In the middle of a military base outside Mexico City, an army colonel runs what he calls a kindergarten for dogs.
In the middle of a military base outside Mexico City, an army colonel runs what he calls a kindergarten for dogs.
Puppies that one day will become rescue dogs, or sniffer dogs for drugs or explosives, get their basic training here, at Mexico’s Army and Air Force Canine Production Center. The puppies are born and spend their first four months at the facility, before being sent to military units around the country for more specialized training.
Founded in 1998, the center has in the past produced breeds such as German Shepherds and Rottweilers.
Now, it exclusively breeds Belgian Malinois — about 300 of them a year.
“It’s a very intelligent dog, it’s a dog with a lot of hardiness, very resistant to diseases,” said Col. Alejandro Camacho Ibarra, a veterinarian and the center’s director. It is the Mexican military’s only such production facility, and Camacho said it may be the largest in Latin America.
The mainly green-and-white, one-story buildings look like any others at the military camp in the State of Mexico, near Mexico City. But the difference here is in the sounds that fill the air: high-pitch barking from dozens of puppies scattered through its maternities and training camps.
Precautions here are strict because of a recent canine parvovirus outbreak that sickened some of the puppies. Visitors are disinfected with a spray, and must step into a watery solution to clean shoe soles. Only military personnel can touch the puppies. If you want to get close, you need to wear scrubs, shoe protectors and a mask, but you still cannot hold or pet the animals.
The training starts early in life, about a month after birth once the weaning process finishes. And everything is taught as a game.
“We start playing with the dog,” Camacho said. The idea is to draw them to items that trainers call “attractors” — like a ball or a rag — and puppies are challenged to catch them. “Every time it holds his prey, it’s rewarded, congratulated, and it learns to go after that prey, after that attractor,” Camacho added.
Unlike in civilian life, where puppies often get food treats, in the military the only prize for a job well done is a caress and some praise.
In one section of the camp, there’s a trail with obstacles including rocks, a tunnel, a section of empty plastic bottles to clamber over, a ladder and tires.
A soldier beckons the little dogs with a rag they must capture. The brown puppies with black snouts begin running through the trail, jumping over the rocks and crossing the obstacles. One takes the lead and the second struggles to cross over the plastic bottles, but also finishes. Both go to bite the rag the soldier holds.
“Very, very good, sons! Very good, boys,” he repeats while dragging the puppies as they maintain their grasp on the rag for several moments.
Camacho explains that the puppies are known by a number until they are three months old, when they are given a proper name. Each year, the center gives names according to a single letter of the alphabet. In 2023, that letter is “F.”
Febo, Frodo, Fósil, Forraje and Fido are some of this year’s names.
The basic training ends when the puppies are 4 months old. Then, they move to other military units to become specialists in detection of drugs or explosive, in search and rescue or in protection and security.
The current government of Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has relied heavily on the armed forces for various initiatives, from public safety to the building of airports and a tourist train line. And K-9 units have been a key element of some of the military’s activities, like the detection of drugs.
Col. Camacho said that some dogs born at the center have been trained to detect fentanyl, a synthetic opioid trafficked by Mexican cartels that has been blamed for about 70,000 overdose deaths per year in the United States.
That kind of specialized training happens elsewhere, but the colonel says it builds on his center’s basic training by using “attractor” objects but having them impregnated with the scent of what the dogs need to track, such as a drug.
Dogs retire from their military service after eight years, Camacho says.
Many of the dogs have become unsung heroes of missions in Mexico and abroad. Occasionally they become publicly known, like a German Shepherd named Proteo who was part of a rescue team sent in February to Turkey after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 40,000 people.
Proteo died during the search for survivors of the quake. A statue of him now stands at the center.
Another dog that made headlines in Mexico and abroad was a yellow Labrador retriever rescue dog named Frida. The Navy dog gained fame in the days following Mexico’s Sept. 19, 2017, earthquake that left more than 300 dead in the capital. She retired in 2019 and died in 2022.
Col. Camacho said that the dogs have a symbiotic relationship with their handlers during their working life in the military.
“The dog uses us to survive, but we also use the dog to do a job,” he said. “So it’s a coordinated work where we both get a benefit.”
Grandfather Fears Dog Wouldn’t Recognize Him After a Year Apart, but Excited Pup Rushes Towards Him, Melting Hearts with Reunion Joy.
One of the best things in life, and I recognize you will agree with me on this, is coming home to a canine bounding up to invite you after a long day at work. One of the many reasons we appreciate our canine friends a lot is the absolute, unrestrained pleasure and thrill of your existence.
Will a dog eventually forget about you after years apart? Fortunately, as evidenced by this story, they will not!
After a year of being away, a blind and deaf puppy saw her grandfather, the owner’s dad, and despite the owner’s fears of a broken bond, the puppy went into ecstatic overdrive.
Grab the tissues since after reading this story, you are going to start weeping waterfalls. Also, do not forget to share your pet stories and ideas in the comments section listed below. Thank you for your continuous assistance and we greatly appreciate all of your upvotes and follows. Without further trouble, allow’s begin with the story!
On TikTok, a sweet video clip of a man called Steve reconciling with his daughter’s dog, Bitsy, went viral. Hayden Kristal’s canine is unique since she was born deaf and blind, but Hayden did not allow that stop her from adopting the puppy when she was just 5 weeks old.
At first, they were stressed over how the puppy would certainly deal with life, but she rapidly proved they had nothing to be afraid. Hayden said, “She has been her own lady because day one. The first thing she did when I brought her residence was to make a beeline for the food dish, creep right into it and eat till she passed out.”
Five years later, she is still a stunning, vivacious canine that still enjoys hanging out with her mother, a few brother or sisters, and other family members. Bitsy and her mom were forced to live besides their relatives last year after COVID limitations were put in place to guarantee their security. As a result, the puppy and the dad would be separated for an entire year.
According to the caption, her dad was concerned that Bitsy will forget him after a year apart, but that was not the situation because the canine knew her grandpa’s embrace right away. She was licking at the man’s face while leaping up and down. Steve was as delighted to see the puppy as she was to see him, and a smile never left his face.
” As quickly as I obtained within scent range, she completely lost her mind with joy. So did I,” Steve wrote on Facebook. “Once again Bitsy proved that the abilities she has are far more impressive than the ones she’s missing. What a really incredible and fantastic soul. Perhaps you can tell from this video just how much we love each other.”
Hayley’s father spends as much time as feasible with his granddog because he loves the animal more than he could have ever pictured. He is her biggest supporter and fan, according to Hayden.
” He will inform anybody who will listen regarding what an amazing canine she is and how much he enjoys her. He does the normal grandfather things of spoiling her with treats and toys and she loves to simply hang out near him.”
Bitsy and her mother have taken several trips across the country, hiking, canoeing, riding the subway, and also skating. “Bitsy is the sweetest, friendliest, most caring, and faithful dog in the world,” Hayden said. “She is bold and sexy and she enjoys adventure!” She likewise appears to have a love of ribs and BBQ sauce.
“She’s taught me a lot regarding love, life, and swallowing whole rotisserie hens before an authority figure can wrench the bird shrapnel from your thieving hyena jaws,” she said in her Instagram article.
It is wonderful that the family can currently be back with each other. Although dogs can see and listen to, Pet Place claims that their primary sense of perception is smell. Because of this, dogs without hearing will depend on touch and smell to inform them when a person is nearby, which will create them to come to be much more connected to their human buddies than formerly. For stability and comfort, they significantly rely on predictable routines, so maintaining things like bedding and feeding bowls in the exact same area is useful.
The big query at this moment is just how much a canine can recall.
For all those years, Hachi waited for his owner at the railway terminal, but existed more to it than simply habit and loyalty?
Swifto insists that, unlike humans, canines have a unique method for keeping, processing, and recalling memories.
They possibly don’t recall all the meals they have actually had because they have bad short-term memory, which is why they maintain asking for even more food. They have an associative memory, which implies that rather than having true memories, they remember experiences based upon associations. As a result, Bitsy most likely recognized the grandpa by his voice and fragrance, which served as a reminder of who he was.
You don’t need to be worried that your dog will soon forget you. And if you come across a particular puppy because of this, there are lots of solutions offered, so put your worry aside and begin cuddling puppies! However, adopt correctly and guarantee that you can offer your dogs.
We send out Bitsy and her household our hottest desires and will keep up with their travels and joie de vivre.
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