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1st Military Working Dog Regiment (1 MWD Regt) are a completely different breed (Excuse the pun), and as a non-
dog enthusiast it was always going to be quite a different experience to what I was used to at a Regular Infantry Unit.
The sole provider of MWD capability to Fd Army and 3 CDO Bde, 1 MWD Regt, based in North Luffenham in Rutland, are made up primarily of RAVC Dog Handlers, Dog Trainers, Veterinary Technicians and Veterinary Officers.
1 MWD Regt is my second assignment since transferring across to the RAPTC in 2022, my first assignment being in London District with the Guards at Wellington Barracks.
The last 6 months have been a real eye opener watching and learning how the MWDs operate, watching how they support wider Defence whilst working tirelessly to maintain very high expectations and standards where the dogs are concerned.
It was quite apparent here that the main priority within the Regt are the working dogs, which meant I had to put a Physical Training Programme (PTP) together that suited both dogs and their handlers, which was a very different challenge to what I was expecting.
Nailing down the basics and making sure the Regt was compliant in all areas was the first task and trying to put a PTP in place that would work around this very busy Regt.
With no prior dog experience or knowledge on what the role of the MWDs was, I wanted to learn as much as I could about how they operate and wanted to
1ST MILITARY WORKING DOGS
SSgt (SSI) C Lawrence RAPTC
get involved with the Regt’s day-to-day business and learn as much as I could about the different types of working dogs and what their roles were.
I quickly got to grips with the term ‘Loose Dog’ on my first ever Dog PT session, when a 45Kg German Shepherd managed to slip its collar, get loose and was heading right towards me bearing a mouth full of sharp teeth at speed. The instructions I had been given were “Stand Still” of which I was more than happy to do. Luckily it was only a Search Dog, and I definitely wasn’t carrying any explosives, so got off lightly. It was a great ice-breaker and a nice way to settle me into the Regt.
One of the highlights for me was being able to host the AMS Inter Corps Cross Country event which brought over 180 runners together for an 8km multi-terrain route that saw some of the runners achieve excellent times. Another was participating in an Army Masters Football OSV to Australia – a great experience.
It’s been a really good experience so far and I aim to keep developing and sharing best practice whilst absorbing all the knowledge I can about MWDs and what they do in an effort to increase operational output of MWD handlers and support staff through physical training and development.
SSgt Lawrence – 1 Military Working Dogs
SSgt Lawrence conducting fieldcraft lessons
Army Masters Football OSV to Australia