Posted: 4/5/2008 12:15:23 AM EDT
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The topic of DOGS has been mentioned sort of haphazardly in dealing with SHTF. There are a number of topics that must be addressed: 1: How to care for your pet. 2: What to expect in SHTF: Lots of hungry, aggressive dogs on the loose. 3: For those who are BOB'ing or GHB'ing, dogs that occupy the properties you are crossing are likely to be VERY aggressive and hostile. Any others I've missed? How do we deal with these problems (aside from the obvious which is to stock up lots of dog food). |
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Well off the top of my head 1. I have a k9 first aid kit ( from the store with a muzzle added) for when we go camping already. I have been meaning to buy a doggie pack for her to help carry her weight but haven't gotten around to it yet. After dog food is gone she'll eat scrapes and with us. 2. suppressed AR or Buckmark 3. suppressed AR or Buckmark ETA Dogs have survived with us for centuries without special considerations but the biggest one I can think of in today's world is to make sure your dog is well trained and listens to you. If you dog doesn't listen you might as well write them off if SHTF. After that your first aid supplies will pretty much work for the the pooch as should your food. I will have to look but did Lewis and Clark make any special preps for the dog that went with them? |
being well trained is a big one i think. also pick a dog that can protect ur family. we just got a new puppy the other day. i got a belgian malinois. there used a lot for cops and the military k-9. i wanted something that would gaurd and protect my family when i am not around and still be a great family dog. i think a dog in shft is a great help. they will let u know when some one is around and help keep an eye on the place so u can rest some. also if it gets really bad u can always eat the dog
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The dogs major function is to be an alarm either home or field. Like anything else you have to get them trained for the task and use to it. I make no special preps for my dogs. Other than watching what they shouldn't eat, they'll eat table scraps when times are hard or find their own. Though I love my dogs, they are still animals and I realize sacrifices may have to be made. I will never endanger another human with or for my animals let alone my family. I will not take from my family to insure my dogs survival, however within that limit I will do everything I can to insure theirs until it is impractical to do otherwise. Tj |
In my house my dog is my best friend, I will share as much as I can to keep'em well fed, untill it hurts. She isn't an example of obiediance, but still a very valuable watch dog. |
+1 Any F/A kit meant for a human will double for a pet. May Sound cruel, but Crazy glue works as well to close a torn pad s it does when we close a cut from the garage. I've got two days rations in dry food shrink sealed for the dogs [2 labs], after that, they eat what we do not. AFA other's angry dogs go, the Buckmark is the answer. Think about it, if my family wre to die in the woods, the dogs would go on, with or without me. Quite frankly they'd most likely end up eatin me...LOL  Training is key, they gotta listen and heed ALL commands. A dog is the best alarm in the world, it'l know sumthin's a coming well before you will. |
| WE are looking to get one or two dogs. They are family, I will make sure there is enough stored good for them. But both will have to earn their keep, watchdog, keep the varmints out of th garden, play with hte kid. I would not hesitate to shoot ay animal that threatened my family though. |
| Our two dogs provide alarm service and companionship. We stock for them in our pantry just like we do for ourselves. Stocked items include, dog food, treats, shampoo, heartworm meds, flea & tick meds and rawhide chew bones. We normally have about 6 months supply of these items. After that, they'll have to get by on whatever the rest of the family is eating. |
we always buy three 40 lbs bags of food at a time, lasts about 3 months. so we do have some food put away, depending on when during our shopping cycle the shtf. two of our dogs are extremely obedient, the other i gave up on long ago. |
| We have two Rotties, the second was a Katrina rescue from MS. My wife and I have had some serious discussions and unless our house is in danger of burning up we are NOT leaving. Shelter in place, on our court of 20 houses all but one family is SOL, most the rest will be be fodder for the thugs. |
Be careful with the malinois. They generally do not make good family dogs. High strung and strong drive. Tend to be a one person dog |
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My understanding is that a great number of feral domestic dogs starve to death unless they are able to scavenge sufficient food from handouts / roadkill / garbage cans. Hunting seems to be largely a learned skill in domesticated breeds, at least. If the dog wasn't trained (by humans, or another dog) to hunt, it probably won't. Not a hard and fast rule, but probably a fair guideline - at least in the short term. What does this mean RE the OP? 1. Teach YOUR dogs to hunt. This way it can at least have a fighting chance at feeding itself, and depending on local small game might even help feed you. 2. There will certainly be lots of hungry dogs on the loose, and some of them will be very aggressive. But I expect the bulk of them, at least early on, will be looking for someone to feed them. If you're well setup, it might be worthwhile to put together a pack and teach them to hunt for you. There's no better protection against a pack of mean, hungry dogs than a pack of loyal, well-fed dogs. And there's a lot to be said for the companionship. LG. |
the above is my understanding as well. i read an article a while back that said feral domestic dogs do more harm to live stock than wild dogs do. mainly for the reason that the feral domestics will often take down an animal, but not kill it, just wound it, maimed to the point that it's going to die, but no time soon. whereas the wild dog will kill animal and eat it. here recently a pack of feral domestic dogs killed an old woman out in the country when she walked to her mail box. it took a neighbor w/ a pistol to get finally get the dogs off of the old woman. another neighbor who was driving by, had tried to kick and beat the dogs off, but ended up being attacked and bitten himself. another reason to have a gun in your car, especially if you live in the country. |
the above is my understanding as well. i read an article a while back that said feral domestic dogs do more harm to live stock than wild dogs do. mainly for the reason that the feral domestics will often take down an animal, but not kill it, just wound it, maimed to the point that it's going to die, but no time soon. whereas the wild dog will kill animal and eat it. here recently a pack of feral domestic dogs killed an old woman out in the country when she walked to her mail box. it took a neighbor w/ a pistol to get finally get the dogs off of the old woman. another neighbor who was driving by, had tried to kick and beat the dogs off, but ended up being attacked and bitten himself. another reason to have a gun in your car, especially if you live in the country.[/quote Having had the misfortune to have to kill an agressive dog with a handgun, let me mention this: Big, aggressive dogs are very hard to kill. I would want a centerfire rifle with me at all times if feral dogs were around in packs. |