Bonding Between Military Men and Canines

 

Among 8.1 billion people there are a courageous lot who choose to sacrifice a major part of their life to serve their country. For many, however, the battle doesn’t stop once they get off the field, it plagues their mind for years and years to come. While a good way of reducing the effects of the mentioned plague i.e., the severe stress that one experiences at any stage of their military experience, is through therapy. An even better all-rounder factor, often overlooked that can prevent as well as reduce the effect is the companionship of a canine.

While it is true that the relationship between military men and their canine companions is overlooked, it certainly isn’t a fresh topic, as this relationship has existed since the time dogs were introduced in the military, which dates back to the late 19th century when the French started training dogs for rescue operations, communications, and transportation. This training officially brought dogs into thein the military as seen in the First World War. The most important role of these dogs was not military service, but rather the companionship and solace that they offered. The training of the dogs simultaneously generated a bond between the trainer and the dog and, similarly, a bond developed between military units and the dog they were assigned. The perils of war had a drastic emotional impact and animals like horses, birds, and most commonly, dogs helped the soldiers to survive this emotional conflict.

Why a soldier-animal bond and why not a soldier-soldier bond? The answer to that sadly lies in the reluctance to form a close bond with other recruits due to a lingering belief of hypermasculinity, the belief that an emotionless state promotes hardiness, survivability. It brings a sense of dominance over the enemy.  On top of that is a prevalent fear of loss of military comrades and the guilt that follows. Even though unit cohesion drills are a major part of the training regime, the idea of hypermasculinity and the truth of war is like a flashing light which is very hard to ignore. A deep bond is still a necessity for warmth and emotional healing, this makes canines all the more important.

The healing powers of a deep, loving, and trusting bond transcend any form of clinically practiced therapy. It has proved to be effective at every stage of life as well. This bond is usually between humans, but recent studies prove that a bond between a pet and a human is equally as powerful as any bond between humans. In a military setting, this bond is seen at its peak due to its sheer effectiveness.

Interacting with military dogs has been found to lower the physiological response to stress that the body experiences 50%  while increasing self-reliance, motivation, social behavior and decreasing hostile and aggressive behavior. Dogs also act as the cheat code to display empathy, love and affection, and emotions without being called soft or berated by other recruits. Dogs are surprisingly therapeutic for military personnel as well as veterans.

Sometimes the impact of war is just too much of an emotional shock. With or without the privilege of a canine companion, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or severe forms of disorders like borderline personality disorder are unfortunately common among war veterans. They seldom go out, and are cramped up in their homes. Those who try to receive help approach veteran helplines only to find a long waiting list. Many veterans do not get help for their conditions throughout their entire life due to these reasons. A solution to this – dogs! Animal assisted therapy is an excellent option in cases like this where one doesn’t go outside due to the fear of getting a traumatic flashback. There are specifically assigned therapy dogs that help to slowly desensitize veterans and help them lead a normal life again.

A lot of soldiers who are deployed for longer periods of time have a family eagerly waiting for them. Amidst all the worries of daily living, they wait patiently. However, the result of waiting a long time may strain relationships, and the result of the patience may not always be fruitful as returning soldiers often display more aggression which may cause the partner to feel more resentment. A pet who the family considers as an integral part of them, may prevent this straining of relationships. Veterans have reported social and mental well-being after being greeted by their furry friend, or family in this case. This is because interacting with a dog helps them maintain social contact and reduces any form of aggression or hostile tendencies.

Military or not, dogs and other animals are game changers across various fields unbeknownst to even themselves. The unconditional and pure love dogs show to their companion fill the air with warmth and fuzziness. A pet’s love should be greatly appreciated for it may help you in countless ways.

 

References

LaFollette MR, Rodriguez KE, Ogata N and O'Haire ME (2019) Military Veterans and Their PTSD Service Dogs: Associations Between Training Methods, PTSD Severity, Dog Behavior, and the Human-Animal Bond. Front. Vet. Sci. 6:23. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00023

 

Carper, T.L., Bartone, A.S., Petty, F.C. (2016). Animal Companions and Military Veterans: How Dogs Can Help America’s Heroes. In: Blazina, C., Kogan, L. (eds) Men and Their Dogs. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30097-9_10

 

Bradshaw-Scott, T. K. (2016). Stress reduction and attachment in military veterans: Benefits of the veteran-canine bond (Doctoral dissertation, Alliant International University).

 

De Leon-Muniz, A. (2023). The Human-Canine Bond: Levels of Stress Among Military Spouses During Deployments (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).

 

About the Author

From writing short stories to making strides in order to complete novels, the sky is the limit for Ajinkya Choughule. He has always been out of the box, thinking of unique and controversial things to write about and showing his creative side the best in the process, to himself and now the public.