# Family Pets



## Davis Willy (Nov 24, 2008)

From reading around, I know that alot of you have helpful animals that would be even more of a help in a SHTF situation such as a food shortage or a crash in the economy, but I have only family pets. We have 2 dogs, a Chihuahua and a Toy Fox Terrier. My son has a gerbil and my daughter has some fish. I know that they would be no help in a bad situation, only something else to deal with so I am wondering what you guys with family pets have planned on doing with them in case of a crises?


----------



## wildman800 (Oct 17, 2008)

In my personal opinion,,,,the words "Family Pets" translates into:
Family=immediate family members
Pets=ranks just below the importantance of my children

I have a bug out box for our two small dogs. Their bug out box has the following:
20lb bag of their favorite dog food
water and food bowls for each
1 toy for each (2 total)
1 bed for each (2 total)
1 spare leash for each (2 total)
1 stake out pin
complete medical records (including shot records) of each
4 liters of water (2 2ltr bottles)
Their shirts, sweaters, and coats

If we had to bug out, then we'd put any and all of their meds that we have, into their BoB.

These are Boston Terrier crossbreeds that make/are great watchdogs. With them around, I can sleep at night. They will earn their keep for that and several other reasons.


----------



## dilligaf (Oct 17, 2008)

Davis Willy said:


> From reading around, I know that alot of you have helpful animals that would be even more of a help in a SHTF situation such as a food shortage or a crash in the economy, but I have only family pets. We have 2 dogs, a Chihuahua and a Toy Fox Terrier. My son has a gerbil and my daughter has some fish. I know that they would be no help in a bad situation, only something else to deal with so I am wondering what you guys with family pets have planned on doing with them in case of a crises?


We dont keep (wait thats not quite true anymore , we traded a useless dog for peace n quiet a few weeks back) pets that either dont do some sort of work around the place or that are not edible..

If we had indoor birds or gerbils etc then in a shtf situation they would be set free rather than trying to haul them around with us or figure out what to feed them over an extended period of time. I would at least attempt to let them free and make them self a new life in the big world but if i absolutely knew they could not survive out there then they would be put down.

As for the rest of the critters if we had to bug out somewhere we would get the goats to follow us long and the dogs to herd them round and if we could we would drag a chicken or two with us . Other wise they would become jerky in short order and hauled around in the back packs


----------



## Treyfer (Nov 24, 2008)

I don't think that most family pets could make it if they were used to a certain lifestyle, then one day they got set free to fend for themselves. I also think that you may not have time to put them down in a crises. In that case, I would just say leave them behind to either fend for themselves or die off. You and your family are first priorities.


----------



## SurvivalNut (Nov 13, 2008)

*Pet Preparedness*

I do stockpile a couple hunded pounds of feed for my 4 hens. I don't stockpile any for my 2 Yorkies and Great Dane. BUT. Here is something I learned from my Vet. After a surgery my Dane had a very weak system and would not eat at all. My Vet put her on a diet of boiled rice and Cottage Cheese.

All three dogs loved and thrived on it. Try it, it is a cheap experiment.

We have 100's of pounds of rice in our LDS food storage plan. Freeze Dried Cottage cheese is available, 30 year shelf life and is reasonably priced. So we added some.

Voila! Instant dog food storage. My cats? Better start ratting.

I like the solution because it is universal for people, dogs AND chickens.


----------



## Shultze 3 (Dec 4, 2008)

Thanks for the tip, SurvivalNut!


----------



## pmabma (Dec 4, 2008)

*rice and cottage cheese*

thanks for that info Survivalnut, didn,t know that.


----------



## beericus (Apr 6, 2010)

Id take my dogs with me. PITA yes at times, part of the family for sure.


----------



## SaskBound (Feb 13, 2010)

I know grandma fed her dogs on porridge (oatmeal) and table scraps. They were all on the fattish side of healthy, and all lived 15+ years. I have accustomed my dogs (one 60 pound mutt, one mastiff) to eating table scraps routinely, and porridge for a treat. I believe they will make the transition to straight table scraps and porridge pretty easily, if the need arises. Now, I stockpile a few bags of (rather pricey) dog food, and a bunch of (very cheap) oatmeal. 

For the cats, I am not quite sure, yet. The younger ones will become mousers, but my old guy (15 years old) might just not make it. If we had chickens, I'd feed him on scrambled eggs, but he's too arthritic to hunt, and the arthritis is in his jaw, too, so he doesn't chew too well. Given that he's outlasted several long-term boyfriends and a few jobs, as well as three inter-provincial moves, I'll do my best to keep him healthy and with me. If it's so bad that I really have to quit feeding or abandon my critters, I'm not sure how badly I'd want to survive it...


----------



## kyfarmer (Feb 22, 2009)

Didn't have any to worry about, then those dang women went and got a dang shatzoo or whatever for my granddaughter. Dang it but lucky in that i,am where i will be till i,am planted anyway. So there ya go. Will not even make a good bowl of soup.  What were they thinking. If i had just not answered that stupid add about a hairball for sale.


----------



## Littlebit (Apr 20, 2010)

I have two cats. One older and one just a chubby baby right now. I love them more then anything and would do everything in my power to keep them. 

I knew this old woman who had over 100 cats in and around her house. She fed them trays of rice and ground turkey meat. Everyday she would put out five huge trays and it would all disapper within an hour. As you might expect her house did not smell very good.


----------



## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Why is it old-women and significant numbers of cats/pets go hand-n-hand???

I heard about an old woman in Edmonton (city 3hr drive straight north of me) had a beautiful house in a very nice neighborhood that had free-roaming rabbits inside her house. They found close to 500 of the little beasties living in the duct-work, inside the walls, chewed through electrical ... and, yes, these little beasties were not potty-trained. Inches of fecal matter and fur lined the whole house.


----------



## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

My 10 YO black lab, Wendy, will be staying with me and helping keep an eye on the place. I keep one 50# bag of food ahead and have a case of FD rice, case of 9 grain cereal and a few #10’s of freeze dried beef broth for her too. I took on the responsibility of looking after her and will do all I can to make sure she is as safe and happy as I plan on being.


----------



## GreyWolf (Mar 17, 2010)

I'll definitely keep my 70 pound bull terrier with me. He's a good watch dog, well trained and protective. Keep his vaccinations up to date and store some syringes, antibiotics and other meds for any injury he may get. 

Several years ago a pup showed up at the house I had at the time. I knew enough to keep him seperated from my dogs just in case. Turned out to be a good thing. The pup had Parvo I called a vet who said all he could do is give it an IV and maybe he'd make it but it would be expensive. He suggested I mix some gatorade or pedialite with any flavoured Jello, which is high in protein and give it to him through a turkey baster, every hour or so. He also said to give him some fresh chicken broth. I'll be darned if the pup wasn't better within a couple hours. Now I keep those things on hand.


----------



## Catastrophy (Mar 19, 2010)

I have 2 second hand cats, a Ma and Son. One is good at catching rats, the other is a good mouser.  Those women can't be playing with a full deck! I use dried cat food as it is cheaper than tinned and helps keep their teeth in tip top condition, thus saving on vet bills later on!


----------



## Littlebit (Apr 20, 2010)

Catastrophy-Your right about the old woman I knew. She give you the shrit off her back, but the light bulbs were starting to go out upstairs, if you know what I mean.


----------



## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

IMHO your pets are a part of the family. So as you would with your " 2 legged kids" you need to think of your pets during your prep planning. To fail to do so IMO is extremely irresponsible. Many companys make emergency "kits" for pets. (example www.costco.com/pet emergency kits 
These kits vary a little bit but average aroung $50-$60 bucks come in a 5 gallon bucket with food, first aid supplies, toy(s) and several other items.

We built our own, we have in addition to 21 days supplies in our BOV. We also have sealed and stored another close to 4 months supplies that can be loaded in a trailer and ready to go in less than 10 minutes. These in addition to our " bug in supplies" give us a total currently of 19+ months of supplies and growing weekly. These INCLUDE supplies for our pets. A 90 pound wolf/malamute cross we rescued as well as a 80 pound greyhound/shepard mix who is also a rescue along with two cats. We also have made plans to take them along if something happens and we have to leave.


----------



## DisasterReindeer (Dec 13, 2008)

Water, Water, Water. Thats the name of the game. If your dogs have clean water to drink they can survive for multiple days like humans without food.

Dogs have a much lower "visual appeal" standard than humans and will eat damn near anything when hungry. Sure your dog is picky now, but give them a few days and they'll eat anything. 

Ultimately my point is to bring what you can, but at some point you'll be feeding the pets whatever you can find. Remember, what disgusts us (as long as it's not rotten) wont phase a hungry dog.

For us, our German Shepherd will eat up whatever food we have in her bin then switch to our Mainstay bars.


----------



## DisasterReindeer (Dec 13, 2008)

I forgot to mention you can email/PM me if you want a PDF copy of our Pet Disaster Plan

questions AT homelandag DOT COM


----------



## pioneergirl (May 11, 2010)

I've got a 200lb Mastiff who isn't afraid to eat anything I put in front of him, and he's not afraid to grab a meal on the run, if you know what I mean. I don't worry about rats, raccoons or any other vermin around here.... 2 legged or 4. ;-)


----------



## Littlebit (Apr 20, 2010)

pioneergirl said:


> I've got a 200lb Mastiff who isn't afraid to eat anything I put in front of him, and he's not afraid to grab a meal on the run, if you know what I mean. I don't worry about rats, raccoons or any other vermin around here.... 2 legged or 4. ;-)


Big Boy! Where do you keep his saddle?


----------



## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

pioneergirl said:


> I've got a 200lb Mastiff who isn't afraid to eat anything I put in front of him, and he's not afraid to grab a meal on the run, if you know what I mean. I don't worry about rats, raccoons or any other vermin around here.... 2 legged or 4. ;-)


I had a German boxer that was the same way.


----------



## dawnwinds58 (Jul 12, 2010)

*pets*

Well, I can't say I don't have my share of critters.

In the non-edible category are 4 standard Rat Terrier hunting dogs , 4 horses, and one hugely useless in the summer cat. The cat in winter kills more than her share of mice in the feed and the ones who try to over winter in the house. Summer she follows the mice to the barn. More there than in here.

Not one of the dogs is less than 20lbs weight, no dust bunnies in this pack , all hunt squirrel and rabbit, and NO STOCK has ever been coyote killed on this place with them there. The horses are 3 mares and a gelding. One mare and the gelding is our team, one mare is a quarter horse used for fences and brush pulling, the last mare is the safe ,gentle one for my grandchildren.

The issue you have to accept in prepping is this with dogs.

When people are starving and looking for food, a barking dog is a dead giveaway of where you are. Be prepared to defend your food supply.

Add to that, if you are "suburbs" or have close neighbors, a well fed dog can make someone who has a starving child blame you, rather than their own denial that any disaster would ever occur to take out the food supply. May not be right, but it will happen.

And if that person did have weapons bought rather than food, he'll come after you and yours telling himself he is completely justified in doing so because your dog is eating food that could save his child.

Still others will see your dogs themselves as food. Hungry doesn't give a spit about what is traditional food, it is food and stops the nagging pain in the belly. Have your kids crying from hunger, and see how long it takes you to butcher out a dog to feed them?

Just facts guys, people are people, and they do what it takes to survive.


----------



## Rourke (Jul 23, 2010)

Excellant thread.....
Our plans do not include bugging out - although that is a last resort.

Since we would be staying in our home - extra food is in order....the pets would continue life as normal. We have 2 cats and a dog. The dog is paranoid so an excellant security device.

If we had to bug out - that would be tough.

Honestly - I need to put some thought into that - not something I have considered.

Another reason this is a great thread.

Take care all - 

Rourke


----------



## Calebra (Nov 8, 2010)

The way I see it your dog or your cat is a part of your family. When you get a dog he takes on certain responsibillities--guarding , tracking or sometimes even tolerating us humans as a friend that's always there is a job. My dog does his job--it's my duty to do mine .Our pets take care of us--even if it is simply by being there so we won't snap on a bad day and go on a cross county face slapping spree.So I'll do my best to do mine if things go bad.
Plus even so my dog is not really much of a guard dog he will ward off and announce an arrival or a friendly and even more so unfriendly.I feel a lot more comfortable with a dog as an alarm system.


----------



## GoldenBoys (Oct 8, 2010)

I'm single and my two Golden Retrievers (hence my user name) are my kids. There has never been a thought about not taking care of them like I would two-legged kids.


----------



## Kabtsu (Nov 10, 2010)

in case of emergency cat or dog sounds prity good to me, just ad sallt, pepper and spice to taste.


----------



## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

I'll look out for my Labs because when I'm napping or just not paying attention, they are paying attention..


----------



## HarleyRider (Mar 1, 2010)

My big old ScoobyDog goes with me. No way I would EVER leave her behind. She's a great guard dog and an even better companion.


----------



## mdprepper (Jan 22, 2010)

Our dog will go where ever we go. He is part Lab, part Border Collie (part couch potato). He is great at sounding the alarm and he looks scary, but is so friendly it is pathetic! But he will not let anyone in the house that we do not know, and when we have new folks over, he gets between us and stays there.


----------



## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

mdprepper, I think we have your dog's twin! Except in addition to Border Collie and Lab she's got some German Shepherd in her. We definitely feel safer, from both people and animals, with her around. 

Got to get her trained to stop barking immediately on command, for safety, though.


----------



## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

And I wonder what Davis Willy is doing ...two years after they started this post ...

Now this person has not been active from 08 ... Why did they start the post and then just drop off???

What has happen to Davis Willy??? Do you ever ask youself that question ???

What ever happen to ??? (enter person online name here)

Just a wild thought that came to mind??????????:gaah:


----------



## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

*Andi said:


> What ever happen to ??? (enter person online name here)
> 
> Just a wild thought that came to mind??????????:gaah:


Funny you should mention that. I've just started wondering where horseman has been. I called him a couple weeks ago and still haven't heard from him. :scratch :dunno:


----------



## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

UncleJoe said:


> Funny you should mention that. I've just started wondering where horseman has been. I called him a couple weeks ago and still haven't heard from him. :scratch :dunno:


He's at his hunting camp, probably? Maybe?

We've missed him too.


----------



## HarleyRider (Mar 1, 2010)

gypsysue said:


> mdprepper, I think we have your dog's twin!


We must have triplets! Scooby is part German Shepherd and part Rhodesian Ridgeback, and she acts just like Scooby Doo in the cartoon.


----------



## WEcoyote (Nov 19, 2010)

We have a 6 - 8 lb shi-tzu that is .. um ... warm i guess.. put her in my pocket maybe keep my hand warm?

6 chickens no rooster

4 rabbits one male

a 240 lb English mastiff....he carries his own stuff


----------



## paladin562 (Jun 30, 2010)

My dogs are my early warning system. I don't plan on going anywhere, unless the UN Troops start rounding people up.


----------



## ms_a2gwus (Feb 27, 2012)

Like most others here, I would be taking my dogs for the security reasons. But I would also take my cats as vermin control to protect my food and my gear. Small rodents will chew on anything with a tempting scent and I'm not too keen on having them prowling around where I will be residing. Besides contaminating food supplies and ruining/soiling your clothing or equipment, there are many areas that have the rodent types (squirrels, chipmunks, mice, etc) that have the fleas that carry Bubonic Plague. In a SHTF event, with no medical help available for that kind of disease, I sure would be depending on both the dogs and cats to do some serious exterminating!


----------



## Veldro (Feb 28, 2012)

I think most pets would become a problem and/or hurt your chances of survival. Dogs are probably the only pet worth keeping around, if well trained.


----------



## florencegayle (Aug 7, 2011)

I would take the dogs & leave the cats. I have six dogs: Thelma-lab/pit mix-excellent watch dog, Rosie-lab/chow-just a good old girl, Sonny-golden retriever-scared of people and places, Scout-Australian Shepherd-bites everyone but us, Eugene-American foxhound-hunts deer, *****, squirrels & cats and Angel-Chihuahua-PITA! I would try to take them all but would definitely take Thelma & Rosie. They all eat scraps frequently and love rice & grits which I have in my food storage. Cats just don't travel well. All of the cats are in & out of the house. I think they could make it because they are constantly bringing me "gifts" like birds, lizards, snakes, mice, moles & an occasional squirrel!


----------



## dakota_cachers (Nov 4, 2011)

I don't have human kids, I have 3 K-9 kids. If I go, they go. Have food and extra medical supplies for them also. I haven't spent all the time and money on them, just to either leave them or put them down. They are excellent companions, guard dogs, and are better behaved then a lot of humans I know.


----------



## stormchaser (Nov 6, 2009)

THanks this is a great idea!

boiled rice and Cottage Cheese. 

All three dogs loved and thrived on it. Try it, it is a cheap experiment. 

We have 100's of pounds of rice in our LDS food storage plan. Freeze Dried Cottage cheese is available, 30 year shelf life and is reasonably priced. So we added some. 

Voila! Instant dog food storage. 
:2thumb:


----------



## hippy (Mar 23, 2012)

We have a Yorkie, and are in the process of getting a rabbit and trying to talk our zoning into having chickens. Our Yorkie loves to clean up after the babies, so if shtf then she would still continue to do so. I give her all the fats and bones from the animals, carrots and rice for a nice treat sometimes. We also have a 5 gal bucket of dog food at all times and rotate it. She also has coats and rain gear packed up and a mini backpack. (I know, I'm one of those people)  My husband asked if I would ever eat her.. I said no, but if it were really bad I would feed her to my kids! Not much meat, but anything to survive


----------



## hippy (Mar 23, 2012)

Oh, and little dogs are good mousers. My little Gracie would eat them if id let her. All the cats we ever had like to take off when in heat. The also don't like moving around a lot either.


----------



## snipers_girl101 (Feb 13, 2012)

We have three dogs at present. One is my daughter's toy poodle. He's 11 years old now, completely blind and very tiny. My daughter grew up with him, but I know in my heart that if tshtf I'd have to put him down. He has his routine thru the house for the day, but has to be carried outside down the porch steps to do his bizness. But new situations throw him off (can't rearrange the furniture, lol, tried that and I swear he was so mad at me, had to put it back!). The rat terrier/min pin mix is a good mouser, too, hippy, and he also will catch rabbits if I let him. The border collie/lab mix is a baby still, but is being trained for protection. Rotating dry food in 5 gal buckets, also wormer stored and keeping up with their rabies shots would be a line of defense for the future.


----------

