On a list I'm on a trainer who calls himself "Captain Haggerty" said (to the effect) that "all military dogs should be trained to used gas masks."

I've only been in dogs for a short time, about 25 years, and I've never heard of a gas mask for dogs; so I called some people with vast experience in working K9's to get their take on this. One of them who must go unnamed just finished a classified study with an unnamed federal agency that has every possible implement used in the training and deployment of dogs and they didn't have any gas masks for them. Another couldn't stop laughing.

Thinking about a K-9 gas mask brought up some thoughts.

First there is a problem of getting the mask to seal around the dog's fur. Probably impossible without some sort of liquid or semi-liquid gel.

We know that dogs aren't susceptible to CN or CS gas. I've worked dogs in a pepper spray (OC) environment and know that it doesn't interfere significantly with their olfaction. Sometimes they sneeze a bit as they do from a direct application of the spray, but it doesn't affect them in the same way that it does most humans.

There is a problem with smoke agents because those are particulate in nature. They can actually stop olfaction, just as extreme conditions of dust can. But the dogs just sneeze or blow them out of their noses and go on.

Of course if the concentration of any of these is so high that oxygen is occluded there could be a problem, but a gas mask won't do anything for that problem. For that we need SCBA as worn by firefighter in smoke-filled environments.

If the mask is to protect against nuclear contaminants, the dog had better be in a lead-lined suit or the material that lands on his hair will take him out; they don't need to be inhaled to do damage. Just standing near some nuclear materials can cause death or injury from radiation sickness.

How about chemical agents? Things like mustard gas as might be seen in a military environment? Those also don't need to be inhaled, contact with the dog's skin or his pads will cause injury and possibly death.

Then there are the biologicals such as smallpox, anthrax, or botulinum. Neither of the first two affect dogs. The last might though. I guess the enemy could spray the area with the agent that causes kennel cough or parvo but I've never heard of any WMD programs developing those.

The very idea of using a gas mask seems to me to override some of the main reasons that we use K-9’s in the first place. The ability to scent, their ability to bite, their speed and agility. If the dog is wearing a mask that has filters that stop the influx of gas then the rafts and the associated gas also won't be passed, so the dog can't "sniff." If the mask makes biting possible it can't protect against the inhalation, via panting, of the materials the dog needs to be protected from. Anything you attach to the dog's head will surely cut down on his speed and agility.

But all of this being said, there may still be someone who knows something of canine gas masks or perhaps research done on the topic. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Hmmmm...
Would that be the same "Captain" Haggerty that awards himself the phony military title? :rolleyes:

And claims that he's an AKC judge on his website, but when you check it at the AKC judges site, he's only a provisional judge? :rolleyes:

And imports showlines GSD's as PPD's? And warns people to stay away from "inferior" East European lines GSD's? :rolleyes:

His website is a piece of self serving BS - he should be ashamed of himself. Could that phony bast*rd lie anymore? That wannabe has exactly *zero* credibility with anybody in dog sports that has over a room temp. IQ.

I agree with Will - I have always wondered how someone can claim to be a CAPTIAN - maybe he is talking about his fishing boat.

Haggerty is not a police dog trainer. Never was never will be.

Gas masks on dog ??? If we are going to have our dogs wear gas masks we should train them to carry and us MP5's

I actually had an arguement with that pinhead before about calling himself "Captain". It's fine to use your old rank as a title if you *retire* with the rank - which he did not. And as a retired military veteran, I find his attempt to decieve people tasteless and an insult to the men and women that have actually *earned* the title.

And Ed, we'll all seen the dogs that you bred work - they don't need MP5's! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

After a bit of searching I found a couple of websites that discuss gas masks for dogs. Here's one. http://www.factsofisrael.com/blog/archives/000601.html

But it talks about the application for pets, not working dogs.

This site http://www.angelfire.com/va/k9cop/gasmask.html

Shows a photo of a dog wearing a gas mask titled " World War II Dogs for Defense." It covered the dog's entire muzzle making it impossible for him to scent or bite.

On this site http://www.homesweethomefront.co.uk/web_pages/hshf_gas_pg.htm

This comment was made, " A dog's gas mask was provided but unfortunately dogs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes so it proved very difficult to design a universal mask for dogs. Anyway, most dogs frantically tried to get the masks off even if they did fit!" Of course any decent trainer could get a dog to wear a gas mask

PETA even gets involved. http://www.cnsnews.com/Culture/archive/200110/CUL20011016a.html

Their comment? ". . . no gas masks are currently available to fit animals."

Here's probably the definitive site on this topic. http://www.gasmasks.net/articles/dogmask/dogmask.htm

It shows many photos of a couple of gas masks for dogs. And says that "During WWII many countries developed gas masks for animals." A WWI mask used two layers of cellulose as a filter but proved ineffective by the time of WWII. "Like other WWI era gas masks, it too was obsolete by the time WWII broke out and the threat of newer and stronger chemical weapons was present. So, during the early 1940s, the task of designing a protective gas mask for dogs was undertaken by the Chemical Warfare Service. However, creating a mask that was not only serviceable during a chemical attack, but also comfortable and functional for the dog, still proved quite difficult."

Perhaps most telling is this website. http://www.gasmasklexikon.com/Page/USA-Mil-Animals.htm

There is says that " The M6 dog gas mask was declared obsolete in 1969."

Since Haggerty's dog knowledge and training techs. are about 40 years out of date, that information comes as no surprise.

There is one good point about him though - he makes me look like a slender reed compared to him in photo's! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> ( sorry, couldn't resist...and the guy has been an insulting, pompus moron to dozens of people on various boards that I've seen, so I just don't feel too guilty right about now...)

To take a SWAG, the only real benefit of a dog gas mask would be to keep the dog alive until the gas attack is over.

A quick Google search found this article:
Development of the US Army Dog Gas Mask

According to the article, the Army stopped work on the dog masks in 1969 and does not currently have any NBC protection for dogs. My guess would be that the best place for the dog during a gas attack would be in a NBC-protectant vehicle.

The article has several photos of the various types of dog gas masks. Towards the bottom of the article, there is a nice photo of a very annoyed Shepherd wearing a gas mask.

I also did a quick search on http://www.corbis.com for dog gas mask and came up with about eight photos. Most appear to be of WWI, WWII and early Cold War vintage.

1955 -- US Soldier and German Shepherd wearing gas masks during execise in Germany

1941 Toronto Scottish with dogs in gas masks

1955 Another US Soldier and German Shepherd with gas masks during a winter exercise in Germany

1916-1918 German Soldiers and German Shepherds in Gas Masks

Hi all...several years ago, I saw a video that was making the rounds in my K9 world...it "allegedly" was smuggled out of a Russian military program..it showed several dogs, mutts, shepherds, etc. doing all kinds of amazing obedience, traversing unbelievable obstacles (walking on the top of a picket fence) and it also showed a dog in a full chemical suit...it was a SCB type of suit..again, certainly not workable for any bite work/scent work, but it would protect a dog in a chemical environment...I am going to call an old friend and see if he still has the copy of the video..other than that, have never seen any type of k9 gas mask...

So when I order my gas mask for my dog <smirk>, should I order the "Doggles" as well?

http://www.rayallen.com/ramCart/cartFrame.htm?cartDetail.php?prodID=294~mainFrame

The sad thing is there is a market for this kind of stuff.

Great idea,gas masks,stops them smelling Fake Captains.
Paul