Did anyone see the Animal Planet piece on "The Dogs Of Peace"?

It was very interesting. It showcased a group of Afghanistan people being trained by foreign military( USA? maybe others too) how to work with GSD's and few Mal's to sniff out land mines!!Apparently the dogs are 100% accurate and are the only thing that truly detects all hidden dangers.

It showed how they have to give the dogs water to drink every 15 minutes to keep them hydrated,and have to stop in the heat of the afternoons. Also how they start and finish their training, and actual real searches and what happens after a detection. It was very cool!

They said that there have been 2 dogs lost over the past 10(I think it was 10!!??) years due to expolsions of mines,and they estimate that it will take at least 10 more years to clear the country of hidden land mines.

They mentioned that one of the most important thing in a Dog Of Peace is that the OB is perfect. They must be very calm and focused as they work, and must sit immediately upon detection and wait for a command.They showed one dog scratch in the ultra hot,dry dirt to stir up more scent,and they said that could have caused them to blow up.The dog did in fact locate at that spot, but they could have died! The narrator also said that a dog walking over a land mine calmly should not cause it to detonate, but that the scratching could have put too much pressure on the mines surface.

All and all, it was very interesting. I like to see the promotion of working dogs in the real world,and that these dogs are so critical in saving many innocent people from a horrible experience is very cool, to sat the least!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I saw about the last 1/2 of the program. I agree, it was very interesting. The conditions that those dogs must work under are unbelievable. 100 degrees by 9 AM... ground temps of 140!! It's amazing to me that I can complain about going out and tracking (for sport) when it's hot or windy or there are ants, etc....lol It really made me realize how good I have it!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Those dogs and handlers work 6 days a week in those conditions and do such an important job. Animal Planet needs to air more programs like this and less of those hokey Pet Psychic and Beverly Hills vet shows... :rolleyes:

I agree Cindy. It does seem that lately their programming has improved alot.I caught a few interesting things recently, but this segment had me riveted to the TV!!!
I thought it was interesting too that they said the muslim religion( in Afghanistan) in general does not consider dogs to be any better than a pig or other livestock, and if they handle a dog they are supposed to bathe and change their clothes afterwards!!!!!
I hope that the partnership that exhists between these working dogs and their handlers can cause some of the people to see things differently.They showed young children afraid to play with puppies at first!These dogs are going to potentially be saving the lives of those very same kids!( of course they soon warmed up to them, who can hold out on an adorable little puppy??)
I think in today's world that there should be more public awareness made of working dogs and the roles they have in helping to save lives!!!
3 cheers for a very positive and informative programm! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />