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Did you know that Great Pyrenees had their historical place in war?
According to The United States War Dogs Association, Inc. dogs were used in World War I and World War II by the French as messengers, ambulance work, and to carry artillery (and contraband) through the mountains between France and Spain. Chaz (2013) writes that the French had 250 dogs for use at the beginning of World War I which were trained in a special training facilities.
Several special war training facilities were noted in this article including a central training facility which was in France at Etaples. This facility was situated behind the front lines and was divided into sections which included about 48 dogs and 16 soldiers. From these sections one soldier and three dogs were sent up to the front line for duty. Another French army war-dog training facility was set up in Satory, then later in 1917 a British war-dog school was established.
By 1918 it's estimated that France, along with Belgian and Britain, employed about 20,000 dogs. There were many breeds used including large breeds such as Newfoundlands and Great Pyrenees and some small terrier breeds trained to hunt and kill rodents in the trenches.
Another article indicates that the Great Pyrenees breed, along with other French breeds, was decimated by both the wars. A French fancier, Monsieur Senac-Lagrange, combined the remnants of two clubs to form the Reunion des Amateurs des Chiens Pyrenees (RACP) in 1923 which was largely credited to have restored the breed post war. The articles in their entirety are below:
Chaz, (2013). War Dogs of the First World War (WWI, First Great European War), 1914-1918
Great Pyrenees
The United States War Dogs Association
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