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 MILITARY ETHICS
WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW®
“Professor Lucas has constructed a gem of a book. It is a true inno-
vation in the complex and challenging field of military ethics. His
approach is engaging and unique in that he tackles the major themes
through a process of incisive questions and comprehensive answers.
His analysis of the issues ranges from the influence of the Greeks,
just war theory, St Thomas Aquinas, and Kant through to the con-
temporary challenges of private security contractors, drones, cyber,
and robotics. This is highly recommended for field commanders,
military educators, and general readers alike.”—Jamie Cullens,
Colonel, ADF (retired) and Director, Centre for Defence Leadership
and Ethics, Australian Defence College, Canberra

“George Lucas, in Military Ethics: What Everyone Needs to Know, offers

us an excellent, compact, and highly readable account. Interest in
military ethics has exploded in recent years, and Lucas here con-
structs a masterful introduction which is both easy-to-read and
filled with helpful real-world examples. In the first part, he details
the foundations of professional military ethics, which range from
ancient custom through just war theory and into international law. In
the second, Lucas applies the established practices of military ethics
to such cutting-edge issues as: private security companies, drones,
cyber-warfare, and using military force in aid of humanitarian crises.
This is highly recommended for anyone interested in professional
military ethics.”—Brian Orend, author of The Morality of War

“With scholarly erudition and a deep understanding of the military

milieu, Professor Lucas explores the myriad ethical challenges fac-
ing soldiers and provides a clear basis for how to think about them.
This work takes on ancient issues of just war theory as well as chal-
lenges presented by emerging technologies. It should be a required
reading for all, military and civilian alike.”—Major General Robert
H. Latiff, PhD (US Air Force, retired) and Research Professor and
Director of the Intelligence and Security Research Center at George
Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia

“George Lucas has written the ideal introduction to military eth-

ics. The book is engaging, comprehensive, and deeply erudite.
From ancient sources to the battlefield frontiers of military robots
and cyber-war, Lucas ranges across different traditions and histori-
cal periods to show how we can make sense of the ethical problems
of war. Whether citizen or serviceman, the need to reflect on the
ethics of military action has never been greater. This is the perfect
guide.”—David Rodin, Co-Director and Senior Research Fellow,
Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict, University of
Oxford
 MILITARY ETHICS
WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW®

GEORGE LUCAS
FOREWORD BY
GENERAL JOHN R. ALLEN, U.S. M.C.

1
 3
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It
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in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by

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© Oxford University Press 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

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You must not circulate this work in any other form

and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lucas, George.
Military ethics / George Lucas.
pages cm.—(What everyone needs to know)
Includes index.
ISBN 978–0–19–933688–3 (pbk.: alk. paper)—ISBN 978–0–19–933689–0
(cloth: alk. paper) 1. Military ethics. I. Title.
U22.L78 2015
174’.9355—dc23
2015009184

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
 For my favorite US Marine Corps trinity

General James N. Mattis, USMC (retired)

General John R. Allen, USMC (retired)
and
Col. Arthur J. Athens, USMCR (retired), Director, Vice Admiral
James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership

Semper Fidelis!
No matter how clearly we see the citizens and the soldier
as [one and the same] man, [or] how strongly we con-
ceive of war as the business of the entire nation . . . the
business of war will always remain individual and dis-
tinct . . . [And] for as long as they practice this activity,
soldiers will think of themselves as members of a kind of
guild, in whose regulations, laws, and customs the spirit
of war is given pride of place. . . . No matter how much
one may be inclined to take the most sophisticated view
of war, it would be a serious mistake to underrate profes-
sional pride (esprit de corps) as something that may and
must be present in an army to greater or lesser degree.
Professional pride is the bond between the various natu-
ral forces that activate the military virtues; in the context
of this professional pride they crystalize more readily.

—Karl von Clausewitz, On War, 1830,

book 3, chap. 5
 CONTENTS

FOREWORD BY GENERAL JOHN R. ALLEN XV

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XIX

Introduction 1

Why Military Ethics? 1

How should we define the central terms of this book? 8

Part 1 The Moral Foundations

of the Military Profession

1. Ethics and the Profession of Arms 15

How can we talk about ethics in war, when people are killing each other
and deliberately inflicting destruction and misery on one another? 15
But once we do finally decide to go to war, isn’t the goal to win by
whatever means required? 17
Suppose we accept this hard-nosed advice: does it matter whom we
target, whom we kill, or how we kill them during combat? 19
viii Contents

But wouldn’t other soldiers who were less scrupulous or less

sentimental than the Botswanans simply have fired on the children? 20
Even if ethics has a place in war-fighting, what do we say
about soldiers who are ordered to do horrendous things?
Does military ethics apply to them? 21
If there truly is a profession of arms, does this mean there
are rules for that profession regarding when, and against whom,
to use deadly force? 23
How can we say something is ethical if it results in our own soldiers
getting killed? Were there no other ethical or professional choices
in these situations? 25
Doesn’t the resulting disagreement in this case demonstrate
that there is nothing authoritative in military ethics, that it is finally
just a matter of opinion? 26
But aren’t there other examples of unethical behavior by soldiers
that demonstrate that ethics dissolve during wartime? 28

2. Military Ethics and International Law 32

If, as the cliché goes, “All’s fair in love and war,” then how can there
be laws or rules in combat? 32
All of these laws seem to pertain to the conduct of soldiers,
but aren’t there also laws determining the behavior of their
respective state governments, as to when the government can order
its soldiers to fight? 35
What authority, if any, do such laws have, especially when some
combatants seem to ignore them without penalty? 39
What sense does it make for Shakespeare’s character to describe this
custom or tradition among rival combatants as a violation of the law
of arms? 41
But what good does it do to point to a law of war when history
is littered with violations of it? 43
So what does this unwritten law of war have to do with
the international humanitarian law, formally codified only
during the 19th and 20th centuries? 44
How did these so-called professional principles find their way
into actual international law? 45
 Contents ix

If this is all basically prudence, ordinary intuition, and common

sense, why do we need treaties and conventions? Why doesn’t
everyone simply do what is right? 47
Still, there is always collateral damage. These casualties would not
have occurred if we had not gone to war in the first place, so is it really
possible to distinguish these deaths from true atrocities? 50

3. The Ancient Origins of Military Ethics 55

Isn’t this idea of ethics and professional conduct in war

a relatively recent concept? 55
Is there any contrasting historical evidence, either of genuine regret
over war’s misery, or of a desire to guide or limit the violent
and destructive behavior of combatants in the midst of war? 58
Are there other instances in the ancient world of such discussions
of what might be termed ethical issues, or prudent professional
military practice? 61
But aren’t there other counterexamples from the same period,
from which we see that the practice of warfare is an inescapable fact
of life, and where the appeals to morality, in particular, are portrayed
as wholly irrelevant to the declaration and conduct of war? 64

4. Military Ethics and the Just War Tradition 70

What is the just war tradition? 70

Legitimate Authority 71
Just Cause 72
Right Intention 73
Why would the topic of war be considered appropriate for a Christian
theologian to discuss in the first place? 74
What gives this tradition any moral authority, especially over
non-Christians? 76
Isn’t this talk of justified war merely a form of public relations,
designed to win public support for morally and politically
questionable decisions by political leaders? 79
x Contents

Are there other historical figures besides St. Thomas who contributed
to the development of this line of thought about war? 82
Are there still other figures, besides Augustine and Aquinas, whose
teachings on justified war and its conduct are important for everyone
to consider? 87
How should we understand the relationship of this just war tradition
to military professional ethics—especially when we recognize
that not all combatants or military forces abide by these principles? 92
What are we to do when our enemies ignore or violate these just war
principles? 93

5. Military Ethics apart from Combat 100

Does military ethics apply to matters other than declaring

and waging war? 100
What are some examples of military operations or functions
that are not war? 102
Are military personnel sometimes held to a higher moral
standard than ordinary? 104
Do members of the military have a special moral obligation
to dissent and to refrain from fighting in unjust wars? 110
What responsibility do military personnel have to offer professional
advice to the leaders of their own governments regarding the moral
justification (or lack thereof) for using military force in international
relations? 113

Part 2 Ethical Challenges Facing

the Military Profession

6. The Ethics of Defense and Private Security Contracting 121

What is “defense and security contracting”? 121

Is there a difference between defense contracting and “private
military contracting”? 124
 Contents xi

Why does any military service need defense contractors?

Can’t military personnel themselves already do all the things
that they are now hiring contractors to undertake? 126
If this all works so well, what is the problem with increasing
reliance on military contracting? 130
Aren’t armed private security contractors simply mercenaries? 133
What is the principal ethical difficulty with employing private
military security contractors? 137
Is there, nonetheless, a legitimate role for armed private security
contractors to play in armed conflict? 140

7. Military Interventions for Humanitarian Relief 147

What is “humanitarian military intervention”? 147

It would seem that any war that is not strictly defensive could
be construed as a humanitarian intervention. Would Vietnam count?
Would World War II count? 151
Calls for humanitarian intervention appear in the news regularly
nowadays. Why has humanitarian intervention come to play such
a dominant role in recent international relations? 153
Who is responsible for intervening when a humanitarian
crisis threatens? 155
What is the “responsibility to protect”? 157
Can we justifiably require members of a nation’s self-defense
force to serve in HI? 161
Might we avoid these problems by instead hiring and paying
armed private security contractors to undertake these missions,
rather than continuing to rely on national military forces? 163

8. Military Ethics and Unmanned Systems 167

What are “unmanned systems”? 167

What are the ethical issues involving military uses of robotics? 169
What moral or legal problems are likely to arise from using unmanned
aerial systems (drones) to attack and kill enemy combatants? 171
xii Contents

Have such arguments convinced concerned critics that drones are

nothing to worry about? 173
Is it unfair for one side in a military conflict to possess the
seemingly vast and asymmetrical technological advantages over
its enemies and adversaries that military robotics provides? 176
Shouldn’t we worry, though, about attempts to develop a killer
robot that is fully autonomous and lethally armed? 178
What moral challenges, finally, does the advent of military robotics
present for ethics in the military profession? 181

9. Military Ethics and Cyber Warfare 189

We hear people referring to “cyberspace” all the time,

but what exactly is it? 189
How do we come to be mired in this confusion, uncertainty,
and vulnerability with regard to this cyber domain? 192
What are some of the most important ethical challenges
that arise with our growing public presence in cyberspace? 194
Is government surveillance and “big data” collection in cyberspace
really a threat to each individual’s privacy and freedom of expression? 196
We also hear a great deal these days concerning the threat
of cyberwarfare. What is this, and to what extent is there a genuine
threat of it happening? 197
But are these scenarios of cyberwarfare really plausible?
Are these fears of prominent information warfare experts
well founded? 200
Does it make any sense to talk about ethics in this kind
of unrestricted cyber conflict, even if it is not technically war? 202
Can international law (such as the law of armed conflict) really
be made to apply within the cyber domain? 204
Then how about traditional just war theory: can this offer principles
of guidance for cyberwarfare? 208
Given these criteria for cyber conflict, how do we assess the attack
on Estonia? 213
 Contentsâ•…xiii

In your assessment of Stuxnet, you omit the fact that it was used
preemptively, before any actual harm had been inflicted by Iran.
But didn’t we learn that it is wrong, according to just war doctrine,
to launch an attack before you yourself are attacked? 214
What challenges does the advent of this new form of warfare present
for ethics in the military profession? 216

EPILOGUE: RECONSIDERING ETHICS WITHIN THE

PROFESSION OF ARMS 227

ADDITIONAL EXPRESSIONS OF GRATITUDE AND RESPECT 231

INDEX 235
 FOREWORD
GENERAL JOHN R. ALLEN
US MARINE CORPS (RETIRED)1

Early on, I learned from my father, a Navy officer and veteran

of two wars, that the pervasive and persistent ingredient in
all his stories about the military and combat was the essen-
tial dimension of ethics in war. For generations, my family has
been dramatically shaped by war: my grandfather was gassed
on the western front in World War I, and my father’s destroyer
was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the North Atlantic.
My own experiences of war began in Sarajevo in 1995, and, a
decade later, intensified in Iraq and Afghanistan. In all these
transformative experiences of war and conflict, a single theme
was prominent: ethics.
War is the most demanding undertaking of humankind.
Indeed, in the perennial debate about the nature and char-
acter of war, the one unchanging aspect of the nature of war
is the centrality of humanity. In fact, war and conflict have
provided us examples of the loftiest moments of the human
endeavor, alongside examples of its most reprehensible con-
duct. The two extremes frequently exist at the same time and
in the same place, and the moral contrasts are often vivid and
horrifying. Unconstrained, the dark side of humanity can find
its worst, most repugnant expression in war. We are witness
to it now, as the so-called Islamic State heaps one unparalleled
xvi Foreword

depredation upon another, in the most graphic and repulsive

ways conceivable.
From the earliest of times, humans have sought to restrain
their baser instincts by seeking to govern them during the use
of force: limiting its destructiveness and, in particular, the cru-
elty of its effects on innocents. These limits have been codified
over time into a body of international law and professional
military conduct that seeks to guide and limit the use of force
and violence. And herein is the paradox: as we visit violence
and destruction upon the enemy in war, we must do it with a
moderation that acknowledges the necessity of its use, offering
the means of discriminating between and among the partici-
pants, and admonishing us to apply proportionality.
For any nation, but in particular for the United States,
reconciling the necessity of violence and killing in war with
our moral values has been one of the most demanding chal-
lenges we have faced as a nation, particularly as we’ve pre-
pared our young troops for the essential nature of war and the
reality of the battlefields we’ve faced throughout our history,
and certainly during more than a decade of armed conflict in
Afghanistan and Iraq. My view is that there can be no recon-
ciliation of this dichotomy without understanding and embrac-
ing a set of moral principles that guide every aspect of the life of the
warrior. These principles, these “ethical standards of the mili-
tary profession,” create an imperative—a moral redoubt and
a spiritual shock absorber—essential to the institutions that
wage war and to the men and women who carry it out.
Unchecked, human savagery in war delivers our young
troops to the edge of an abyss within which is found inde-
scribable deprivation. We have seen this savagery in al-Qaeda,
among the Taliban, and most recently in the horrendous move-
ment ISIL. These groups—these miscreants—fight from their
own set of moral principles. Their leaders and religious schol-
ars engage in tortuous justifications and rationalizations to try
to legitimize their acts of abject brutality. This creates an ever
 Foreword xvii

greater imperative for us and for our nation not only to con-
demn the falsehood of their ethics, but also to redouble our
efforts to inculcate our young military personnel with our own
moral and professional principles. This sets us above and apart
from these groups and creates for us, in battle, a clarity and
certainty that we fight from the right place and from a higher
moral plane.
Ethics, however, does not only consist in the professional
moral code that binds us in battle. It guides our everyday exis-
tence and gives us purpose and strength of character to make
the right choices in every dimension of our personal and pro-
fessional lives. Indeed, being guided by ethics in peace directly
influences our performance in battle. In his landmark book
The Anatomy of Courage, Lord Moran provides us one of the
most profound means of linking our daily ethics with our eth-
ics in battle by explaining that ethics—the choice of right over
wrong—is indeed the wellspring of one’s acts in battle:

Man’s fate in battle is worked out before war begins.

For his acts in war are dictated not by courage, nor by
fear, but by conscience, of which war is the final test. The
man whose quick conscience is the secret of his success
in battle has the same clear cut feelings about right and
wrong [even] before war makes them obvious to all. If
you know a man in peace, you know him in war. The
thing a man does practically believe—if you tell me what
that is, you tell me to a very great extent what the man is,
what the kind of thing he will do is.2

In this important book, Military Ethics: What Everyone Needs

to Know, George Lucas has, in turn, given us a comprehensive
treatment of ethics—of the ethics of the military profession,
not just in war, but in peace. It will not only contribute to our
individual efforts at ethical development, but will also find
an esteemed place among military ethicists and in our mili-
tary classrooms as well. As we emerge from thirteen years of
xviii Foreword

war and crisis, and as we confront yet another challenge in

the form of ISIL, our nation will continue to be tested. Those
serving on the front lines—our troops—will bear this test more
profoundly than the rest of us. This seminal work readies us
for that test, and Professor Lucas has done us all good service.

Mount Vernon, Virginia

July 4, 2015

Notes
1. General Allen retired from the US Marine Corps in April 2013, after
having served for two years as Commander of the International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. For the three years
prior he was Deputy Commander of the US Central Command. He is
currently serving under appointment by the US President as Special
Envoy for the Global Coalition against ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant).
2. Charles McMoran Wilson (Lord Moran), The Anatomy of Courage
(Garden City, NY: Avery Publishing Group, Inc., 1987): 160.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the following US and international

military service personnel who read drafts of this book and
commented on its suitability for both a military and a civilian
audience, as well as addressing concerns of citizens and mili-
tary personnel from other nations facing similar questions and
challenges. In particular:

Commander (JG) Andreas Bauer, German Armed Forces

Lt. Col. Iryna Bystrova, General Staff, Armed Forces of Ukraine
Squadron Ldr. Faisal Nadeem, Pakistani Air Force
Major Ejaz Nazir, Pakistan Army
Major Budi Setiawan, Indonesian Navy
Mr. Kiril Ognyanov Angelov, Bulgarian Ministry of Defense
Col. Eris Jemadi Tajudin, Turkish Army
Capt. Tomas Cayia, US Army
LCDR Victor Cunningham, US Navy
LT Paul Ortiz, US Navy
Capt. Anthony Grusich, US Marine Corps
LCDR Krysten Pelstring, US Navy
LT Daniel F. Stayton, US Navy
LCDR Mark Webb, US Navy
LCDR Michael Winters, US Navy
xx Acknowledgments

Most especially, I would like to thank my wife, Professor

Patricia J. Cook, who also teaches ethics at the Naval
Postgraduate School and (formerly) at the US Naval Academy,
for carefully reading and commenting on this manuscript. We
share a hope that it will (thanks largely to her and to my stu-
dents) prove understandable and helpful to the wonderful
young men and women whom we have been privileged to teach
over the years, as well as to interested and concerned members
of the general public who worry about war, pray for peace, and
often express heartfelt concern for the health and welfare (along
with their gratitude for the selfless service) of these same young
men and women.
 INTRODUCTION

Why Military Ethics?

In 2003, during the first year of the American-led military
intervention in Iraq, a contingent of reserve army personnel
in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison was discovered to have
engaged in numerous acts of torture and abuse of prisoners.
Torture and abuse of prisoners is widely held to be immoral
and certainly a violation of international law. These discover-
ies and others similar to them (e.g., the “enhanced interroga-
tion” of detainees at the Guantánamo Prison in Cuba) are often
cited as moral failings by US military and security personnel
that were sanctioned, if not encouraged, by top officials in the
US government. US Army Major General Anthony Taguba,
subsequently appointed to head the official investigation of
the Abu Ghraib incident, characterized it as a massive failure
of ethics, leadership, and military professionalism.1
On November 6, 2013, a high-ranking US Navy officer was
arrested for conspiring with other officers and at least one
corrupt member of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
(NCIS) for accepting cash bribes, prostitutes, and Lady Gaga
tickets, in exchange for steering classified information concern-
ing multi-million-dollar ship maintenance and reprovisioning
requirements to a private military contractor headquartered
in Singapore, nicknamed “Fat Leonard.” The contractor was
presumably successful in landing lucrative contracts in which
he and his firm grossly overcharged the Navy for these goods
and services, while key military figures charged with the
2 Introduction

oversight and accountability for these contracts turned a blind

eye.2 Ultimately, three admirals were censured and face pos-
sible criminal indictment for their alleged roles in the scandal,
including a recent superintendent of the US Naval Academy,
generating an enormous black eye for the US naval service.3
These are only isolated samples of what many inside and
outside the US military see as grave ethical crises and moral fail-
ings. From the operational, war-fighting side: torture and abuse
of prisoners, deliberate targeting and killing of civilians—for
example, by Marines in Haditha, or during a drug-fueled ram-
page in Kandahar by Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, or
by remotely piloted “drones” over the sovereign airspace of
allied nations. Even some of the wars themselves in which the
military fights, such as Iraq, are deemed to be illegal under
international law, as well as morally unjustified under what is
widely known as “just war” doctrine (discussed in c­ hapter 4).
Meanwhile, from the individual and organizational side, and
quite apart from the just or unjust conduct of warfare, military
personnel (as above) have been found to engage in corrup-
tion, sexual harassment, and assault on subordinates and new
recruits, embezzlement of travel funds, conflicts of interest,
and gross ethical violations of standing regulations. General
Taguba’s citation of failures in ethics, leadership, and military
professionalism seem to apply to these actions as well. As in
any other realm of professional practice (e.g., medicine, law,
government, or business) in which such misconduct is found
to occur, these scandals seem to point to problems in what we
might term “military ethics.”
Quite a few people, however, including some military per-
sonnel themselves, believe that the phrase “military ethics”
is either a meaningless contradiction or a wildly inconsistent
term—an “oxymoron.” How could ethics (concerning right
and wrong conduct) have anything to do with war (the use
of deadly force, ostensibly to kill large numbers of people and
destroy their property)? Persons with experience of war and
combat, in particular, wonder if there can ever be anything
 Introduction 3

ethical about the death, destruction, and widespread misery

they observe as a consequence of war, even when they them-
selves otherwise agree that military personnel are and should
be held to a very high standard of personal conduct in their
daily lives.
And yet “ethics” (however we define it) does seem to factor
into combat, into the declaring and the waging of war, as well
as into the personal lives and individual careers of military
personnel in service to their country in many nations around
the world. There are wars that seem, on balance, justifiable,
and others that seem wrong to wage. And there are ways to
go about fighting those wars that seem “right” or permissible,
and other forms of conduct during war that seem egregiously
wrong and sufficiently outrageous for us to label them “war
crimes.” And without doubt in any case, no one approves of
military personnel engaging in graft, corruption, or fraud, or
the abuse or harassment of their uniformed subordinates.
Where do we come by such “moral intuitions” about right and
wrong, both when deciding to declare war, and when choos-
ing among alternative methods to wage it? And how is it
that we hold the military personnel charged with waging our
wars—indeed, how is it that they hold themselves—accountable
for an especially high degree of moral rectitude and profes-
sionalism in their personal lives in these other respects?
Dr. David Whetham teaches military ethics at the Staff and
Command College at the UK Defense Academy in Shrivenham,
England. Recently, he described his “expeditionary” experi-
ences of being frequently asked (or “tasked,” as they say in
the military) to travel to foreign military bases and academies
throughout the world to lecture on and teach the topic of
military ethics. The demand for his services is quite high, and
the interest in ethics quite keen in the many nations of Latin
America, Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East to which
he has been invited. Sometimes he suspects, however, that
this keen interest on the part of a military’s leadership seems
phony: a feigned interest, just for show. But just as often, he
4 Introduction

reports, the concern on the part of military personnel and their

leaders to understand and improve the ethical quality of their
conduct seems genuine and urgent.4
In the United States, Professor Martin L. Cook holds the
Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Chair in Ethics at the US
Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. His elective
course in ethics and moral philosophy, the “Stockdale Course”
(also named after this famous naval war hero and Medal of
Honor recipient), is one of the most popular elective courses
at this institution. The interest in ethics, and in “military eth-
ics,” seems both genuine and intense on the part of the midca-
reer officers who are chosen to study there prior to assuming
senior positions of military command. Ethics and military eth-
ics are required courses, taught at all US federal service acad-
emies: West Point, Annapolis, the Coast Guard Academy, and
the Air Force Academy. The same is apparently true among the
many reserve officer training units scattered across US colleges
and universities nationwide. And the same is true at military
educational institutions in many other countries, ranging from
Japan, South Korea, and Australia to France, Canada, Norway,
the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
At the very same time, General Martin Dempsey (US Army),
the present chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the senior mil-
itary commander in the US Department of Defense) laments
(as did his predecessor, Admiral Michael Mullen) that “ethical
lapses” and “moral failures” among individual members of the
General Staff and senior officer corps, coupled with incidents of
sexual assault and harassment among the troops, both officers
and enlisted, constitute one of the most grave crises he faces
daily. Indeed, he ranks these “ethical failures” right alongside
the activities of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the incur-
sions of the Russian army in Ukraine, the difficulties of winding
down the war in Afghanistan, or mediating the testy dispute
between Japan and China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.5
How can it be that “ethics” is mentioned as constituting a
grave and important concern, equal in urgency to these other
 Introduction 5

ongoing and persistent military crises? And how is it that these

“ethical lapses” seem to be so frequently in the news head-
lines? Don’t the military services and their personnel pride
themselves on setting and maintaining the highest standards
of personal conduct? Don’t they likewise appear to go to great
efforts to engage in “professional ethics education” and “char-
acter development”? How does this strong organizational
push for ethics square with the widespread incidence (or pub-
lic perception) of moral failure?
Perhaps these efforts to instill and ensure widespread ethi-
cal behavior are simply not working. Or perhaps, despite
such efforts, a certain degree of moral failure is simply to be
expected among members of a large, complex, diverse orga-
nization. Perhaps we the public, and perhaps military leaders
themselves, set too high an expectation of exemplary conduct
and are accordingly humiliated when that standard is not fully
met by all members. Or perhaps we in the wider public expect
more of military personnel in this respect than we do of the
members of other occupations (e.g., politicians and business
leaders).
Whatever it is, something seems very odd, very confused,
and very wrong about this topsy-turvy picture. And it only gets
worse when we try to probe below the surface and examine the
wide range of views and contrasting understandings of what
ethics is in a military setting.
The intense public discussions that often accompany the
new release of films and cinema—such as Hurt Locker, Zero
Dark Thirty, or Lone Survivor—depicting military ethics issues
on and off the battlefield, provide an insight into just how per-
plexing, and sometimes convoluted, those public perceptions
can be. Consider the current debate about the morality of snip-
ers in the wake of the Clint Eastwood film American Sniper,
portraying the life and death of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.
Initial reactions to Kyle’s autobiography and the movie
were very positive, especially in the “American heartland”
and among military personnel, who felt their lives, views, and
6 Introduction

experiences are often overlooked by Hollywood. Then came the

negative reactions to the SEAL’s activities as portrayed there,
with critics denouncing Special Forces snipers as “cowards”
and “cold-blooded murders” rather than “American heroes.”6
Which view is correct? Kyle himself comments on the value
and moral courage of police snipers in urban settings. And there
were no such negative remarks about military snipers being
cowards when three of Kyle’s SEAL colleagues precisely shot
and killed three pirates who were holding the Maersk Alabama’s
captain, Richard Phillips, for ransom off the coast of Somalia in
2009. (The public moral debate in that case focused instead on
whether Captain Phillips himself had behaved like a hero, or
instead recklessly risked his ship’s crew against their wishes by
sailing too close to the Somali coastline in the first place.)7
On the other hand, if critics are right, and there is some-
thing distasteful or morally repugnant about human snipers
in (all?) such situations, would not that judgment carry over
to our moral evaluation of “targeted killings,” accomplished
by remotely piloted vehicles, or “drones”? How is this bet-
ter or worse, or even morally distinguishable, from killing by
sniping?
Consistency and coherence do not seem to play a large
role in these heated public debates about military ethics. Yet
somehow we all must consider carefully our views on such
matters, and link them up, in turn, with our perspectives on
graft, corruption, sexual harassment, and “proper professional
decorum” (or its absence) by military personnel off the battle-
field as well. This is a daunting task, but it is clearly something
about which all of us—both military and civilian—need to
know a great deal more than we do.
As teachers, my colleagues and I assign our midcareer
“students” to write papers on the moral dilemmas they
have faced on deployment, and on their own understanding
of ethics and military ethics that result. The results span a
wide spectrum of experiences, as well as of sophistication in
describing them. But the takeaway is invariably that, despite
 Introduction 7

a college degree that usually included one or more ethics

courses, and despite some remarkable and painful experi-
ences in combat, veterans with several years’ military experi-
ence collectively have very little in the way of a coherent or
shared view of military ethics. There is a lot that they don’t
know that they should know, and that they urgently need to
know about this topic. Indeed, there is a lot that it would help
military personnel immensely to know when going about the
performance of their duties, especially if such knowledge
replaced the highly overexposed and shopworn inspirational
speeches and training sessions that currently pass for ethics
training in the military.
It is a challenge to say what ethics means to military per-
sonnel in the different branches of military service, whether
in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain or globally.
Is there anything in common between military personnel in
India, China, Pakistan, or is there any content to the views
of ethics in a military context that would span the vast cul-
tural and situational differences of armed forces in Africa,
Latin America, and the Middle East, and link them to military
service and principles of ethical practice among the military
forces of NATO in Europe, or the United States, Canada, and
Australia, beyond the bare minimum of wearing a uniform
and carrying a rifle?
This may all seem to constitute one giant headache, or in
slightly more frank military jargon, “one big [bleeping] mess!”
But notice that if we were to change the context and ask a
similar range of questions about the core ethical values and
moral practices of, for example, doctors, lawyers, or members
of other, reasonably well-defined communities of professional
practice (clergy, journalists, educators), that would not seem
so strange or unreasonable. At the very least, we expect physi-
cians and healthcare professionals, for example, to exhibit a
vast range of cultural differences in the manner in which they
practice healthcare while still holding some things in common
(like putting the welfare of their patients first and resolving to
8 Introduction

“do no harm”). We might also expect educators the world over

to be united in their fundamental dedication to teaching vital
areas of significant knowledge to the next generation, while
refraining from abusing their power and influence, or other-
wise exploiting or abusing their students. And despite the vast
differences of cultural beliefs and practices, we might likewise
find it possible to determine when a doctor or nurse (or a way-
ward teacher) was engaging in malpractice, or deliberately
violating or forsaking the common core of shared professional
values and practices.
Could we do something similar with soldiers, sailors, and
Marines? It is our task in this book to examine such questions
in a question-and-answer format, to sort all this out, and finally
to help discern “what everyone needs to know” about military
ethics. In order to do that, it will help to take seriously the com-
monly used phrase “profession of arms” and to imagine mili-
tary service itself as a kind of profession, similar to medicine
or law or education. Just what that means, how it might work,
and particularly how ethics comes to play a central role in the
profession of arms is what we will explore together.

How should we define the central terms of this book?

A few words of caution about this project, regarding two cen-
tral terms: “ethics” and “professions.”
First, the terms “profession” and “professional” have been
widely but indiscriminately applied over the past few centu-
ries to everything from defining respectable vocations for the
offspring of a culture’s nobility, all the way to the right and
expectation of individuals to receive a salary and make their
living through the exercise of their specialized knowledge and
expertise (thus everything from auto repair to pipe fitting,
plumbing, and masonry would qualify as a profession rather
than a specialized skill).
In this book, however, I have intentionally used the terms
“profession” and “professional” in a very specific sense,
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 CHAPTER III.
Suitable Breeds. Group Three—Medium-Sized
Dogs.

As with the terrier varieties, there is a wide field for selection among
the medium-sized dogs, both sporting and non-sporting;
consequently much depends upon what the dog is intended for. If
any of the members of the household are inclined to sports afield,
then one of the many varieties of spaniels would make a suitable
house companion, for aside from being an alert watch dog, he is a
natural all round hunter and is equally good on upland game as on
water fowl. Spaniels make excellent retrievers, very good grouse and
quail dogs where the mere questing for and finding of game is
desired, but naturally the dog should be educated for the purpose.
Unlike the pointer, the setter, or the griffon, the spaniel does not
point, but finds the game and flushes it in front of the sportsman; in
view of this fact he must be trained to quest within gun range. This,
however, is easily taught the spaniel, for all of the many varieties are
intelligent animals and therefore easily educated. A spaniel makes
an excellent dog for ladies who enjoy field shooting, for the reason
that he is so much more easily handled than any of the bird dog
varieties, and peculiarly amenable to the gentler sex.
As a guardian of the home the spaniel might not strike terror to the
hearts of unwelcome intruders, like some of the terrier or other
breeds, but they are good watch dogs, quick to give the alarm upon
the approach of strangers, and besides, they are very docile and
cleanly about the premises. There may be some objection to the
long coat, on the ground that if the animal is shedding, he is prone to
leave stray hairs on rugs and furniture, but in this connection it might
be said that daily grooming will ameliorate this evil to a great extent,
for after all is said, a dog that is allowed to frequent the house even
during only a small part of the day, must be kept clean whether he is
a long or a short-haired one.
 THE COCKER SPANIEL, CHAMPION OBO II.
Of the many varieties of spaniel, the Cocker is the most popular.
They come in all colors; solid blacks, reds, creams, orange and
browns, but if of the latter color, it should be of a rich liver and not the
washed out shades which sometimes crop out in a litter. These off-
color ones should be eschewed if one wishes to conform to the
standard. Neither should the whole-colored dogs have white on
them, but a strip of this color on the chest, while objectionable,
should not disqualify. The parti-colors are also very handsome
animals. These are white and black, liver and white, orange and
white, cream and white, and roans; either blue or red.
The standard weight calls for cockers ranging from eighteen to
twenty-four pounds. Here of late it has become fashionable to breed
them down to the minimum weight, but this is almost making toys of
what was once considered one of the principal sporting breeds. If the
prospective purchaser intends to use his dog for sporting purposes
he is advised to select one from stock that will come nearer reaching
the maximum rather than the minimum weight, for the eighteen
pound cocker is entirely too small for utility purposes. As a matter of
fact, some years ago twenty-eight pounds was the standard
maximum weight of working cockers which is really more logical in a
dog that is intended for field work. At all events, it is better to have a
cocker over, than under the weight allowed by the standard, if one
expects to make use of him afield.
The cocker should be a neat-headed, wide-awake, serviceable
looking little dog, with rather large dark eyes and an intelligent
expression. He should stand on strong, well-boned, but short legs
absolutely straight in front, with well bent stifles behind. His quarters
should be muscular and powerful, especially when viewed from
behind; short in body when viewed from above, yet standing over
considerable ground. He should, in short, give one the impression of
a massive little dog, yet at the same time, he must have
considerable speed and endurance. The coat is flat or slightly wavy,
silky and very dense, with ample feather on legs and his feet should
also be well supplied with hair, but the coat should never be curly.
The stern is usually docked to a length of about two or three inches.
This should be carried just below the level of the back and when the
dog is working or animated, its action should be merry, but never
carried gaily.
The Field Spaniel may be described as a larger edition of the cocker;
longer and lower in body in proportion to his general make-up, but a
well-knit, massive dog, the males weighing from thirty-seven to forty-
five pounds, the bitches about five pounds less. The true field
spaniel is always black, though his near kin is the springer which
comes in parti-colors also. There are various strains of the springer
spaniel, as for instance the Welsh and the English, but in all
essentials they are identical. The difference between the springer
and the field spaniel is that the former is usually shorter in body and
higher on the leg. In the matter of intelligence he is fully the equal of
the cocker or the field spaniel and for field work he is probably the
most practical of the three, especially when it comes to retrieving
waterfowl.
The Clumber Spaniel is the largest of the land spaniels, the weight in
males ranging from fifty-five to sixty-five pounds, the females from
thirty-five to fifty pounds. He is a strong, sturdy, compact dog, with
profuse coat, but a smaller ear of the V-shaped variety. In color he
must always be white and lemon or white and orange, ticks on the
head or fore legs add to his beauty. He should have few, if any
markings on his body. This variety is not very numerous in this
country, though in many parts of England he is used quite regularly
as a sporting dog.
The Sussex is another variety of the large land spaniels, smaller,
however, than the Clumber, weighing from thirty-five to forty-five
pounds. In color he is a rich golden liver. In this country he is
practically unknown, but he is numbered as among the oldest of
breeds in England.
The Irish Water Spaniel scarcely comes within the province of this
book. He is a large dog, standing well up on the leg. It is said that he
is a cross between the Irish setter and the large poodle, but this may
be all conjecture. At all events he stands as high at the shoulder as
an Irish setter. In color he is liver; any white except on chest or toes,
disqualifies. His coat is a mass of short curls back to his tail which
should be entirely free from feather. On his skull he has a well-
defined top-knot; indeed, this is one of the distinguishing marks of
the breed. As a house dog he is almost too large though for wild fowl
retrieving under any and all weather conditions, he is par excellence.
 THE CHOW, LORD CHUMLEY.
Among the non-sporting medium-sized breeds, the Chow Chow
stands preeminently to the forefront. He is a Chinese breed, like the
Pekingese, and considering that he breeds very true to type, it is
possible that he is of more ancient origin than many of our much
lauded “pure breeds” of England. The chow is given credit for being
a very intelligent animal; he is a good house dog and a faithful
companion. In size he is about like the old-fashioned Spitz dog from
which the Pomeranian is descended. In color he should be either
black, red, yellow, blue, or white, but the shade should run uniform
except that the underpart of the tail and inside of thighs are
frequently of a lighter shade. He carries his tail curled over his back;
his coat should be abundant, dense, straight and somewhat coarse
in texture, with a soft, wooly undercoat. His ears are carried erect.
He has a rather peculiar sour expression and his eyes are dark and
small in all but the blues, in which a light color is permissible. One of
the distinguishing features of a chow is his tongue, which in pure
specimens is blue-black. His nose should also be black, large and
wide.
The chow became popular about a quarter of a century ago, then for
a time the interest lagged, but of late years his popularity seems to
be increasing once more. The dog is perhaps among what one might
call the high-priced varieties, but it is always possible to buy a
“waster” which will answer the same purpose for a companion as the
perfect show dog. A breeder of chows once said to me: “This breed
has all the oriental mysticism about it that one finds in everything that
comes from the Far East; they seem to know what you are thinking
about and at times, as they lie there on the rug, one imagines they
are actually going to speak and tell you what they have on their
minds. But once your friend, a chow is always your friend.”
 THE FRENCH BULLDOG, CH. GUGUSSE, JR.
The French Bulldog is another breed that has come into great
popularity during the past fifteen years, especially among the ladies.
As far as his actual usefulness is concerned, we cannot say much,
although his admirers might probably take one to task if this
statement were made in their presence. He makes a delightful
companion, smooth of coat and clean in his habits. For the house he
is probably one of the most desirable breeds among the many, even
though his real utility might be questioned. However that may be, the
dog is popular and good specimens command high prices.
In appearance the French bulldog resembles the Boston in many
respects—that is, a Boston of the heavier type and with uncut ears,
but he is more muscular and substantial in appearance. His ears
must be of the pronounced “bat” variety; his head, large, square and
broad; skull almost flat; the underjaw, like the English bulldog, is
large, powerful, and undershot, with the muzzle well laid back and
the muscles of the cheeks fully developed. The tail should be either
straight or screwed (but not curly) short, and hung low. The eyes are
wide apart set low down in the skull, as far away from the ears as
possible. Back must be short, the chest broad, the forelegs straight
and muscular and wide apart, while the hind legs should correspond
in the matter indicating strength. The French bulldog standard calls
for two weights; dogs under twenty-two pounds and those of twenty-
two pounds and not exceeding twenty-eight. The colors are any
shade of brindle, though the darker the better. The novice looking for
a good specimen, however, should be careful about the absolute
disqualifying points as for instance, other than bat ears, any
mutilation, solid black, black and white, black and tan, liver and
mouse color, eyes of different color (as they will come sometimes),
nose other than black and hare lip, which is also a fault that
frequently crops up and many unscrupulous breeders are apt to foist
such undesirable specimens upon the unsuspecting novice who
might be none the wiser.
The English Bulldog is another of the “manufactured breeds” so
grotesquely ugly that he is beautiful in the eyes of some. The bulldog
will attract attention anywhere, but as to his sphere of usefulness in
these days of his grotesque appearance, there is always room for
doubt. There was once a time when the bulldog was a shifty and
useful animal, but as he is at present bred, this quality has, to a great
extent disappeared with his “improvement,” although his admirers
will claim stoutly that he is a good watch dog and quite intelligent.
His very artificiality makes him a dog which is difficult to rear, being
susceptible to various diseases to a much greater degree than most
of the more normal breeds.
 THE BADGER BITCH BERTHA VON STROMBERG.
This breed was formerly known as the dachshund.
Everyone, even he who is only remotely interested in dogs, knows
the Badger Dog, if not under this name, at least under his old
appellation of dachshund, by which he was known up to the time of
the World War when his Teutonic origin was expediently disguised
under the name that he now bears. Owing to his length of body and
his abbreviated legs he has always been known as the original
“sausage” dog, for his length of body is several times his inches in
height, which should be, at shoulder, only from 7 1/8 to 8 1/5 inches.
The weight is divided at bench shows, as for instance, dogs under
sixteen and one-half pounds, bitches under fifteen and one-half
pounds. Middleweights from the maximum lightweight division to
twenty-two pounds. Heavyweights, dogs and bitches over twenty-two
pounds.
The badger dog, while not classified among the terriers, has the
characteristics of that family, for he goes to ground for his quarry,
and in every other way shows his terrier characteristics. On the other
hand, he is also a fairly good trailer and, like the beagle, will hunt
rabbits. As a house companion he is intelligent and cleanly; his
short, satiny coat fitting him eminently for a ladies’ dog. The breed
comes in a variety of colors: black and tan, all tan, all red, yellowish
red and spotted in various shades.

THE BEAGLE HOUND CH. IMPORTED CRUISER.

The Beagle, while not to be considered a house dog, is small and
may be kept very nicely in a small place, provided he is allowed to
run and exercise in the open every day and is given the opportunity
to hunt his favorite game—rabbits—frequently. As a keen-nosed dog
for his own sphere he has no equal, and having been bred for years
with this sole purpose in view, his intelligence is concentrated along
these lines and not toward making him an allround home companion,
but given the opportunity and the human companionship, his
intelligence may be improved to a wonderful degree. The beagle is in
every sense of the word a miniature foxhound, ranging in height from
nine to fifteen inches which is the maximum; dogs over this height
are disqualified at bench shows and beagle trials. The classification
in vogue at the present time is dogs thirteen inches and under, and
dogs over thirteen and not over fifteen inches.
The Whippet, which is a miniature English greyhound, is a neat,
cleanly dog, not perhaps a desirable companion when all essentials
of an intelligent dog are taken into consideration, but he is a trim
animal, very distinguished in appearance, and short of coat, hence
he is worth considering on this account, if for no other. At the present
time the whippet is coming into greater popularity, mainly because of
the fact that bench show clubs are giving him ample classification
and further, because as a racing dog he has gained quite a vogue in
some parts of the country.
 THE CURLY POODLE, CH. ORCHARD MINSTREL
Among the many intelligent non-sporting dogs is the Large Poodle, a
dog somewhat larger than the chow. He is in every sense of the
word a larger edition of the toy poodle, but a much more useful dog
because of his size and superior intelligence. The poodle is one of
the most readily trained dogs in existence today. As a trick dog he
has no equals and he may be broken to retrieve from land and water
with the same facility as any of the sporting retrievers or spaniels.
There are two varieties of the poodle; the corded and the curly. The
latter is the more common and also the more practical, for the
corded poodle’s coat is the most difficult of any among the canine
race, to care for. The hair on the latter hangs from the dog in long
rope-like strands, almost touching the ground and unless it is given
daily attention it is likely to become matted and soiled. The corded
poodle is covered with short curls all over his body. It is customary to
clip them about one-third; that is, the coat is left on head, neck and
front, extending well back of the shoulders while the loin, hips and
back legs are closely clipped, leaving a tuft here and there and on
the end of the docked tail. A well cared for poodle makes a unique
appearance. The breed comes in all black, all white, all blue and all
red. The colors should be solid—that is, on blacks there should be
no white and vice versa.
A breed that promised to come into popularity some years ago is the
foreign born Samoyede. Although it is not so many years ago that
this breed lived in a semi-wild state in Siberia where reclaimed
specimens were used for hunting bear, and by the natives of
Lapland, he was used for rounding up tame elk. The samoyede is
peculiarly amenable to civilization and the companionship of human
beings. Fifteen or twenty years ago the breed was seen in fairly large
numbers on the show benches of this country and England. After
that there came a lull, but of late he seems to be gaining in
popularity. In the far north he was used as a sledge dog like the
husky and other arctic breeds. The dog is long-coated and in many
respects resembles the Spitz, though he is larger than the average
of those specimens. He may not be the ideal dog to have about in
the home where there are children as he is of uncertain
temperament, but he is a rather unusual looking animal for which
reason he has gained a certain amount of notoriety.
 THE DOBERMAN PINSCHER CH. BETEL DOBERMAN.
The Doberman Pinscher, which is really a terrier possessing
characteristics of the Airedale, is another dog which, when he once
becomes fully known and appreciated for his sterling qualities, will
become a more general home favorite. He is smooth coated, prick-
eared and black and tan in color, weighing in the neighborhood of
thirty-five to forty pounds. He is very intelligent and is as easily
taught to perform the duties of an allround “varmint dog” as any
breed in existence. As a police dog he is said to be even more
readily trained than the breed which is supposed to be a specialist in
that sphere—namely the shepherd dog—until lately known as the
German or Belgian shepherd dog.
While on the subject of the latter breed, it might be said in passing,
that this dog is gaining in popularity each year. He is said to be
intelligent, in fact he is easily trained, but here also is a breed which
is somewhat uncertain in temper despite the stories to the contrary.
As a watch dog he cannot be surpassed. For those having country
estates or large enough out-door space, this dog is a very desirable
one, but it is scarcely possible to keep one of these in limited
quarters.
The same may be said of any of the larger breeds, and as this book
is devoted to the dogs that are suitable for the large towns and cities
we shall refer the aspiring fancier who is bent upon going in for the
large dogs to procure a copy of “Dogcraft,” a former work of mine
which gives the standards of all breeds, large and small.
 CHAPTER IV.
Housing Problems.

The proper housing of a dog is one of the important, if not the most
important questions in dog keeping. We are assuming that the
budding dog fancier has decided upon what breed he wants to own
and has found an individual to his liking. Perhaps the purchase has
been made and he has brought his canine acquisition home to find
that he has never given the question of housing him any thought.
Under such circumstances he is in a dilemma. His new charge is like
a white elephant on his hands. Naturally, if the dog is still a young
puppy some make-shift arrangement may be made, perhaps in
some odd corner of the house, but it must be remembered that all
puppies, aside from the fact that they are not house-broken are also
a nuisance in many other ways, for they have a special predilection
for the master’s slippers or some article of wearing apparel
belonging to the mistress of the house, and they take special delight
in tearing such things to pieces for the mere amusement of the thing
and because they must have an outlet for their excess of energy.
Another chapter will be devoted to the early training lessons, so let
us, therefore, in this chapter, take up the question of sleeping
quarters and a playground for the youngster.
Where the dog is a medium-sized one, or a toy, perhaps, it will not
be necessary to provide out-door quarters except for exercising, and
therefore, an arrangement may be made for the new dog to occupy a
place in the kitchen or basement, but it must be a place where he will
learn to go either for the night or during the day time when he wishes
a quiet nap all to himself. Personally, I am no advocate for keeping a
dog in the house night and day. It is true, many dog lovers do this
and when the breed is no larger than say, a fox terrier or even a
chow, the arrangement may be satisfactory enough, but never, under
any circumstance, allow a dog to have the run of the house at all
hours of the day or night. If you have decided to allow him to sleep in
the house, provide a box or basket large enough for the purpose. Put
this in some corner in the kitchen or even in the basement, though
unless this latter place is absolutely dry and subject to ventilation, it
is not a desirable place for sleeping quarters. In providing a sleeping
place, whether it be basket, box or bench, it should be raised several
inches above the floor. This is to obviate draughts which are sure to
prevail in cold weather, for no matter how tight a door may fit there is
always a certain amount of cold air blowing in through the crevice at
the bottom, and incidentally, this is one of the most frequent causes
for colds, catarrh or even pneumonia. If you have your doubts about
it, try sleeping upon the floor on a cold night yourself. If the dog be a
toy breed, a shallow basket provided with a pillow filled with pine of
cedar shavings, or pine needles is a most suitable bed. The pillow
should be covered with some coarse, heavy material that will not
tear easily and should be a covering that goes over the pillow proper;
the material inside whether shavings or pine needles should be
encased in another cover. The idea being that the outer covering can
be removed and washed frequently, for no matter how clean a dog
may be, the canine smell will in time permeate the cover and it must
be changed and washed at least once every two weeks if absolute
cleanliness is desired. For most of the larger breeds, a carpet or rug
will be sufficient bedding. Loose bedding, such as shavings or straw
is not to be thought of in the house.
The box or basket provided for the bed should be large enough to
permit the dog to lie at his ease. If a box is used, the better plan is to
remove one side with the exception of a small strip at the bottom to
hold the bedding in and of course, the top should also be removed.
These sleeping boxes or baskets should be put out in the sun and air
every week or so and when necessity demands, they should be
scrubbed with warm soap water, to which a few drops of Creolin-
Pierson may be added. This will keep the sleeping box clean and
obviate any possibility of vermin, for once fleas infest a place where
a dog frequents, then all thought of housing indoors must be
abandoned.
Far the better plan, however, is to provide sleeping quarters in the
garage or stable, especially for the larger breeds; in fact, all breeds
except toys. In cold weather these boxes may be closed on top and
on all sides, leaving only a small opening for entrance or exit. The
advantage of this being that such boxes can be filled with good,
clean straw in cold weather and there are very few dogs who cannot
sleep comfortably and warmly in such a bed, even when the mercury
is down close to the zero mark. Terriers, as a matter of fact, are very
hardy and will really do better in an out-building of this kind than in
the house or basement. Naturally, one must be governed according
to circumstances and if the owner of a dog has no building on the
premises, part of which may be used for his pet’s quarters he can
build a small house out of doors and provide a runway in connection.
Nearly all of the wire, or long-haired breeds will do well in these out-
door kennels the year round, provided the bedding is warm, the box
free from draughts, and a piece of carpet or burlap is tacked over the
opening in the coldest of weather. This should be arranged in such a
way that it is loose on the sides and bottom, so as to permit of easy
entrance and exit.
In building an out-door house for the dog it is well to adopt more
modern plans than the old-time “dog house” closed on top and all
sides with the exception of the door in front. This style has been in
vogue and has answered the purpose for many a high-bred dog, but
if the owner wishes to have something more elaborate he might build
a small house having a hallway or vestibule before reaching the
sleeping quarters proper. Such a house must be built double the size
of the ordinary one to allow for the extra “room.” It should also be so
constructed that it may be opened from the top, either by supplying
hinges to the roof which make it possible to raise either side, or the
roof may be so constructed that the entire top of the house can be
lifted off. This will permit of easy cleaning of the interior. It is well to
keep the interior whitewashed. A coating of this every few months
will aid very materially in keeping the place free from vermin.
When it is possible to provide a runway or small enclosure where the
dog may exercise in at any time he desires, it is far better than to
chain him. These runways can be constructed cheaply, of heavy
mesh wire. In constructing this it must be with a view of making them
high enough to prevent the dog from leaping or climbing over. A
good plan to adopt is to build the fence and then put another strip of
wire mesh a foot or eighteen inches wide horizontally from the top of
the posts, allowing this to go on the inside, thus even though the dog
is inclined to jump or climb, when he reaches the top of the fence,
this extra width of wire will prevent him from going over. Another
precaution must be taken against burrowing out. This is easily done
by digging a trench and allowing the wire to go into the ground a foot
or more, then filling this trench up with stones or brick and covering
with earth. No dog will be able to dig under such a fence.
If a dog must be chained to his kennel, as sometimes is the case, he
should be given at least two hours of freedom every day. Far the
better way is to extend a wire close to the ground, from the kennel to
a post thirty or forty feet (more if possible) from this. The post at the
far end should be driven or planted in the ground, allowing only
enough above the surface to attach the wire to, for dogs have a
faculty of getting their chains twisted about a post that might be
dangerous or even fatal to them. A ring should be put on this wire to
which the swivel of the chain may be attached. This gives the animal
a certain amount of freedom and exercise, and it will soon become
noticeable how he takes advantage of it. It is needless to say that all
kennels out of doors should be built of matched boards dove-tailed
together so as to admit no draughts, furthermore, the kennel should
be placed on a foundation or on piles several inches from the
ground. For more elaborate plans of kennels when more dogs are
kept, the reader is referred to an earlier work of mine entitled
“Practical Dog Keeping for the Amateur.”
 CHAPTER V.
Becoming Acquainted—Early Lessons.

While most any breed of dog under one year old will soon learn to
adapt himself to new friends and environment, and therefore no
stipulated time is imperative as to what age he should be, at the time
of his purchase, there is something about the wee youngsters of
eight or ten weeks old that appeals to all, and the general thing is to
obtain your puppy shortly after he is weaned.
It is true, there are some objections to this plan, principally because
a puppy of this tender age is still unbroken to the house and is also
more susceptible to the ordinary ills that beset the young life of
practically all canines, but on the other hand, there is something
particularly interesting in a wee puppy and he will, as a rule, soon
become the pet of the entire household. As for the ills, with ordinary
care, one can tide the youngster over these much more easily than
the novice may imagine. As a matter of fact, I would rather begin
with a twelve weeks old puppy and break him to cleanliness about
the house than I would a dog of one year old, for in a majority of
cases, when purchasing a puppy of the latter age, you will be told
that he is house-broken, when as a matter of fact he is not,
consequently this education must begin at a rather late age. Another
reason why the very young puppy is more satisfactory is because
there is a greater interest in watching him develop physically as well
as mentally; therefore, all things considered, I would advise selecting
your dog when he is still a mere baby; which means under three
months of age.
As for breed, that is a matter to decide according to your own
inclinations. The young of all animals are interesting, but this is
particularly so of dogs, irrespective of the breed. Even the veriest
mongrel, as a small puppy, is a most engaging creature.
Assuming that you have purchased your puppy and taken him home
and he is one of those innocent-looking balls of fluffy hair from which