Management of War Dog School -77 



training ground is, that it should be within reach of vil- 

 lages, and of roads along which heavy traffic may be 

 expected, as the messenger dog has to meet all thes 

 ditions at the Front. The villages present the g] I • 

 temptation to the dogs on account of the ash-heaps, I 

 shops and also the allurement of pleasant chats with local 

 canine busybodies, who thoroughly delight in holding up 

 a messenger dog, which may be conscientiously endeavour- 

 ing to do its duty. The difficulty of the villag at the 

 front was one, which had to be taken seriously into con- 

 sideration, and it would be better in future to face this 

 situation in a more practical manner. In France, th< re 

 were such large numbers of stray dogs in the devastaf 

 areas, that their presence was sometimes a serious menace 

 to the successful working of the messenger dogs. In order 

 to remedy this state of affairs, large numbers of these <!■ 

 were ordered to be destroyed by the G.O.C. in the various 

 districts. This order was, from many points of view, con- 

 sidered a stern necessity at the time, but was a pity, as if 

 it had been realized at first, how valuable the services <>f 

 dogs would become to the Army, and how unequal would 

 be the available supply to the demand, every one of th< 

 dogs would have been of use in some form or other, 

 either to the British or the French Army. It should, 

 therefore, be remembered in future, that while all d 

 should be cleared from the war area, so as to leave t he- 

 neighbourhood free for the military dogs, they should n< t 

 be destroyed, but should be sent to the training 1 

 there to be adapted to the needs of the Army. 



While under training, the messenger dogs must be run 

 as much as possible through the villages, and it i- 

 plan to station a man in the village street, to see the d 

 pass through, and to note the behaviour of each one under 



