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.”
People wondered about the purpose of these 6 things and got unexpected answers
If you’re unsure, look it up on Google, or even better, ask around in the online community for the solution. These days, knowledge is at our fingertips because to the digital age we live in, which not only makes it possible for us to study a vast amount of fresh information but also connects us to other people who have interests in common.
Six individuals approached the Internet users and requested their assistance in identifying the objects they had discovered. They received their responses quickly, as was to be expected.
1. Is it trash or is there more to it?
While rummaging through the junk drawer, someone noticed something that caught his eye. This individual called the object a “scoopy doodad” and was curious to find out what it was or if it was just a piece of junk. He described it as being very heavy, unmarked, and having a very little hole on top.
The online community claims that the original Sunbeam Mixmaster included a juicer attachment, which included a bowl that attached to the mixer’s top and an odd-looking item that served as the spout through which the juice would flow. The purpose of the wire portion that is holding the little strainer is to remove the pulp.
A vintage cabinet discovered
Someone opened an old cabinet and discovered an odd device made entirely of glass with tiny holes running the length of it. They were curious to find out more, and fortunately, other users of the internet were there to inform them of their discovery.
This item turned out to be a flower frog that was used to support a vase of flowers. Have you ever witnessed anything like before?
3. A bulky glass item
Someone found a heavy glass object and asked Redditors to help him identify it. It was unmarked when it arrived, and the top had a very little hole. The people on this site knew the solution, as usual.
Perhaps you were surprised to learn that this thing was actually an oil candle.
4. An enigmatic item discovered in a bedroom drawer
A curious thing was found inside the bed drawer, leaving one Reddit member perplexed. Although the bottom seemed to be composed of soft leather or suede, they were unsure of its possible identity.
It was revealed by a user who was knowledgeable about the item’s nature that this is a nail buffer. It’s something I never would have anticipated.
5. What’s concealed beneath the flooring?
One Reddit member was having trouble identifying a silver-colored device that looked like an old-fashioned scissor. They claimed to have discovered the strange object beneath the floorboards of a house built in the 1800s.
Despite its peculiar appearance, it was discovered that this item, which was used to peel the tops off soft-boiled eggs, was widely utilized and a fixture in many homes in the past.
6. An odd discovery in a motel room
A visitor observed something in a hotel room that intrigued him enough to inquire about it with Reddit users. They couldn’t help but wonder why their bedside table had a vertical slot inside of it.
As usual, Redditors were quick to respond to this person, letting them know that a tablet or laptop may be stored in this position.
Were you aware of what these things were?
Please use Facebook to SHARE this post with your loved ones.
Leave a Reply