sampson-the-mini-dachshund

Prepping For Your Pup | A Dog Is Another Family Member

sampson-the-mini-dachshund
(Sampson, back in 2010)

Lots of us have a dog, or dogs. They’re our furry friends. They love us unconditionally. They are very much a part of the family. Don’t forget about preparedness supplies for them too!

Benefits of having a dog for preparedness

They are not only great companions, but can serve us well in other areas.

threat deterrent

Dogs are great threat deterrents. If an intruder is lurking, or trying to get into your home, your dog is going to growl and bark (hopefully!). The intruder will likely rethink the situation and move on to a home without a dog.

they are an ‘alarm’

No matter how secure you feel your home is, your dog will more than likely be the first one to notify of someone coming. No matter what breed of dog you have, they can hear very well! They have an incredible sense of smell too. If anyone is coming, they will know. Their early warning (built-in bark alarm) will be a sort of early warning system…

physical protection

Your dog loves you unconditionally. No matter what breed, if you are in harm’s way, your dog will likely place themselves with you, to help you. Yes, some breeds will be better at physical protection than others. I used to have a German Shepard / Akita mix who appeared quite intimidating, and would surely ’cause some damage’ if it came to that. However my current little Dachshund doesn’t know he’s just 15 pounds, and would probably bite some ankles pretty good ;)

comfort and companionship

These are other benefits of having a dog. They love you. You could be having a bad day, but when they see you — they’re always just as happy.

Preparedness for your dog

It’s pretty simple:

food

Think of your dog as your family member. Treat them as such when you are prepping.

Obviously, it’s primarily about having enough food. No different from you.

Canned food or dry, whatever you normally feed them. Buy some extra. Bear in mind that dry food (with its oils) will begin to go rancid after awhile (6 – 12 months?). Canned food (logically) will last much longer without issue.

I recently purchased a bunch of extra for our dog, given the coronavirus situation. Better safe than sorry, so to speak.

medications

Heart-worm pills and other such regular maintenance treatments. Flea deterrent meds? Maybe you’re giving your dog Glucosamine? Whatever it might be, maybe you stock up some extra.

prep-for-your-pet

So remember, when you are prepping for yourself, don’t forget your pets too.

27 Comments

  1. We have lots of dog food.

    One thing I’ve found is the topical flea and tick medications are dispensed by weight. Price is generally the same as to whether you are dosing an 80 pound dog or a 20 pound dog. If you have a 20 pounder buy the 80 pound dose and use a syringe to divide it into 4 doses. Shop around as feed supply houses are generally cheaper than the vet. Look at the big box stores too. Amazon and eBay might be other sources.

  2. We have a ChiWeinie, a Chihuahua-Daschund mix.. She wont be doing any damage, but she wakes up everyone if she hears anything!

  3. I always like pictures of Half-Dome in Yosemite…as I used to climb that rock and hang ten at its top. Great dog, too.

  4. I am currently experimenting with rice, beans and lentils in combination with plain meats to make my own wet food at home for both edentulous cats and dogs.

    Cooking pet food is much simpler than people food: Do not add spices, chilis to the food and it can be pretty nutritious for our pets. These experiments take place on my days off when I cook batches of soups and stews. ( small portion set aside before I add spices to whatever is being cooked.).

    These recipes are handy to know come the day you have difficulty obtaining dry kibble or canned food. I got these ideas from a guy that competed in Iditarod racing with his dogs. Adjusting the ratio of protein to carbs and getting other nutrients is good to know before times of crisis and shortage.

    1. Calirefugee, thanks for using a new word for me: edentulous (toothless). I don’t believe I’d ever heard/read it before. I learned something new today!

  5. Consider getting some DMG to have on hand, amazon, it can be given to cats, dogs and birds.
    It for the immune system. Do your research and see what you think.
    Worm medicine and flea control. One of the cats loves mice and gets tape worms from time to time. Diatomaceous earth does not seem to get rid of the tapes as well as other worms.
    The higher the protein/meat in their diet will produce less poop. Our furry buddies do not eat veggies, beans or fruit in the wild. They eat meat and insects. Of course commercial food has a blend these days.

  6. Our “Puppy” is a mix of Poodle and Golden Retriever, in our humid summers she tends to get ear infections so I just picked up a couple bottles of ear flush. I’ve been giving her vitamins and some plain Greek yogurt since the WU FLU started to build up her immune system. We now have 6 months of food stored for her as well. IT’S COMING?

    Stay safe, God Bless you n yours, and watch out fur dem hogs! Rom 8:28

    1. Seminole Wind. try a few drops of oil of oregano in her ear every 2nd or 3rd day… the 6% carvisols strength. I use this in my JR’s ears . he does not like the smell but it is extremely soothing, kills ear mites and is antibacterial and anti yeast.. massage it in well. JR pushes his ear over in my hand to get it rubbed in.

      1. Seminole Wind,

        To second Just Sayin’s advice, I too have used oil of oregano, cut with coconut oil around 4:1 with my big girl. Wrapped some TP around an index finger and chased the mix down her big, floppy ears. What came out the next day was horrible. But after a third treatment she stopped batting her paws at her ears and was finally able to rest again. I keep her ears clean after each weekly bath now. Again, like JS’s dog, mine comes up to me while seated and lays her head sideways in my lap when her ears need attention.

  7. We have a pit bull that thinks she is a lap dog. We keep a small metal trash can full of dry food for her. She also thinks she has to have some of everything we eat. She has a “spare tire” to get her thru any hard times.

  8. I have 11 dogs ranging from 165 pds down to 2 pds. Most of them are throw-away dogs that showed up at my farm gate when their city owners threw them out of the car. I get them fixed and a rabies shot at the vet. Then I give them all their other shots and monthly meds myself. Anyone who tried to hurt me would die a painful death from 6 huge dogs attacking him/her/them. The other 5 dogs are small dogs that were on death row at shelters. I call them my alarm dogs as they bark up a storm at any unknown noise. These dogs are more reliable than most people.

    Feeding this pack requires a mixture of different ready-made dog foods, home made raw and cooked foods. To stretch the food I add cooked chicken, rice, lentils and herbs. In the cold weather they get oatmeal which they love. I go through 150 pds of dry food a month for the 6 big dogs and 50 pds of dry food for the little dogs. This is supplemented with home made foods containing appropriate meds for old dogs or any dog needing special care.

    We stock all types of animal meds and I’ve learned to treat most minor problems and have sufficient feed for 3 months but will be increasing it shortly. I got my buds covered.
    -=-=-

    1. Farmmom, Thank you for taking in those dogs. I have a soft spot for these creatures, and a hard spot for those who abuse them. That’s a lot fo food you go through!

  9. I just took my dog’s in for their annual physical and asked the vet to give me 12 months of heartworm for each..he refused. Any advice?

    1. Km in nc:
      My vet always gives me 12 months for Blue, try and call a different Vet

    2. You can order from canadapetcare.com without a prescription. I have been ordering from them for 8 years.

    3. Try Rural King or Southern States if you have any of these stores in your area.

    4. Maybe just ask for a written prescription? Also, Chewy.com will contact your vet for you to get the prescription. I need to check to see if Costco will fill the heartworm meds…I have gotten lots of other dog meds from Costco.

  10. Lived a couple places where there was no commercially available dog food. Would go to the market and pick up a few lbs of assorted grains – oats, rice, barley – whatever was in stock. Boiled it up. Boiled up a few dozen eggs and crushed them with shells into grain, mixed in a couple cans of mixed vegetables and a few glugs of cooking oil. Froze in one pint containers. Dogs got a frozen block morning and night. Healthiest dogs I ever had, and shiniest coats too.

  11. On a topic connected to this one; under a SHTF scenario we need to provide ourselves and our pets with water. If this water needs to be treated, I’ve noticed that everywhere I looked at CLOROX bleach containers lately, they no longer have one that just says “REGULAR” they all said now with CLOROMAX technology. So is this still REGULAR and ok for treating water?
    Don’t know if someone can answer this. Maybe I’ll see if the company can give an answer as to what the difference is, if any?

    1. Found the answer already! Should have looked first, but Clorox has a pdf. that shows this Cloromax technology changes some of the dosage amounts depending on what your using it for,but it is still REGULAR bleach. For water disinfection the old Regular was 6 drops/gal. and the new Cloromax branded bleach requires 8 drops/gal. On the pdf for laundry and toilet disinfection etc. it seems like all catagories require more with the Cloromax Technology as compared to the old REGULAR bleach. Makes you wonder why they bother making a change that seems to make the product less effective?

    2. You bring up a very good question. I was not aware of the new-and-improved bleach (with “Cloromax”). (More Marketing stuff to sell product).

      I checked out their website on this product (Clorox Performance Bleach with Cloromax). Under the FAQ, here’s some info:

      ————

      What are the changes in bleach concentration?

      The new Clorox® Performance Bleach1 with CLOROMAX®Technology formula contains 6.0% sodium hypochlorite, compared to 8.25% in the previous formulation. With the addition of CLOROMAX® Technology, the additional concentration of sodium hypochlorite is not necessary to deliver the confidence of a Clorox® Clean that our consumers know and trust.

      ————

      Is CLOROMAX® Technology safe?

      Yes. Clorox® Performance Bleach1 with CLOROMAX® Technology is safe when used as directed. This product is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for numerous health-sensitive uses, such as emergency water disinfection, food contact surface sanitization, and swimming pool disinfection.

      ————

      Is CLOROMAX® technology harmful to my family, pets or the environment? Will it ruin surfaces, equipment or clothes?

      When used as directed, Clorox® Performance Bleach1 with CLOROMAX® should not pose hazards to children, pregnant women, pets or the environment. This product is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for numerous health-sensitive uses, such as emergency water disinfection, food contact surface sanitization, and swimming pool disinfection. The protective CLOROMAX® barrier is invisible and will not harm any materials or fabrics on which bleach is approved for use.

      ————

      Not sure what this “Cloromax” ingredient is, but, they’re saying it’s still safe for emergency water disinfection. It also looks like they went back to 6% sodium hypochlorite.

      Related article: Bleach-Water Ratio for Drinking Water Purification

      1. Ken, i was just reading all that because i noticed the change in label and the volume with a couple cases i just bought. It has me wondering if its not just a ploy to hide inflation? Give you less volume and a less concentrated product fir just slightly more so they can make it seem a 2% increase rather than a 15-20% increase.

        Im going to buy another big bucket of chlorine granules from lowes,,, JIC

    3. Get some pool shock. Plain calcium hypochlorate (I think that is what it is called) It doesn’t have any other chemicals in it like algaecide or pool stabilizer, just powdered chlorine. I used to buy a big bucket of the stuff when I had a pool but you might be able to purchase it in a small amount.

  12. The dog we just lost would have let anyone into the house and would have jumped in for a ride with anyone. Luckily our other dog is a 100 pound lab who has a terrifying bark. But after he barks, he runs to hide behind one of us!!!

    We have lots of dog food now, one of the shoring up preps I did last week. And I just received a good 6 months of flea and tick stuff. Since we are down 1 dog, I have a good year and a half of heartworm for the dog who is left.

  13. RAW foods!! As an old K-9 officer I used to feed my German import Shepard a complete raw diet. He lived and was working far past the time when other would retire and the Vet was always amazed at his health.

    Remember, bones are NOT bad for dogs, COOKED bones are as they become brittle and then can break into shards. Used to give him 1/2 of a full chicken, currently at 49 cents a pound when you by it by the case, twice a day along with a mix of veggies…. Also mixed in about a 6 inch section of raw beef bone, the marrow in the bones is fantastic for dogs!!

    Still feed our current pups a raw beef bone section everyday, Again the Vet is always amazed at their heath and that our old big boy, a black lab/coon hound mix (120 lbs.) at 13 is still acting like a pup.

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