Animals of the battlefield

[Longinius 1]

"some rescue helicopters have dogs on board that jump into the water to rescue ejected pilots out in the sea."

How would a dog rescue a pilot out at sea?

[brgnorway 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Longinius @ Mar. 27 2003,21:04)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">"some rescue helicopters have dogs on board that jump into the water to rescue ejected pilots out in the sea."

How would a dog rescue a pilot out at sea?<span id='postcolor'>

.....the same way they use dogs in lifesaving operations at sea! Newfoundland dogs are very good at it. This dog weighs as much as a grown up and grabs you by the mouth and drags you towards land. There is no way it will let you go when it has sunk it's teeth into you

By the way - I'm not kidding.

[DracoPaladore 0]

Well, if I was drowning near newfoundland, I would rather have a dog sink its teeth into my arm and drag me ashore instead of drowning

[Longinius 1]

".....the same way they use dogs in lifesaving operations at sea! Newfoundland dogs are very good at it. This dog weighs as much as a grown up and grabs you by the mouth and drags you towards land. There is no way it will let you go when it has sunk it's teeth into you"

I didnt know this actually. But you gotta be pretty close to shore for this to work I assume. Or else it would be a helluva swim...

[brgnorway 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Longinius @ Mar. 27 2003,21:31)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">".....the same way they use dogs in lifesaving operations at sea! Newfoundland dogs are very good at it. This dog weighs as much as a grown up and grabs you by the mouth and drags you towards land. There is no way it will let you go when it has sunk it's teeth into you"

I didnt know this actually. But you gotta be pretty close to shore for this to work I assume. Or else it would be a helluva swim...<span id='postcolor'>

I guess you are right, but consider this - they are stronger than you, they swim better than you, they can endure colder water for much longer time than you - but on the other hand they lick you to dead or give you rabies

[Longinius 1]

"I guess you are right, but consider this - they are stronger than you, they swim better than you, they can endure colder water for much longer time than you - but on the other hand they lick you to dead or give you rabies"

Well, they might swim better alone, but I doubt they are that good dragging 90 kg of human. They really dont swim as strong as humans either, or as fast (when dragging something).

[-TU--33ker 0]

i think the dog just keeps you up on the surface untill the rescue swimmer comes to help you.

[brgnorway 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Longinius @ Mar. 27 2003,21:50)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">"I guess you are right, but consider this - they are stronger than you, they swim better than you, they can endure colder water for much longer time than you - but on the other hand they lick you to dead or give you rabies"

Well, they might swem better alone, but I doubt they are that good dragging 90 kg of human. They really dont swim as strong as humans either, or as fast (when dragging something).<span id='postcolor'>

I think they do actually - at least if you hold on to the dog he will definately drag you through the water with ease.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">In order to perform these duties the Newfoundland - must be a large dog - large enough to bring ashore a drowning man. He must have powerful hindquarters and a lung capacity which enables him to swim for great distances. He must have the heavy coat which protects him from the icy waters. In short, he must be strong, muscular, and sound so that he may do the work for which he has become justly famous. Above all things, the Newfoundland must have intelligence, the loyalty and the sweetness which are his best known traits. He must be able and willing to help his master perform his necessary tasks at command and also have the intelligence to act on his own responsibility when his rescue work demands it. <span id='postcolor'>

http://home.golden.net/~blacknita/

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">The average height for adult dogs is 28 in. (71 cm), for adult bitches, 26 in. (66 cm). The average weight for adult dogs is 150 lb. (68 kg), for adult bitches, 120 lb. (54 kg). <span id='postcolor'>

Some pictures in this link where someone grabs hold of the dog and are dragged through water:

http://home.attbi.com/~smmarcus1/Water2002.htm

[Warin 0]

*shudders*

I keep expecting someone to post the old Hilandor/Dolphin pic

[brgnorway 0]

Sorry, I don't remember that one (the dolphin hehe) .

Found this link: Read about Jack the airdale. I had a lovely and very strong minded airdale when I grew up. I see absoluletly no problem with their bravery but obedience is not their best quality......

http://community-2.webtv.net/Hahn-50thAP-K9/K9History33/

[Supah 0]

Dont know if this has been explained but here goes. If you want to post a picture without have to upload it you need the direct url to it. This can be found by right clicking the pic and selecting Properties, in the screen you get the direct URL to the pic which you can copy paste. Then on the forum use [.img]URL[.img] If you do not have acces to hosting your self there are free image hosting services available which all suck to some degree. Hope it helped.

Edit: You need to remove the dot in the img thingies

[Longinius 1]

I am sure it works and is done, I just cant understand how and why (In the case of downed pilots)

I mean, if a pilot goes down at sea you have to bring out the chopper anyway, why not use a frogman? Why bother dropping a dog that has to swim back with the pilot?

I can see the dogs used near shores, in rivers and so on, but not really at sea.

There is also the question about the person being able / fit / present enough to actually keep the hold on the dog.

[ZIKAN 0]

Id like to tell you a story about a stray dog called 'googley' we got to know while serving in Northern Ireland.

This dog was a Springer Spaniel, he was brown and white in colour. He was named this because one of his eyes was messed up and he was blind in it, the guys would say "hey look, that dog has a googley eye!" and start laughing at this poor excuse for a dog whenever they came across him on foot patrols, he was such a mess, and had been neglected and was wondering around alone.

Gradually he started to follow the patrols wherever they went, night or day. We carried out patrols that were days long, the little bugger remained with us throughout, even if it was snowing or raining across the harsh countryside. He would get equally as muddy and wet as we did. When we had helicopter extractions, he would be picked upped by one of the soldiers and carried into the back of the helo with the rest of us. He seemed to enjoy it and was quite relaxed looking out the doorway of the helo. He would come back to base with us, and was fed and washed, and allowed to sleep next to a nice hot radiator. He became quite a personality in the area of operations. Civillians would see him with us, and it would somehow make us look less hostile to them. Many would comment on his whereabouts if he wasnt around, our usual response was that he was engaged in covert activity somewhere around our cookhouse!

He became our units adopted mandatory stray pet throughout the tour. Stray dogs seem to get attached to soldiers quite easily, it was good for our morale , and broke the tension somewhat.

Well when we left,we had to say goodbye to Googley, which was sad, we were all worried about what happen to him, he would neglected again. Fortunatley a local woman, who knew about our plight, took the dog in, and gave him a home for life, something we could never realisticly do. I believe he is living a life of luxury right now...

[Winters 1]

Just another fine example of "Mans Best Friend"

[madmedic 0]

Here is a picture of a good, "working dog"

http://photos.ar15.com/ImageGallery/IG_LoadImage.asp?iImageUnq=9722

[-TU--33ker 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Longinius @ Mar. 28 2003,10:44)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I am sure it works and is done, I just cant understand how and why (In the case of downed pilots)

I mean, if a pilot goes down at sea you have to bring out the chopper anyway, why not use a frogman? Why bother dropping a dog that has to swim back with the pilot?

I can see the dogs used near shores, in rivers and so on, but not really at sea.

There is also the question about the person being able / fit / present enough to actually keep the hold on the dog.<span id='postcolor'>

well actually the dog keeps hold on the pilot and not the other way round.

the dog would keep the faint pilot on the surface while the frogman is fastening him to the rescue rope.

sorry for bad english.

[Longinius 1]

"the dog would keep the faint pilot on the surface while the frogman is fastening him to the rescue rope."

Uhm, but the pilot is wearing a lifepreserver, he is all ready floating. To me a dog would only complicate this specific scenario, since it would get in the way when the frogman got to the pilot AND it would require a second lift by the aircrew. The first lift to get the pilot and the second lift for the dog and frogman.

[Guest]

Canine units are the worst nightmare. You can't even hide in the water from them.  They'll smell you before you are 20 m away from the shore.

[Renagade 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (denoir @ Mar. 29 2003,20:29)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Canine units are the worst nightmare. You can't even hide in the water from them.  They'll smell you before you are 20 m away from the shore. <span id='postcolor'>

well thats what u get from pooing in ur scuba suit

Guard doggy

however police dogs are somewhat different story,cops dont carry knives and a dog on ur tail is no different to another offensive weapon,suffice to say if one harrased me it would get "broken" however i have nothing against street punks with nothing better to do than bug ordinary folk getting bitten on the ass a few times.

[Guest]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Renagade @ Mar. 29 2003,20:55)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (denoir @ Mar. 29 2003,20:29)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Canine units are the worst nightmare. You can't even hide in the water from them.  They'll smell you before you are 20 m away from the shore. <span id='postcolor'>

well thats what u get from pooing in ur scuba suit <span id='postcolor'>

Oh, you bastard! I didn't really see that one coming

[-TU--33ker 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Longinius @ Mar. 29 2003,20:18)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">"the dog would keep the faint pilot on the surface while the frogman is fastening him to the rescue rope."

Uhm, but the pilot is wearing a lifepreserver, he is all ready floating. To me a dog would only complicate this specific scenario, since it would get in the way when the frogman got to the pilot AND it would require a second lift by the aircrew. The first lift to get the pilot and the second lift for the dog and frogman.<span id='postcolor'>

well i don't know... don't ask me...

i just saw this on TV.

[madmedic 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (denoir @ Mar. 29 2003,20:29)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Canine units are the worst nightmare. You can't even hide in the water from them.  They'll smell you before you are 20 m away from the shore. <span id='postcolor'>

Yes...where I live, a couple of years ago a couple of car jackers were being chased by the police.

They bailed out of the stolen car, and ran on foot (with a police K-9 in pursuit)

One of the bad guys ran out into a pond at a local golf course till he was treading water (assuming the dog would not follow him into the water)

Well...the K-9 went right in after him, and (as you can picture) the only part of the bad guy that was above water was his head....so, the dog proceded to grab the idiot by his head...and dragged him to shore

one of my co-workers treated the puncture wounds in his scalp.

[ralphwiggum 6]

i guess canine units do bring fear in ppl's mind.

one time, a few years ago, a couple of officers were invloved in a high speed chase, and the suspect bailed out and ran into a local park. the had some streams and officers were a bit faster than the backups so they decided to slow down.

one of the officer shouted, "come out with your hands up or we'll release the K9!" and his partner made a barking noise. and the suspect came out with his hand up beggin not to release the hound.    the officers later came out as guests in Jay Leno.

edit:

for a glimps of US Army canine units in Bosnia, here is a clip.

http://www.cbs.com/latenig....s.shtml

click on "Biff Henderson's Tour of Eagle Base in Bosnia"