"The planet became two more inseparable friends": an excerpt from the book of a military dog ​​handler

If you ask me to name the three most exciting days of my service, then one of them is undoubtedly the one when each of us got a dog with which I had to serve the remaining year and a half, run hundreds of kilometers in training and go to combat tasks. The dog, which sometimes they poured out their souls, complaining about the commanders, life and everything else, and, looking into the intelligent dog's eyes, felt relief. And the four-legged friend often barked sparingly, softly and shortly in response - as if agreeing or disagreeing.

And so we go to the cells, where future combat friends, partners are waiting, and our hearts are excitedly pumping bubbling blood. Ahead are our madrichs Instructors. - Approx. ed. Alex and Rave. For the sake of these remaining couple of hundred steps, we endured endless hardships of army service for a year and a half. Finally we found ourselves in front of the cages. An exciting moment came - Alex and Rave began to introduce each soldier to his dog. It happened like this. Alex walked up to the cage, called someone's name, a soldier approached the cage, Alex gave him the name of the dog, opened the door, and together they went inside.

The soldier gave - already to his own! - pet piece of cheese and stroked it gently. Everything, the first acquaintance took place! This was followed by a very significant and touching ritual, probably not inferior in emotional intensity to the moment of painting the newlyweds. A plywood plaque bearing the dog's name was attached to the door of each cage. The soldier took a felt-tip pen and wrote his name and phone number below. From that moment on, he became responsible for his four-legged friend for the next year and a half. From now on, the planet became two more inseparable friends.

We stood watching the ritual, and everyone was interested in only one question: “When? When will Alex tell me my name? "

After meeting his dog, the soldier stayed with her while the others were introduced to their pets. He could go back to her cage or stand beside her. The grinding of two living beings, bound by a common goal, began.

Finally my name sounded! The heartbeats were like drumming. In the cage, I saw a huge dog with thick long black hair - a Dutch shepherd dog.

“Ivan,” Alex said. - This is your dog from now on. His name is Greif.

And together we stepped into the cage.

With an impressive size, Greif was an unusually calm dog. He got up, took a step towards me and... licked my hand! And then, with pleasure, which was clearly read on his big face, he ate the cheese I offered. A few minutes later I already wrote my name and phone number on the plate: Ivan Goncharenko, 054641... It is done!

Euphoria gave way to happy satisfaction, a kind of joyful calmness seized me. They say that climbers experience the same, having conquered the previously inaccessible mountain peak.

Looking ahead, I will say that in a couple of months Greif is serious hurt my paw and could no longer serve in "Okets" Special canine unit of the Israel Defense Forces. - Approx. ed. . I got another dog named Talya. Of course, I went through a great shock about this. Part with a friend, barely having time to find it! But in the end, I am happy that I have Talya - my best friend until the end of the service.

Every holiday is inevitably followed by weekdays, and they have become even harder for us. As they say, out of the fire and into the fire... After all, now, in addition to march-throws, Krav-Magi Israeli hand-to-hand combat system. - Approx. ed. and other strength tests, added classes with dogs. This is training during the day, in the evening, at night, in the fields, forests, mountains, and in addition, constant care for your four-legged pet and cleaning its cage.

What were the cynological classes? Twice a week there were discipline trainings, in which, under the leadership of Alex and Rave, we taught the dogs standard commands. It was the foundation, the basis of the interaction between man and dog, this training helped to strengthen the connection between two living things and help them understand each other.

By the way, when Alex and Rave distributed the dogs, they did it not relying on chance, but quite deliberately. When we became subordinate to them, they studied us for two weeks at cynological classes (still without dogs), trying to understand our characters in order to match everyone with a partner. At the same time they worked with our dogs, learned their character. As a result, they selected a pair in which both complemented each other, strengthened their strengths and compensated for their weaknesses.

When a year later I became a madrich, like Alex and Rave, I also tried to make pairs "man - dog" using the same principle. If the soldier is very self-assured, and the dog, on the contrary, is subject to doubts, then this is an ideal couple, where a person will lead an animal. But at the same time, a little uncertainty in the dog will be a deterrent, preventing the fighter from making the wrong decision. So it is more logical for a very self-confident, strongly pulling dog to choose a not very decisive owner. But if in a couple both are very self-confident, then a conflict of characters may arise.

Of course, we are all human and we can make mistakes when creating the alliance "man - dog". After a few weeks, this mistake becomes apparent. It is clearly visible in the joint work of the fighter and his dog. Alas, this is only in a novel about Harry potter the seller of magic wands could immediately find the perfect option for each student. We sometimes had to correct our mistakes. And select other partners who are more suitable for each other in psychotype.

During my service with these cleverest animals, I realized that their psychology is very similar to that of humans. No wonder they have been walking side by side with people for hundreds of thousands of years.

We had a dog in our unit that did not bark at all. But sometimes it was required that she give her voice: for example, if a terrorist hid in a tree, the dog should bark and warn his partner about this. And if she doesn't bark, then it becomes a problem.

Alex and Ravee did a lot, what tricks they did not go to make the animal bark! To no avail. Then the head coach of the unit was called for help (I will not mention his name here for security reasons, since he is still serving). The solution turned out to be simple, like everything brilliant. He tied the silent man in front of the overly "talkative" dog. Then the command “Voice!” Was given to that one, she burst into barking, for which she received a piece of delicacy in front of the first dog. This was repeated several times. Our quiet one was closely watching what was happening.

The benefit was obvious, and when then the coach approached the silent man and again commanded "Voice!", Then his voice suddenly cut through! Everyone wants to be rewarded for simple work. Many of us would do the same. The head coach did not use any of his secret knowledge recorded in the secret book. He was just trying to understand the logic of the dog, as if putting himself in its place. He created such a situation for the dog to understand the command. The dog before this lesson did not understand why it should bark. But as soon as she realized that casting a voice on command was beneficial, her behavior immediately changed.

Subsequently, at the courses of dog handlers-commanders, we were not given clear instructions on training, because in working with a dog it is necessary to be guided first of all by logic and common sense.

We were taught to understand dogs no worse than they are able to understand humans, and to find methods with which animals can achieve the desired result.

In addition to this, every week there were dog-to-human attacks. To do this, someone put on a special suit that the animals could not bite through, and dogs were let down on it, as they say. Sometimes in such a suit, and it was thick, heavy and hot, the guilty soldier was forced to squeeze in; in general, each of us in turn received this honor. Working as the target of an attack was very exhausting, both physically and mentally. When an angry, and even specially trained dog rushes at you, you don't feel very comfortable. The adrenaline in the blood exceeds all reasonable limits. And if instead of a suit you only put on a special sleeve, then bites quite sensitive. But then you proudly show off your hand covered with bruises and teeth marks. These lessons of the attack were two or three times a week.

The greatest emphasis was placed on pursuit training. Almost every morning or evening we went to the forests and fields for five to six hours. There we taught our pets to follow the trail of the terrorist, look for objects that he could leave in his path, and attack him. These trips were very tiring. For several hours rushing through the fields-forests, stumbling over bumps in the dark and getting branches in the face is not the most pleasant pastime. The average mileage for one such training session was ten to twelve kilometers. And so every day! Well, you have to pay for your dream!

Gradually, apparently due to the fact that every day we were in close contact with the dogs, our attitude began to change. Perhaps this is a bit similar to how a woman's habits change after the birth of a child: if earlier she was interested in studied, for example, the composition of a cocktail in a nightclub, now she is just as interested in reading the composition of a mixture of a children's nutrition. And instead of his favorite television series, he enthusiastically watches programs about raising children. And in addition, everyday responsibilities change: for example, every single day, the cells were cleaned early in the morning for half an hour, because your partner-friend must live in good conditions.

Another indispensable law of the unit is that every three hours it is necessary to inspect all the cages, to check whether everything is in order with the dogs, whether they have water, whether the bowl of food is removed. Every three hours!

If you leave the base even for five minutes, let alone go home for Shabbat, you must definitely find a soldier who will agree to look after your dog. In this case, you need to take him to the cage, show it, tell in detail how much your pet eats. If he is not exactly one hour, he is sick with something, you must explain what pills to give him and when. It is necessary to draw up and sign a document according to which you officially transfer the dog to this serviceman, otherwise you become a contender to fly from Okets. The smallest punishment is deprivation of Saturday's dismissal.

Wherever you are with your dog, be sure to have a scoop with you to collect feces. If a naval officer constantly has a dagger on his belt, then a dog handler has a plastic scoop.

With the advent of dogs in our lives, new reasons for punishment and deprivation of Saturday rest at home were added. For example, every morning the dog needed to carefully comb. We ourselves have not combed, probably since the call, but our pets are completely different.

In the mornings, Alex or Rave meticulously stroked each dog's fur, and if anything remained in the palm, the soldier would spend Shabbat at the base. Greif, my first dog, had a long fluffy coat. To comb out such a dense canopy completely was as real as flattening the desert sands to absolute smoothness. Of course, Alex always had scraps of fur in his hand. So Greif threw me a couple of nice Shabbats at home base.

In shamnash Checking the condition of weapons and equipment. - Approx. ed. we have added a lot of additional equipment - two types of combs, two types of muzzles, leashes, a vest for a dog and much more. And all this should be immaculately clean and put on a tarp for inspection. In addition to all the other gear, of course. Didn't you clean the barrel of the machine gun? Didn't you clean the comb? Goodbye Home Shabbat! A similar requirement applied to cells. Badly cleaned or some kind of malfunction - and on Saturday you hug not your mother, but your pet.

However, despite new responsibilities and difficulties, we were in high spirits. After all, now we really stand on the threshold, beyond which we will become full-fledged soldiers of the IDF elite unit. One of a kind! It is about us in the army that they say: a fighter on two legs with a fighter on four legs.

So, if you count on the legs / feet, compared to ordinary soldiers, we are three times stronger! There is a six-winged seraphim, there is an eight-armed goddess Durga in India, and there is a six-legged fighter "Okets".

Ivan Goncharenko, who was repatriated to Israel at the age of 13, wrote a fascinating and touching book about service in the Israeli army, in the special canine unit "Okets" (which means "Sting"). The author is currently working on writing the next book - about the Arabic language and the Middle East.

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