| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Prepping with Fangs: Dogs for a Survivalist, by Dale in Northeastern Tennessee
They can move faster than any man, their loyalty suggests an inborn canine bushido, their senses seem to border on the supernatural, and their situational awareness chart does not include condition white. They are the creatures you want to sleep at your bedside, walk beside you, and watch your children. While the choices available for study cover a broad range for the serious survivalist; and the options for raising animals include many worthwhile creatures, consider the canine as an early pick. Long before we finished moving to our retreat I was already plotting the pros and cons of various parts of the property and outbuildings. Too much woods for cows to graze, just enough grassy hills for goats, garden here, greenhouse there, new bridge over there. The list of possible projects was, (and still is) a never ending source of satisfying improvements. One of the earliest undertakings in our endeavors towards self-sufficiency was raising dogs. The goal was to get far past the learning stage during the pre-collapse world and maintain a selection of working dogs in a normal society. During a crisis, the dogs will be used for protection and barter.
The first real choice that had to be made was in a specific breed of dog. After much study I narrowed the selection down to three breeds; the German Shepherd, Doberman Pinscher, and American Bulldog. All had key traits in common I found important for a survivalist dog owner. All had a high level of intelligence, trainability, and protectiveness with the size, speed, and courage to back it up. I considered each breed in light of how we would need to live together with our family in a long term collapse / worst case scenario. The German shepherd was the first of the three to be marked off the list for one reason: hair. The German shepherd sheds once a year for 365 days in amounts that exceed all bounds of belief. I wanted dogs that can stay by my side 24/7 but building an extra solar array just to power a vacuum lest we all drown in dog hair wasn’t going to happen. Note that we live in Tennessee and rarely deal with bitter cold, in less mild climates I would’ve needed dogs with the German shepherd’s protective coat. If dog hair is not an issue for your situation, that a German shepherd requires no ear trimming or tail docking makes them a stronger pick.
I next looked into the American Bulldog (not to be confused with the more common English Bulldog), a breed once very popular in the deep South but became nearly extinct during WWII. Despite my interest, I was unable to find breeders that I felt were trustworthy and had any puppies available within a reasonable distance. My other concern was that they have a less well known reputation compared to the other two picks, in a barter economy I wanted a highly recognizable, commonly known breed. Last of the top three first considered breeds was the Doberman Pinscher.
Source:
