El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-01-16
REDGA0SS DOCS
DON 7 OVERLOOK
ANY0F WOUNDED
Report of German Red Gross
Shows Marvellous Eff
cheney Of Corps.
DOGS ARE TAUGHT
THROUGH KINDNESS

ERIIN. Germany, Jan. 16--The
records of the German Red Cross
H department shogy that so far, after
nearly FOUR months of warfare, not q
single wounded man has been over
Looked on a battlefield searched by
as9ad cross Dogs" As a result of this
the term mans best friend which
is often applied to dogs, has real SIG
nificance to the German soldler Io9es-
Many a wounded soldier, French, Ger
man and English alike, mas to thank
one of these dogs for the preservation
Of his life Had it not been that the
dog had found him and summoned as
sisJance he might have per1shed-
All Breeds Can he Taught.
IT has been shown thatgau breeds OF
dogs may be trained for this service
The majority employed by the German
Red Cross are DObermanns, German
sheperds ROttweilers, and AIredale ter
riers There are representatives OF
other canine families, however, and
not a few would be cIassed as ours
In fact some Of the mixed breeds
have distinguished themselves Tor Ih6
rapidiry with which they have learned
their business. A breed known IN Bel
GUM as the police Dog has also done
Many Red Cross dogs had been
trained bv the German army before the
war broke out. In this case training
had started when the animal was about
six months old. For about six months
after the dog has been taken in hand
he is taught no more than to obey his
master implicitly. After that his pro-
fessionaF' education begins
Since the outbreak Of the war II has
been necessary to train dogs IN a
shorter period, and IN many cases TINS
has been done with the aid Of another
dog, who in addition TO being an expert
Red Cross worker had also the quality
Of not being mislead by his apprentice
When dog is trained in this manner
= NJ
begins to understand what is expected
of him Nevertheless the schooling OF
the animal requires much attention
on the part Of the master
Kindness m Element in Training.
The dogs are trained under a sys-
tenn in which patience and kind treat
ment are the principal elements. Again
and again the master Of the dog VIII
take the animal to a man who Stimulates
being wounded or who, nowadays &C
tually is slightly wounded.
Whether or not the scent helps the
animal to find the wounded is an un-
answered question. 1t is believed that
such is the case. but in training the
dog this is not taken into considera-
lion. The dog is taught to search the
field by inspecting every bush and
ditch
The dogs are brought on the ground
by man from the Req Cross company.
who. as q rule, has from two to four OF
them on a leash When the man con-
SlderS the held SaIe Tor the dogs ne
turns them loose with an appropriate
command, and then attends to such
wounded as he can find himself.
Dogs Bring IN Reports.
After a while the dogs return to re-
port The manner IN which the ami
mails do this depends upon their own
traits. So far it has been found very
difficult to keep the dog from barking
when he has found a wounded man
and instead teach a signal that would
Indicate that ne had found one. This
is hardly needed. however.
As q rule the dog which has not found
a wounded man returns to his master
with a saunterinE gait and shows
neither excitement nor eagerness to
leave again. His action is different
when his search has Deen successful.
In that case the dog generally comes
tearing across the field, circles about
his master and runs back and forth
in the direction Of where the wounded
man has been found. The Red Cross
man then follows the dog, gives the
wounded man first aid and maRes ar
engagements for his removal to the
field dressing station or ambulance
Where the ground Is difficult and
the area to be searched small, or when
the lines OF the enemy are still too
near, the Red Cross man keeps one OF
his dogs on a long line and searches
the field in this mannerl