{"id":2481,"date":"2019-08-18T06:53:29","date_gmt":"2019-08-18T04:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/?p=2481"},"modified":"2021-10-17T19:49:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-17T17:49:17","slug":"amazing-roles-dogs-played-during-ww1-part-1-dogs-in-trenches-and-ratter-dogs-via-patfurstenberg-dogs-war-trenches-ratters-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/amazing-roles-dogs-played-during-ww1-part-1-dogs-in-trenches-and-ratter-dogs-via-patfurstenberg-dogs-war-trenches-ratters-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazing Roles Dogs Played During WW1, part 1, Dogs in Trenches and Ratter Dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although still informal, dogs helped a great deal during the Great War, WW1, especially in the trenches, and as ratter dogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

“War is hell”, said Union Army General Sherman referring to the Civil War, but he could have just as well referred to the Great War, a war of trenches, these narrow vertical graves that, ironically, are traced back to the Civil War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WW1,
A war pup and his soldier friend<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stuck in them for weeks at a time, dealing with cold, wet feet, disease, “mustard gas” (a poisonous gas), dead bodies; trapped between bayonets and deadly bullets from “no man’s land”, soldiers had little to hope for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon enough, the military dogs that accompanied some regiments proved that were able not only to lift the soldier’s moral, but to save lives at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dogs in trenches during the Great War<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During one night in the French front trenches all the dogs present became suddenly uneasy. They were growling and were extremely agitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The soldiers knew their army dogs and their\nbody language so they telephoned the main entrenchment for reinforcement. Less\nthan half an hour after support arrived, the Germans attacked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did the dogs knew? Have they heard the Germans preparing for an attack in their trenches?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dogs can hear a wider frequency noises than humans.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When humans hear noises in the sound wave range of 64\u201323,000 Hz (bass to high pitched), dogs can hear in the range 67\u201345,000 Hz (a much wider frequency).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added to this there is the loudness of the\nsound, measured in decibels and dogs can hear sounds so quiet (at 5-15 dB) that\nhuman can\u2019t perceive them (a whisper measures at 20 dB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dogs
Captain with dog in trenches 1914<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What about the dog\u2019s ability to smell?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Have they discerned a sudden increase in gun powder scent rising from the German trenches or a sudden increase in body odor due to a combination of excitement\/fear ahead of an attack and added number of soldiers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dog\u2019s nose is so sensitive that even scientists struggle to quantify it. It is estimated that a dog can smell between 1 000 to 100 000 times better than a human plus dogs can smell each component in an odor. In proportion to its size, a dog\u2019s brain has an area dedicate to smell analysis that is four times bigger than that of the human\u2019s brain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ratter dogs during WW1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We need to keep in mind that WW1 was a war fought in the trenches. Soldiers lived there for many weeks at a time, facilities were nearby, food was available, wounded or dead corpses were sometimes at close quarters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dogs
A Scottish Regiment and their Ratter Dog in the trenches of WW1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rats were a daily reality of WW1. Small dogs were therefor kept in the trenches as \u201cratters\u201d. Soldiers living in trenches encountered millions of pests during war including rats They fed on rotting food because there was no proper way of getting rid of rubbish in trenches A terrier dog shows off its catch after a 15 minute rat hunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Soldiers
Soldiers living in trenches encountered millions of pests during war including rats They fed on rotting food because there was no proper way of getting rid of rubbish in trenches A terrier dog shows off its catch after a 15 minute rat hunt -source BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We saw why dogs were so indispensable during the war, as well as some of the incredible tasks they had performed during WW1 in the trenches and not only as ratter dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come back to find out more about World War 1 dog: scouts, sentries, Red Cross, messenger<\/a>, mascots, sled and pulling dogs<\/a>, enjoy some WW1 true stories about dogs<\/a>, as well as the incredible and cute World War 2 dogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of my books are about dogs at war:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joyful Trouble is a book for all ages.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Joyful<\/a>
Joyful Trouble, Based on the True Story of a Dog Enlisted in the Royal Navy – World War 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Silent Heroes<\/a> is adult fiction about the war in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Silent<\/a>
Silent Heroes, When Love and Values Are Worth Fighting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although still informal, dogs helped a great deal during the Great War, WW1, especially in the trenches, and as ratter dogs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1328,1808,1334,1329,1571],"tags":[401,1559,1506,1561,1560,1558,1553,1445],"class_list":["post-2481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dogs","category-history","category-mwd-military-working-dogs","category-pets","category-ww1","tag-dogs","tag-great-war","tag-history","tag-ratter-dog","tag-soldier-life","tag-trenches","tag-war-dogs","tag-ww1"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/war-pup.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2488,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/amazing-roles-dogs-ww1-scouts-sentries-ambulance-messenger\/","url_meta":{"origin":2481,"position":0},"title":"Amazing Roles Dogs Played during WW1, part 2: Scouts, Sentries, Ambulance and Messenger Dogs","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"20\/08\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Prepare to be amazed by the scouts, sentries, ambulance and messenger dogs of WW1. During the Great War the military dogs first trained by military Scotsman Lt Col Edwin Hautenville Richardson proved invaluable as trench dogs. Other dogs of smaller size, did an amazing job as ratters. Dogs used as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Amazing roles of dogs played during WW1. 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No matter their size or breed, dogs found a place in the hearts of the troops, saving a great deal of lives in between. 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How were they different and, mostly, what were they pulling? Dogs PULLING wheeled machine guns Before the Great War, in some European countries such as Belgium and Netherlands, strong dogs were used to pull the milk carts. Before\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Amazing roles dogs played during WW1, part 3: sled dogs and pulling dogs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/poilus-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/poilus-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/poilus-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/poilus-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2468,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/why-were-dogs-indispensable-in-warfare-how-dog-training-began-pat-furstenberg\/","url_meta":{"origin":2481,"position":4},"title":"Why Dogs Were so Indispensable During Warfare, How Dog Training Began","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"13\/08\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever wondered how dog training began? It was 1895 when Lt Col Edwin Hautenville Richardson, a Scot military man, noticed a German man buying a sheepdog from a shepherd.On engaging the two, Richardson learns that the German army was buying British collies to train and use in their own military\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Why were dogs so indispensable during warfare AND how dog training began","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/helpful-dog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/helpful-dog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/helpful-dog.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2753,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/british-dogs-ww2-amazing-cute-incredible\/","url_meta":{"origin":2481,"position":5},"title":"British Dogs of WW2, the Amazing, the Cute and the Incredible","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"20\/09\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Training dogs to be used in the military has been a slow start for the Allies during WW2, with Germany secretly taking the lead. Perhaps the one quality that was often taken for granted and all canines possessed was their ability to empathize with humans, the millennial bond between man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"US Marine Private John Drugan and his war dog, Okinawa, Japan, May 1945 ww2dbase","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/US-Marine-Private-John-Drugan-and-his-war-dog-Okinawa-Japan-May-1945-ww2dbase-e1773808164189.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Kh37-E1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2481"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17813,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2481\/revisions\/17813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}