Three Army dogs die after being given poisoned flea-killer by mistake Figures released last year revealed that more than 800 military dogs have been put down in the past decade, despite many of them being in good health. In 2002, the first full year of the Afghan conflict, 20 dogs were put down. The figure rose dramatically to 89 in 2003 when the Iraq war was launched. The numbers fell back before rising again to 95 in 2006, when thousands more British troops were deployed to Afghanistan. They peaked at 125 in 2009, at a time when UK forces remained in Iraq as well. While ex-sniffer dogs usually go to live with its handler's family, dogs trained to guard bases often face more problems as they not as likely to make good pets. The Ministry of Defence has issued new guidelines about the use of muzzles after a dog which had fallen ill in Afghanistan was wearing one which contributed to its death. A MOD spokeswoman said: "We take the welfare of our military working dogs very seriously. Three dogs sadly died following an incident in June at the Defence Animal Centre in Leicestershire involving suspected contaminated food. An investigation is underway and it would be inappropriate to comment further. No dogs have died in Afghanistan from heat exhaustion. New guidelines have been issued about the use of muzzles after the death of a dog which had been wearing one for a short period of time. In February this year a stray that was adopted by the British army when he was found starving outside a base in Helmand in 2010, helped save the lives of two soldiers in Afghanistan. Brin, a local mixed breed known as a Koochee Tiger, was one of six canine heroes chosen to help launch the dog show Crufts.