Tail pieces: how the Russian army trains dogs to search for mines and guard bases
More than 500 service dogs are currently being trained in the Russian Armed Forces. This year alone, the Russian army will receive several hundred four-legged fighters. They will have to protect particularly important military facilities and conduct mine clearance, including in the area of the special operation and in the border regions. Dogs are trained in the Moscow region at the 470th training center of the Order of the Red Star for service dog breeding of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Izvestia visited there and found out which dogs are being recruited, what a four-legged fighter should be able to do and what kind of allowance he is entitled to.
"We don't abandon our own"
A fighter with the call sign Malina came to the 470th training center for service dog breeding in order to get a new dog. In the SVO zone, he worked with the dog Flair — they were engaged in mine clearance. But over time, the dog began to lose his sense of smell and hearing: two years on the front line did not pass without a trace. Now it's time for him to take a well-deserved rest.
— Where will they send him next?
— Yes, this is my brother — we were sitting with him under shelling and shared a bed! — Malina is genuinely outraged. — They won't send you anywhere. I'll take it for myself, we don't leave our own.
The fighter is from the Far East and has already agreed to transfer the dog to the other side of the country after completing all the paperwork. Malina has a private house there — a good place for a quiet "retirement" of a Flyer.
The search for a comrade in arms
In the center, Malina chose a new partner, a dog named Rambo.
Next to him is another member of SVO — Artem. He also came to pick up a service dog.
The man walks around the enclosures and, if he likes the dog, starts playing with him to see if they are suitable for each other.
— I looked into his eyes, and at some point something clicked inside - I realized that it was him. The one who will follow me into fire and water," Artyom explained.
The center teaches not only contract sergeants, but also conscripts to work with dogs. After the service, many of them become dog handlers.
Study in any weather
Classes are held in any weather — snowfall or heavy rain is not a hindrance. At the same time, the center trains more than 500 dogs. During classes, they go through an obstacle course: they jump through rings, climb and descend stairs, practice commands and search for explosives.
— We train dogs of two specialties — mine-search and service (guard) dogs. Our students can be found throughout our vast Homeland — from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad," senior instructor of the training cycle (training service dog breeding specialists), Senior Lieutenant Kirill Vartanov, tells Izvestia.
Not all breeds are suitable for military service, he explains. The center currently trains Eastern European, Central Asian, Caucasian German and Belgian Malinois Shepherds, as well as Labradors and Russian black terriers.
Over the years, the center has trained retrievers, Giant Schnauzers, Cocker Spaniels and Anatolian Shepherds to solve highly specialized tasks.
There is a breeding nursery "Krasnaya Zvezda" at the center. Puppies are raised here, which will eventually join the ranks of army dogs. It was here that breeds such as the Diver, the Moscow Watchdog and the Russian black Terrier were bred. There are several dozen foster puppies in the enclosures now.
The "saboteur" did not pass
The territory of the center is divided into zones: aviaries are located in one part, administrative buildings are located slightly to the side. There are special dog training grounds near the forest.
One of the most spectacular exercises is to repel an attack by saboteurs on a protected object.
The fighters show the line that the dogs should guard and go into hiding. The task of the four—legged dog is to signal the approach of the saboteur by barking, and if he reaches the line shown by the dog handler, engage in a fight with the intruder.
The mentors leave, after which a "saboteur" appears in the field — it is easy to recognize him by his protective suit, which saves him from dog bites. As he approaches, the four-legged guards start barking.
Finally, the "enemy" reaches the line, and the dogs attack him — a real fight begins. An unarmed man has no chance of winning. The "saboteur" quickly realizes this and runs away.
Hot dogs get a "trophy" — a protective sleeve from the suit.
— Well done! Calm down, everything is fine, you did it! — the soldiers-instructors who arrived reassure the wards.
All the participants in the training — both the "saboteur" and the dogs — look tired. The fight lasted several minutes, but it squeezed all the strength out of the participants.
But such training does not go in vain. The acquired skills will be useful to dogs not only when encountering the enemy.
— In a military unit near Murmansk, our dog got into a duel with a bear and won — he drove the beast away, preventing him from attacking people, — says Kirill Vartanov.
Mine case
Another specialization of quadrupeds is the search for explosives. Squad commander Nikita Borisov hides a dummy explosive in a large gym. His ward, the Belgian shepherd Malinois named Mira, is doing an excellent job. She walks around the room and finds a container with "explosives" hidden in a suitcase.
After completing the tasks, the dog handlers give the dogs something delicious from a special bag attached to a belt. We ask one of them to show us what's in there — there are small pieces of sausages in it.
The dogs in the center are well fed — about 600 rubles a day. They give you dry food that has all the necessary vitamin supplements. If necessary, it is supplemented with natural products — on the recommendation of a veterinarian.
Ivan Palych
Veterinarian Mikhail Ivanov monitors the health of the four-legged animals. He has a spacious office at his disposal. On the table there is a "Treatment appointment Book" and a thick reference book "Diseases of dogs". The Central Asian shepherd dog Tina is brought to the reception.
"What's bothering you?" Mikhail asks the dog.
"There's something wrong with my stomach," her mentor answers for the beast.
After the examination, the doctor prescribes a course of treatment. They start it right away: they put five or six pills in Tina's mouth, and the dog swallows them with a sad look.
The doctor gives the soldier medicine and explains how to treat the ward.
"You'll come back for another checkup tomorrow," he tells Tina sternly.
—Absolutely,— the dog handler answers for the dog again.
The reception is over. Ilya Palych, a tabby cat, comes into the office to check if everything is in order. It's immediately clear from his appearance who's the boss here.
— This guy's intelligence is much higher than average, — Mikhail is sincerely glad to see the cat. — He's been living here for five years, and he still hasn't been eaten.
Ivan Palych, however, is not in the mood for jokes. He examines the noisy guests — it is clear that he is not particularly pleased with our visit.
The Nairobi Way
After completing the course, the dogs leave the center. Dog handlers from military units come for them.
Documents are issued for the animals, and new mentors are given a set of equipment: strict and regular collars, a muzzle, a leash, a harness and a chain. They also pass along their favorite toys.
A bulletproof vest will be issued at the unit, if necessary.
Army days begin for dogs. Many of the center's students have worked in the SVO zone and in the hot spots of the planet.
The commander of an engineering company with the call sign Rokot received three dogs at the center 10 years ago — the Belgian Shepherd Honda and the German shepherds Nairobi and Harry.
Soon they were on a business trip to Syria, where they cleared important facilities.
"Our dogs have saved a lot of people," Rokot says. — They perfectly found the most insidious mines — in plastic cases. Such ammunition cannot be detected with a mine detector.
Harry became a true legend among four-legged people after discovering five anti-tank mines in plastic cases. Honda has three such munitions on its account. And Nairobi found an improvised shell-less explosive device, made so that sappers would blow up on it.
There were some casualties: Nairobi was killed.
"I cut myself badly,— Rokot recalls. "It's hot out there." We immediately treated the wound, began to inject antibiotics, but severe suppuration began, and it only got worse.
Rokot recalls how he and his fighters searched for veterinarians and found the best in the Russian group of troops in Syria, but it was too late.
— Unfortunately, the body could not stand it, — says the company officer and then adds, — she died while performing a combat mission.
It's important for Roar. He doesn't say it, but you can feel how proud he is of Nairobi.
Most army dogs finish their service more quietly. They are usually discharged from the Armed Forces by the age of eight. But they don't leave. Many are taken in by mentors, some are placed in good hands - there are many who want to take in a military dog. Finding a friend who will be with you until the end is not so easy.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
