, the dog's kennel door is left open, indicating the dog will not be returning home. The handler, or someone who can handle the heartbreaking duty, reads a poem called Guardians of the Night. I can't even think about it without tearing up. A lot of handlers can't either.

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10. Soldier dogs are still officially considered equipment by the Defense Department.
Most handlers consider their dogs their best friends, but to the DOD, military working dogs are still officially equipment.

"I try to articulate dog is not a piece of equipment, but a working, breathing animal that needs to be treated respectfully and kindly," says Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Antonio (Arod) Rodriguez. "Your dog is your partner, and values meaningful interaction. You just don't think about equipment in the same way."

There's some fantastic legislation in Congress right now that seeks to change this status. You can read about it in a post I wrote for Dogster. In it I explain how you can weigh in on this very important bipartisan bill, The Canine Members of the Armed Forces Act. These dogs deserve all the support we can give them.
Read more about military dogs on Dogster:

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10 Things You Might Not Know About Soldier Dogs

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Editor's note: This story originally ran in March of 2012. We're rerunning in honor of K9 Veteran's Day, March 13, 2015. Until the now-famous Navy SEAL Team Six raid on Osama bin Laden's compound last year, most people had no idea that dogs are a vital part of the military.

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We at BarkPost want to send our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has played a role in earning and preserving the freedom of our great nation. Dogs in the military struggled to earn their recognition as American heroes, and now that they have we'd like to pay tribute by sharing some facts you may not know about these hard working canines.
1. Dogs have been in combat with US soldiers during every major conflict, but they were not officially recognized until WWII.

Sergeant Stubby of the 102nd Infantry, Yankee Division went from mascot to hero during WWI after being smuggled into battle by Private J. Robert Conway. Stubby went on to detect enemy gas, bark out warnings when rival troops were near and locate the wounded on the battlefield. By the start of WWII, the military had recognized the value canine soldiers could bring and began using them primarily for recon. Stubby forged the way for all canine soldiers who followed and remains a symbol of military bravery and heroism to this day.

Check out Stubby's full story at fallendogs.com
2. They are trained in bomb, weapon and drug detection, tracking, and to attack the enemy.

Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX has been training sentry dogs since 1958. K9history.com details the manpower and dogpower that goes into training the amazing pups of the Department of Defense Military Working Dogs Training School (DoD MWD) at Lackland. Today, more than 1,000 dogs are trained at any given time by a staff of 125 from all branches of military service. The complex training techniques are designed to utilize the dogs' natural gifts for focus and aggression to their advantage. German Shepherds and Labradors can detect weapons, bombs, gases and drugs more accurately than any available military equipment.
3. There are about 2500 dogs in active service today and about 700 deployed overseas.

Military dogs play an integral role in the current overseas conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Stewart Hilliard, Chief of Military War Dog evaluation and training at Lackland Air Force Base told San Antonio Magazine in 2013, "These dogs are among our most effective counter measures against terrorists and explosives."
4. 85% of military working dogs are purchased from Germany and the Netherlands.

The 2013 article "Canines in Combat" from San Antonio Magazine notes that the bloodlines of these dogs go back hundreds of years, making these pups literally "born for the job." The Air Force Security Center, Army Veterinary Corps, and the 341st Training Squadron are combining their efforts here in the States to breed suitable dogs for military service. Currently the other 15% of working dogs are USA born and bred, and the military hopes to increase this number.
5. They are extremely valuable, and not just for their service.

According to retired Air Force K9 Handler, Louis Robinson, a fully trained bomb detection dog is likely worth over $150,000. But really, these animals are priceless. With an average of 98% accuracy in their detection skills, the peace of mind they provide to the troops is immeasurable. Robinson resides in Phoenix, AZ and runs Robinson Dog Training. He's using the extensive skills he learned as a Military Police K9 handler to help civilian dogs learn basic obedience, search and rescue, therapy skills and advanced protection training.
6. Only about 50% make it through training.

Military working dogs are not just chosen for their breeding or the keenness of their sense of smell, they must possess several other qualities. They must be free of physical issues like hip dysplasia and be highly reward motivated. Trainers at Lackland use mostly toys like Kongs that can be hidden to represent bombs, but treats are also utilized. Suitable dogs for military service must also be able to attack on command. Pups have actually been dropped from the program due to extreme stress at having to bite a human. Military dogs must have just the right level of aggression and excitability.
7. They aren't all German Shepherds.

When we think about military dogs, muscular German Shepherds tend to come to mind. But several different breeds have shown patriotic heroism over the years. Many branches use the highly trainable Labrador Retriever. The elite US Navy SEALS use the Belgian Malinois, a breed similar to the German Shepherd, but smaller. These dogs are incredibly compact and fast with a sense of smell 40 times greater than that of a human. Their small stature make them ideal for parachuting and repelling missions with their handlers. The SEALS were accompanied by a Belgian Malinois named Cairo during their raid on Osama Bin Laden in 2013.
8. They can get PTSD.

Just like their human brothers and sisters in arms, pup soldiers are susceptible to the horrors of PTSD. War dogs experience severe emotional trauma during deployment, and for some it becomes too much. Gunner, a Marine bomb sniffing dog became so skittish and unpredictable during active duty that he was declared "surplus" by the military and released from service. Gunner was adopted by the family of Corporal Jason Dunham who was killed near the Syrian border in 2004. He and the Dunhams are working on healing together.
9. They mourn the loss of their handler and vice versa.

In Rebecca Frankel's book, she explores the remarkable bond that develops between service dog and handler. One such pair was Marine Lance Corporal Joshua Ashley and "Sirius". They were the number one team during training at Yuma military base, but tragically Josh was killed by an IED just two months after deploying to Afghanistan. "Sirius" at first refused to take commands from his new handler and showed significant signs of agitation at the loss of his partner. Such stories are all too common among canine and handler teams.

If a dog of war is lost in combat, he or she is honored by the entire squad. Feeding dishes are symbolically placed upside down and a poem called Guardians of the Night is read in their honor.
10. Until November 2000, military dogs were euthanized or abandoned after retirement.

Before this time service dogs were considered "military surplus equipment" and deemed unfit to adjust to civilian life. These heroes were thrown away or put down instead of honored. President Clinton passed "Robby's Law" in 2000 which allows handlers and their families first dibs at adopting military animals at the end of their useful service. The dogs are next offered to law enforcement, then adoptive families. Organizations like Saveavet.org place these retired heroes with suitable families and ensure they are given the honorable discharge they deserve. There are currently long waiting lists of civilians who want to give these veterans a loving home in which to retire.

Featured image via Kevin Hanrahan and H/t via navyseals.com, pbs.org, and The Wall Street Journal

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10 Things You May Not Know About Military Dogs

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We at BarkPost want to send our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has played a role in earning and preserving the freedom of our great nation. Dogs in the military struggled to earn their recognition as American heroes, and now that they have we'd like to pay tribute by sharing some facts you may not know about these hard working canines.

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The Official United States Marine Corps Public Website

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Military working dogs benefit military police

By Lance Cpl. Carlos Cruz, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

Military police with the Provost Marshal's Office executed military working dog basic training and building searches, Jan. 12, 2015, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.

The training helps the dogs become more familiar with working alongside their handler, according to Cpl. Nickolaus Hess, a military working dog handler with PMO.

"All the training we do with the dogs prepares them for real life scenarios," said Lance Cpl. John D. Barron, a military working dog handler with PMO. "I have to be able to trust that (my dog) knows exactly what he's supposed to be doing."

Before the dog handlers can trust their dogs, they have to make certain they will obey their commands, said Barron.

"We use the obedience course for two things; basic command, which is training the dog to obey both verbal and nonverbal commands, and it's also used as physical training because the dogs need to exercise just like humans do," said Hess.

Working dogs benefit military policemen significantly by helping them perform their job much more efficiently, according to Hess.

"In terms of finding substances or suspects, nothing we have is going to beat a dog's sense of smell," said Hess. "The dogs will find anything way before we can."

Each dog is paired with one handler because building friendship between the two is the most important part of their job, according to Hess.

"We train with our dogs day in and day out," said Barron. "Even on our days off handlers will come in and train. The bond between you and your dog is what makes you successful on a mission."

Being a dog handler is an incredible experience, he would recommend anyone to take the chance to do it if the opportunity is available to them, according to Hess.

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Military working dogs benefit military police

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Military working dogs benefit military police By Lance Cpl. Carlos Cruz, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan Military police with the Provost Marshal's Office executed military working dog basic training and building searches, Jan. 12, 2015, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.