Dogs and SHTF...

[Icarry2]

I know there have been a few threads about dogs and such post SHTF but I was curious..

How much food, medicine, treats and other pet care items do you stock?

Having just had two Shar-Pei's brought into my household, long story, anyway I have had to recalculate our store of dog stuff..

I figure the food I had stored just got cut down to less then 4 months now since before the new additions the only dog is a Chihuahua so the food would have lasted him well over a year but these Shar-Pei's eat like horses...

So how much do you store, how do you store it and is there anything else that should be stored..

Oh by the way, I don't plan on investing too much, it's more a curiosity right now because these newbies might just be on the way out if someone doesn't step up and take care of them, I don't have time...

Thanks for the feedback ahead of time, hope you all are well,

TJ

 

[THard6]

stocking?! they're dogs.. pretty much will eat anything they want if they get hungry.
we always have an extra bag of food in the pantry that gets switched out on a regular basis. but no more that that. also we give them regular shots and they last a year. so if you're up on your shots i don't see why you would need much more.

(We live in the country and we took a stray dog in, HE NEVER IS OUT OF FOOD. but for some reason come harvest time he seriously eats corn on the cob. he will take several of them and find somewhere to hide them. and he enjoys it)

 

[fireblade]

good question Icarry2....... when it come to dog food prep you can't go long term with dry dog food its not dry enough too much moisture and oil in it. i would rotate .....use up what you stored every year and replace. (example you buy 4 months of dry dog food date it store it a year later start using it and replace it as you go re date the new dog food 4 month later.) its all been replaced and you wasted no money and no dry dog food has gone bad.


I personal keep 4 months of dry rotate yearly and 4 months of can rotate every 4 years. and store 1 years worth of rice for the dogs that keeps for 15 years in mylar 5 gallon bags ...if they don't eat it we will .

 

[Zoub]

In 10 years the only thing my dog never ate when given to her by my hand was zucchini, this year even that changed. No finicky dogs here.

Yesterday the cat killed a sparrow, then the dog took it from her and tried to eat it. I gave her the command to stop and she did and dropped it. SHTF she can eat it. When we bird hunt she may snack on a mouse or vole. I am good with that, my dog is a generalist like me.

Store as much food as you want but store it in secure plastic or metal containers, not in bags sitting out for mice, rats or bugs to get into. I am similar to fireblades numbers on dry and canned.


We always have a years worth of flea and heartworm meds. Gotta prevent fleas! Aspirin for pain.

For me the biggest issue is an untrained POS. Last September the neighbors had a BBQ and they love my dog, wanted her there and she loves them too. They dropped something from the grill and of course she was right there waiting. I gave her the no command and she didn't touch it, just inches from her nose, cooked meat. Train your dogs.

 

[Icarry2]

Thank you guys, thats what I expected for info, I just wanted more opinions to make what I have setup make sense.

Currently dry food is only about 4 month's supply in rotation, no more then 4 months old at this point because we are going through more now I have to buy more to get back to the year mark..

Canned dog food is something I am short of.

The little Chihuahua can live on scraps, he will eat just about anything, he loves tomatoes but they give him the most annoying gas.. lol

The issue with the new additions are that I don't have time to train the dogs. They are about 7 months old and need training bad.. I didn't want the dogs, they were inherited. Long story but I have expressed to the entire house that if someone doesn't step up and take the responsibility the dogs will dissappear.

Messes have already happened because of no one paying attention, things have been chewed up, pee'd on, craped on an I am about to my wits end..

I hate to sound mean but like was already said, an untrained dog is a POS and a drain on resources and finaces..

I guess that someone will either step up or they go away.

Anyone want a couple of Shar-peis?

 

[Oliver]

I don't like to think about this topic due to my specific dog. He has something called EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency). It requires me to prepare his food EVERY time with a powder enzyme that makes the nutrients digestible for him, and also requires a specific fat/fiber/protein food. It takes about an hour to "cook", and is required for every meal. Without this powder, he will die from lack of nutrition. Even one bad meal, and he has bad diarrhea. Sucks to know that he would not be able to make any kind of SHTF situation for very long if at all.

 

[Outlaw]

I'm with Zoub on this one. I live in the country, just me and my dog, and she is a survivalists. I leave plenty of food on the porch when I'm gone for extended periods of time but she never eats it all. It's almost like she conserve it. She loves corn on the cob and small animals. Except cats, she won't hurt them, she loves them for some reason.

In a shtf scenario I think she el survive quite easily. She is definitely the best dog I've ever had.

 

[96firephoenix]

SHTF, the dog is getting scraps and what it can catch. medicine will be a pretty secondary concern.

 

[Kitty]

As stated above, food is not a primary concern for my dogs either. Heck the little one would hunt for me - she's good for small game. I agree with the heartworm and flea prevention. I also keep de-wormer, extra paw pads (like boots), and first aid supplies we can share. My dogs are well trained and will be an asset, I want them as healthy as possible.

 

[chrstian_indy]

good question Icarry2....... when it come to dog food prep you can't go long term with dry dog food its not dry enough too much moisture and oil in it. i would rotate .....use up what you stored every year and replace. (example you buy 4 months of dry dog food date it store it a year later start using it and replace it as you go re date the new dog food 4 month later.) its all been replaced and you wasted no money and no dry dog food has gone bad.


I personal keep 4 months of dry rotate yearly and 4 months of can rotate every 4 years. and store 1 years worth of rice for the dogs that keeps for 15 years in mylar 5 gallon bags ...if they don't eat it we will .

Fireblade is right

I looked at the kibble food i feed my dog (EARTHBORN GRAIN FREE DOG FOOD) and it's about a 1 year storage life. 1 35lb bag would last me a good 1 month. That's about 1lb a day....

 

[chrstian_indy]

Also-

This

Is not a dog

This

THIS IS A DOG

Anything bigger than 25lbs i would consider a dog. Even a fat cat that weighs 30lbs i would consider a dog.

SHTF you want a dog that can protect your family not bite their toes off

 

[PriestEG]

good idea op. i had never thought about this before but after seeing the post, i did a quick inventory of my dog care items. i currently stock about 8 months of medication. thats frontline, chewable heart guard. i also keep some vet approved topical medication for posin ivy as me and my dog get it a few times a summer on out hiking, camping, fishing adventures. i also keep several cheap flea collars just in case. i have 6 boxes of milk bones which could be a month of food for a dog in SHTF. dry kibble i keep alot on hand since you buy it from TSC and get a good deal( i think its buy 5 get one free) which prolly a years worth of food eating reqularly or 2 years eating conservatively to make it last. another thing to mention that i keep a few on hand is leashes in case one was to break while out and about with my dogs.
to add to this, my dog enjoys a B.A.R.F. diet too (that stands for biologically appropiat raw foods for those that didnt know) which means my canine food supply is limitless with the squirrels, rabbits, birds, deer, etc. that i might be able to harvest during a SHTF scenario. since dogs ate raw meat for thousands of years before dry kibble was first used, raw meat is no problem for a dog to digest and is usually more healhty than alot of the cheap kibble and DOGS LOVE A BIG HUNK OF RAW VENISON BACK STRAP!!

 

[oldshaky]

My dog will eat anything including solicitors , annoying neighbors & so on

 

[chrstian_indy]

Venison is free. If you like to go hunting, a few deer would give you tons of free meat to feed your dogs. Canned the meat for storage and 1 jar is enough to feed them each day. Throw some white or brown rice for grains and some canned venison and they have a good meal.

Remember dogs use to eat raw meat. They don't need vegetables or fruits.

If i had the time/money i would DEFF! hunt deer and canned the meat. The jars and canning materials would cost a few hundred bucks, but it pays for it's self in the long run. On top of that, you know that the food you feed your dog doesn't contain news paper (Science Diet).

My friend went fishing and brought me 3 Talapia fish. I fillet one of them and gave it to my dog. If it's fish or meat, they'll eat it. If it's bacon THEY WILL WORSHIP YOU!!!!!!!

 

[JStarr]

The way I see it, food is a dogs treat. Why on earth would anyone bring the dog treats in a SHTF situation thats just more weight/less room in your pack, unless you were going to eat them.. In my opinion the dog will become food if I'm starving I'm a country boy and not opposed to eating a pole cat if hungry enough.

 

[fireblade]

Beside the food issue which we covered one thing i would like you all to thing about which is never really talk about in SHTF planning or story's for that manner, is all those house dogs free and on there own after a SHTF event..........

Let me start by giving you a short story what happen to me in 1992 i was a soldier doing security and relief for hurricane Andrew . I was at a check point about 1 am i get a call on the radio saying you would not believe whats heading your way a crap load of dogs. A couple minutes later here they come there must have been 50 dogs all in one big pack they were all around me at first i thought how cool . and enjoyed the moment i may never see something like this again then i realized crap am in the middle of 50 dog pack they can easy take me down...i then started to scare them away......luckly there was plenty of scraps around in the damage areas so hunger wasn't a issue and i wasn't on the menu . My point is in that short time plain house dogs started to go back to there instincts and travel by packs at night . In a real SHTF event packs of house dogs that are hungry falling back to there instincts will be more of a problem then most realize.

 

[LFD102]

Also-

This

Is not a dog

This

THIS IS A DOG

Anything bigger than 25lbs i would consider a dog. Even a fat cat that weighs 30lbs i would consider a dog.

SHTF you want a dog that can protect your family not bite their toes off

What He said ^^^^^

I'm not worried about my dogs they will eat anything and as others have said they are good hunters too

 

[dudley0]

Right now we have three months dry food stored, plus the bag being used. I put the bags in a plastic bag, humidity free, and drop that into a drum that I have just for storing mutt chow. Been doing it a few months now. No signs of trouble on the outside. Will give the first bag a year and open it up.

As long as there is something to feed him then I don't have to worry about scraps that I want for myself. Longer term, he eats his kibble, we give up a few scraps, he either makes up for it on his own, or we eat him.

Have to admit that flea dope and heart worm meds didn't cross over for the dog kit. Will start working on that now.

Treats are for now, and very few. Only store of that is the bag we have. No more.

My dog is well trained. I had to do it because nobody else would. Only had one incident where he grabbed fallen food before I could stop him. Entire polish sausage, cooked, one gulp, whole. Came back up in a few minutes. Maybe he learned from that, but I doubt it. All other times I can call him off of anything, no problems.

As far as the big dog versus the little dog... Mine is a black lab. Next one will probably be an ankle biter. They eat less and are just as, if not more alert. Live longer too. This guy might take a bullet for me, but I really doubt it. He talks the talk, but I just don't see it in him like I have in previous canines.

Little dogs can take a bullet too, they are just harder to hit.

 

[Zoub]

Beside the food issue which we covered one thing i would like you all to thing about which is never really talk about in SHTF planning or story's for that manner, is all those house dogs free and on there own after a SHTF event..........

Welcome, yes we talk about dog packs, BTDT, multiple times both urban and rural. Scary Sh** man. Reason I own high cap guns, that and drug dealing rednecks and Federal agents.

 

[Zoub]

I'm with Zoub on this one. I live in the country, just me and my dog, and she is a survivalists. I leave plenty of food on the porch when I'm gone for extended periods of time but she never eats it all. It's almost like she conserve it. She loves corn on the cob and small animals. Except cats, she won't hurt them, she loves them for some reason.

In a shtf scenario I think she el survive quite easily. She is definitely the best dog I've ever had.

When it comes to the killer cats, our dogs nickname is security. I let her out to make a run on the property to clear it before the "Rat Patrol" goes out the door. The really funny stuff is when they hunt together in the yard.

A local fox has used her as her bird dog before, same foxes she chases off our property. One winter evening just as the sun was setting, we were down on the beach for a walk. I let her work the steep slope. I look up and low and behold, Mr. Fox lurking along the top edge busting on birds my dog is flushing out of the brush below. Dog did not catch the Foxes scent due to being above and behind her, so I just let it roll and watched.

I think dogs help keep you in tune with your surroundings. Rural or urban, we have covered a lot of ground together.