Prepping For Dog Owners

How would I outfit my dog for the end of the world?

Molly and Maynard

 Would I buy a doggy flak jacket or some stupid useless crap? Or would I be able to focus on the actual fantastic resource my dog will be to me. If I was to take my dog and set her free in the middle of the woods alone with no food or water and did the same to an average citizen with no survival skills to speak of (besides an episode here and there of naked and afraid or whatever fake survival show is popular now) and left that person in the same conditions as a dog, who would fare better after 3 days? My money is on the dog; basically what I'm saying is we would need the dog more than the dog would need us.

 Get a doggy saddlebag setup and portion the minimum amount of food per day your furry friend requires to be a useful team member. Now keep this in the back of your head, for example I have a pug and he is basically a hairy ball of attitude and Twinkies, he may not be able to carry his own food and water. But what’s a little more weight when a companion is in the mix. My second dog is a pit/pointer mix, she will carry a car if asked to do so, I have no concerns regarding her carrying her own supplies and maybe even some extra when it’s called for. Why put this much thought into have a fluffy friend along? Ask any armed service member if they had a pet overseas, when they say yes ask them how important it is to have the pet during times of extreme stress and long days. Anyway, use your dog to your advantage because that smiling wagging buddy of yours will be a priceless asset if you choose to employ your friend in the proper manner. Dogs can be trained to do anything from sit to sniff for illegal drugs with the smallest bit of discipline and training. Seeing both extremes of the amazing capability of your dog you can easily take a few simple steps to start to see what an asset your domestic pet could be, plus it gets you and your dogs some exercise and time to bond. An example of what you could do is just fill up the saddle bag and go for a walk once a week at least and have treats in the bag so eventually the dog will not only willingly put the doggy back pack on but the dog will be excited to cooperate. Get the dog acclimated to riding in the car; trust me this is key, you don’t want dog puke all over your backseat like mine did and the stains won’t come out. So keep that little guy/girl/fat pug in mind when you are buying your next prepping guidebook or wasting money on a GPS when you are prepping for a solar flare. Spend 20 bucks on a stupid doggy saddle bag and get your dogs ready for the zombie Nazi’s from the Amazon or whatever it is you are getting ready for. On a serious note, your dog will serve as a dependable sentry, companion, hunting partner, etc. and all you will have to do in return is feed, water, pet and repeat in that order.

Granted there can be risks involved with having a dog as your copilot in a survival scenario, I think if you analyze it and weigh the pros and cons of having a dog as your battle buddy you will see that having a dog is a great advantage, while there is some negatives overall it will be a wise choice. With all of that being said, when you are making your apocalypse first aid kit makes some room for your animal too, dogs can get sick just like us and it won’t take much effort to be able to provide a decent level of care for your dog. Just do a simple search of common dog ailments and see if there is a particular cure or method to heal the ailing dog, if you wanted to go a step further; next time you speak with your dog’s vet ask questions about your dog’s health, now don’t run in there talking about zombies or the collapse of the American dream because most likely you will be tossed out and probably visited by the police. But seriously just be a genuine concerned dog owner and just mention things like camping and hiking not prepping or end of days, you want to be taken seriously. So based on the answers you receive from this vet will decide if you are able to provide the care needed to have your furry friend be happy and healthy.

Harnessing your dog’s natural prey drive

Molly! Stop rolling in turkey shit for the love of god! That phrase unfortunately is yelled by me far too much in my life, what I tend to overlook is the purpose behind her foul smelling habit, I sometimes chalk it up to her being a sicko and find myself cursing her for some time after. The real purpose behind this something she can’t help, it’s her natural prey drive. Smelling like turkey shit is a horrible thing but the reason that my dog does this is by instinct, she does this to better adapt to become less noticeable to her soon to be prey , the turkey. Covering herself in that pile of turds is her version of a ghillie suit. She will no longer be considered a threat enough for the turkeys to run and attempt to fly away. Granted this is completely useless information in a non-survival scenario but play along there is a point to this. Say you are in a survival situation for an extended period of time and food is running low and it is the end of autumn, That bird could mean you having a nice warm meal and some feathers to use as stuffing for added heat form the cold ground. Your dog in this scenario could be of great use to you while you are searching for your next meal in time of need. If you see your dog out in the woods rolling in crap chances are you are near the trail of an animal so depending on the level of training you have given your dog you could be eating some turkey in no time. Your dog is a natural hunter and will lead you to dinner most times, just do simple things to evaluate your dog’s level of prey drive in everyday life to see the habits and traits your dog possesses, if your dog eats its own poop and just is a sick bastard, chances are you probably don’t want to hire him as your tracker. I know I don’t want to resort to becoming a 5’ 7” walking pile of turkey poo so I’ll leave that part to the dog. This may sound dumb to some of you but also keep in mind of your dog’s dietary needs and what foods are not good for them to eat. No one likes a dog with Armageddon farts in a tent. Onions, grapes, chocolate are just a few of the things to avoid giving your dog.

I would love to have some additional tips submitted in the comment section below and thanks for reading!