Real Ones Are Used in Many Field Operations.
    With the exception of Great Britain in the armies of almost every European country dogs are trained to render assistance in time of war. They are to be relied upon to act as spies or messengers and render assistance to the wounded. Germany, France, Russia, Austria and Italy all have their bands of trained dogs, although it is in the first named country that they are made the most of.
    Since 1838 Prussia has employed various kinds of dogs for this purpose, including short-haired German pointers, spaniels and sheep dogs. Two dogs are appointed to each company, each being under the special care of one man, the men under the command of a sergeant, while a lieutenant has the command of the whole of the “handlers.”
    Almost the whole of the time of these men is giving up to the training of the dogs under their care. They teach them to carry dispatches and deliver cartridges to the fighting line, to search for wounded or fallen soldiers, and, when they have found them, to bark until assistance arrives.
    If they cannot attract any attention by barking they carry back the wounded man’s cap or tear off a piece of his clothing and carry it to the hospital, when the attendants return with them to the wounded soldier and convey him to the hospital.
    Another clever trick of theirs is to give an alarm at the approach of an enemy, a German being dressed up in the clothes of a foreigner for the purpose. In the early part of their education they are taken out with an old dog who thoroughy understands the work. The young dog is first of all taught to find articles, this constituting the beginning of the delivery of dispatches.
    In the French army the dogs used are barbets and Pyrennean sheep dogs. One of these last can carry 500 rifle cartidges. The barbets are good shortdistance message carriers. Last year five of these were given messages and started off simultaneouly with pigeons, cyclists and horsemen. The pigeons won and the dogs came in last.
    The Russian dogs are chiefly trained to assist the medical corps in their work and to help in the humane task of bringing aid as rapidly as possible to the wounded soldier. Big, strong dogs are selected for this purpose, St. Bernards by perference, as being the most intelligent when left to their own devices, and also the most faithful.
    Attached to the collar around their necks is a small flask containing brandy or sometimes a strong, nourishing broth. A little roll of bandages, of which the wounded may avail themselves, is also tied around their necks and the dogs are especially trained to seek out wounded men lying in out of the way places, where it is possible they may be overlooked by the regular staff attached to the medical branch of the Russian army.
    If they discover wounded men lying in ditches or behind bushes they allow them to help themselves to the brandy, and bark incessantly to attract attention and bring help. They are sometimes used to pull a small cart on which a couple of wounded men can be carried off the field of battle.
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