# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Livestock and Animal Husbandry >  survival with your dog(s)?

## sketchm1

Does anybody use their dog as an aid in survival training such as hunting, carrying packs, defense, or just companionship for when your all alone? 

I've got a catahoula/pit mix thats 1 1/2 yrs old and right around 55lbs. I'm looking for a good pack that can evenly distribute some (but not much) weight, but it also cant be of a cheap design that will rub his skin raw or be too uncomfortable or restrict his natural movement. anyone have any ideas?

----------


## NCO

Well, a hunting aid, companion and camp protection are the obvious things a dog can do well. depending of it's race and purpose of course. I'm thinking of getting a hunting dog in a near future, for just those things. Of a bag, I don't know. Maybe something really light, like a first aid kit could do. Dogs generally don't seem to like extra stuff strapped on them... Barring sledge dogs....

----------


## Rick

There are a couple of threads on using your dog and a couple of folks on here that have posted pictures of dog packs. 

When you get a chance, why not curl up in the Introduction section and tells a bit about yourself?

----------


## sketchm1

Yea I tried to find something on the subject but I must not have looked in the right categories.

----------


## Rick

Post 15 and 28 on this thread. 

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ighlight=packs

Another thread with a lot of pics. 

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...light=pictures

----------


## kyratshooter

lots of backpackers depend on their dogs to carry thier own food load.    

http://www.amazon.com/Outward-Hound-.../dp/B0006N9R6Y

----------


## DOGMAN

I rely heavily on my dogs for survival. My dogs essentially pay all of my bills, can carry about all of my stuff, and keep me busy 24/7...without them I dont know what i'd be doing to survive.

----------


## finallyME

Right now all my dog does is pull my sled in winter, and pull my bike and kids in a trailer in summer.  She loves to pull.  Sometimes that is good and sometimes it is bad.  Also, when I take her camping, she is the sentry all night, so I can sleep.  I still need to get her a pack of her own for the summer.  I don't take her unless she carries more than her own weight.  Oh, she also cleans the dishes on camping trips.  And, she was a great help in my marathon training.  I always had a running partner that would run in the cold at night for any distance.

----------


## beetlejuicex3

my neurotic great dane will be a meals on wheels if resources get scarce enough.  she's just not good for much else.

----------


## sketchm1

My boy is still young and a bit dopey but he comes from a long line of hog dogs of which I personally owned and trained his father and grandfather.... hunting, protection and companionship is a given with my dogs but this is the first generation that is going to get pack carry training. I'm not real sure about what type of pack setup or conditioning he's going to need. We've both got some training to go. The guy w/ the Pyrenees that goes hiking in the mountains has a pretty good setup.

----------


## RidentMama

My lab/shepherd mix is pretty scary looking. When DH is working away from home, I like having our dog around just for defense/security reasons. Really, that's about the only thing you listed that he's good for. 

He's amazing with the kids (3 kids 7 and younger). A little boy held my daughter down on the ground (just roughhousing)...the dog ran over, pulled the little boy off by his shirt, held the little boy down long enough for my daughter to get up, then spent the rest of the time walking between the two of them. No holes in the shirt either! He's also kept certain people away from the kids. I don't press the issue as I believe dogs have a "sixth sense" about people and I trust his judgment.

Whenever we are ready for our next dog (we're a one-dog family), I'm going to do my best to stick with this hybrid breed--just work harder at training during the early years!

----------


## hunter63

Guy at Rendezvous was hauling water and wood:

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

----------


## BENESSE

> my neurotic great dane will be a meals on wheels if resources get scarce enough.  she's just not good for much else.


With you as an owner, no wonder the poor dog is neurotic.
People like you should just refrain from having pets.

----------


## finallyME

> With you as an owner, no wonder the poor dog is neurotic.
> People like you should just refrain from having pets.


 :fishface: 

I will just add that if you think your dog is neurotic, it is probably because they don't run enough.  Dogs need to run...far.

----------


## Rick

...and poop in their own yard.

----------


## r0ckhamm3r

I have a Beagle that is my constant companion.  She makes a good alarm system but would pee all over herself if confronted with violence.  Pinky also makes a fine rattlesnake detector.  When she finds a rattlesnake, she stays about 10 feet away, points and barks her head off.  She has come in very handy when hunting for fossils in Texas.

----------


## Rick

Pointers are amazing animals. 

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

----------


## r0ckhamm3r

LOL, not exactly that way, but close enough.

----------


## Rick

I've got one I'd never taking with me to the field. You'd have to carry her back if she even decided to go somewhere that wasn't mowed.

----------


## wild greens granny

There's no way that I could ever leave my dog behind. She has helped me through some really tough times.

----------


## crashdive123

....and he's got your chair.  You can tell a lot about a dog owner that gives up their chair for their dog.

----------


## Rick

And for the ones that don't you can call them a lot of names.

----------


## copybiz

I have a bull terrier and I love it very much. He is my best friend.

----------


## gordy

Stag hounds are the way to go, if it's a true survival dog you need.

The early settlers of Australia would have died without the hounds they brought with them.

These great dogs catch rabbits, pigs, deer and many other animals with great ease. They are extremely fast, powerful, and have very hard pads on their feet. When other breeds are crippled by worn pads, or by extreme cold or heat, the stag hound just keeps on going.

It's a real joy having a dog with such incredible hunting abilities. They kill foxes with ease and half an hours hunting will usually yield 6 or 7 rabbits or hares.
If a deer is in sight, it hasn't got a chance against a stag hound. It's just a mere formality spearing a deer, after the stag hound grabs it.
The amount of meat a stag hound can put on the table is beyond belief.

Just watching the stag hounds at full speed never ceases to amaze and fascinate me, the effortless velocity is only exceeded by the grey hound. Other than that no other dog can keep up with the stag hound.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Having sight hounds in your arsenal is really handy in a survival situation.

----------


## gordy

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Sight hounds have to be on the list for survival situations.

----------


## roar-k

If you plan to have your pup carry a pack you need to train them and let them get used to it.  You do not need to fill the back with weights or something right off the bat and put the pack on them and expect them to go and climb a mountain.  You need to let them get used to the pack before you start to put some weight in it.  Let them wear the pack around for a week or two on some walks or around the house.

Then in a few weeks start adding weight and see how they carry it.  Check for hot spots because they can be problematic very quickly.

----------


## gordy

> If you plan to have your pup carry a pack you need to train them and let them get used to it.  You do not need to fill the back with weights or something right off the bat and put the pack on them and expect them to go and climb a mountain.  You need to let them get used to the pack before you start to put some weight in it.  Let them wear the pack around for a week or two on some walks or around the house.
> 
> Then in a few weeks start adding weight and see how they carry it.  Check for hot spots because they can be problematic very quickly.


Or, don't put a pack on your dog at all, that's the other option.

----------


## roar-k

> Or, don't put a pack on your dog at all, that's the other option.


Some dogs love to work and if they get to carry a pack they feel as if they are doing their job.  It's your choice to have your dog wear a pack or to not wear a pack.  One of my dogs enjoys wearing a pack quite a bit more than the other so he usually has it on, while the other only occasionally.

----------


## gordy

> Some dogs love to work and if they get to carry a pack they feel as if they are doing their job.  It's your choice to have your dog wear a pack or to not wear a pack.  One of my dogs enjoys wearing a pack quite a bit more than the other so he usually has it on, while the other only occasionally.


Or, don't put a pack on your dog at all, that's the other option.

----------


## roar-k

> Or, don't put a pack on your dog at all, that's the other option.


Yeah I think I said that in the post you quoted as well.  It's your choice to have your dog wear the pack or not.

You do not have to post the same twice, seeing as I was stating what happens to working dogs that have a desire to work and the pack makes them feel as if they are.

----------


## DOGMAN

> Just watching the stag hounds at full speed never ceases to amaze and fascinate me, the effortless velocity is only exceeded by the grey hound. Other than that no other dog can keep up with the stag hound.


How longs the race?  I guarantee you there is not a stag hound in the world that can keep up with an Alaskan Husky in a 1000 mile race across a winter landscape.  The Alaskan Husky is the most incredible endurance athlete in the world bar none.

----------


## gordy

> How longs the race?  I guarantee you there is not a stag hound in the world that can keep up with an Alaskan Husky in a 1000 mile race across a winter landscape.  The Alaskan Husky is the most incredible endurance athlete in the world bar none.


Huskies are only good in the cold, get them in hot weather and they fall over dead, but staghounds are good in hot and cold climates. Stag hounds also have the hardest feet of any dog, so they are an all terrain animal.

Stag hounds can move fast through deep snow when huskies are bogged up to their noses.
Staghounds can hunt down and hold pigs and deer single handedly, but huskies get flipped and rubbed off.

Sure if I wanted to drag a sled across Alaska, I'd use huskies but the Husky is not a hunting dog, and for survival purposes you need a dog that's an all rounder.

All terrain, all weather, all hunter.

Is a husky really going to catch up to and hold a deer, it's not it's skill set is it.

Staghounds kept the early settlers of America and Australia fed, in the worst of times. Without the staghound many settlers would have died, it is a proven survival dog, because it actually puts food on the table.

Husky is a good hauling dog (In cold weather), but I don't class it as an all-round  survival dog. Least that's the way I see it.

When I let slip the leash on a deer or boar, I know it's not getting away. And that's the surety that is needed in a survival situation.
When my stag has the deer by the snout, it's easy to spear the deer in the heart.

When my stag has boar by the ear, I can grab the hind legs and stab the boar in the heart.

The dog does all the work effortlessly, and there's a huge amount of food from it.

Getting a couple of deer and a pig, and a brace of rabbits is not a problem in a mornings hunt, easy.

There is a good reason the settlers used stag hounds, they were on their own until another ship arrived a year, perhaps two years latter.
Stag hounds were the dog that the settlers turned to, to feed them in dire survival situations.


Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

The great hound is unstoppable in full flight.

----------

