In case of the apocalypse...

Julee

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#1
If you could take three breeds/mixes with you, what would they be? Pretend your current dogs don't exist, you don't get to have them with you.

My first choice would be a nice GSD or Malinois for protection. Their size is a plus, as they can carry a decently sized pack. Their coats are enough to prevent them from freezing in the area I would be going to. They're quick enough to do some hunting, particularly the Malinois.

Second choice would be either a Borzoi or Ridgeback for hunting. Also large enough to carry large packs. The Ridgeback's coat worries me, however. I can't order Ruffwear gear during the apocalypse ;)

Third choice would probably be some sort of LGD, likely either an Anatolian or a CAS. Big and fuzzy to snuggle up with during the cold nights, again with carrying packs, and while I wouldn't have stock... excellent guardians.


I'd love to take an APBT, Dogo, or 'houla with me... but their coats just are not substantial enough to protect them during the winters. Ultimately why I would choose a 'zoi over the Ridgeback.
 

frostfell

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#2
Two CAS, for protection and enough raw power to take large things down, as well as some light draft work.
A Saluki for hunting if Im in a flat area/a Catahoula for hunting if Im in a wooded area
 

xpaeanx

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#3
My choices were differ depending on how bad things were in this post apocalyptic world.

In a bad post apocalyptic world I'd prob only want a GSD or Mal. I'd want protection & tracking primarily with some retrieve in a compact but strong package.

I'm only picking 1 because I feel if things were super bad, that the care and feeding of myself and one dog would be hard enough... I wouldn't want a bunch of them and I wouldn't want monster eaters either.
 

*blackrose

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#4
Central Asian Shepherd for body guard/intimidation/awesomeness aspect. Could carry a pack, take down large predators/game if needed.

Malinois may be another. Quick, agile, intelligent, protective, much more portable than a CAS.

A coated sight hound (Borzoi? Deerhound?) for hunting rabbits and potentially smaller deer if in an open area. If I had a gun and was able to hunt birds, I'd pick a Chessie for the flushing/retrieving aspect of it. Wouldn't have to worry about the elements or water with a Chessie, either. Also protective, alert, and able to carry their own gear. I'd say something like a Dogo or Catahoula for large gaming hunting, but only one dog wouldn't be able to do much against a boar.

So...either CAS/Borzoi/Chessie (if food was more of a priority than protection) or CAS/Malinois/Chessie or Borzoi (if protection was more of a priority than food).

ETA: Think I'd pick CAS, Malinois, Chessie. Hehe
 
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meepitsmeagan

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#5
American Bulldog for protection. ACD for helping me move my stock. Most likely a Chessie or similar for helping with wild game.

A very similar pack to what we have now. ;)
 

Ozfozz

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#6
Karelian Bear Dog for hunting. Not that I've ever actually met one, but when 'houlas, pits, and Ridgebacks are out due to weather...I figure this little dog could handle the cold.

Beauceron for guarding/herding. Depending on the type of apocalypse I might try to farm my own livestock for survival?

And maybe a Mal, just for good measure.
 

Dekka

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#7
It would depend on what kind of apocalypse we are talking about. And how long it will last (ie meteor impact which would be cataclysmic but short or Zombies which could last decades)

I think I would pick smaller dogs than most are. Maybe some ACDs? (JRTs would likely get them selves killed lol) something with some size but lowish food requirements. Something smart and a bit sharp but easily trainable (don't want to have to chase my sighthound down)

Something that I could train to track, for food etc. Help ward off people I don't like. A herder would be nice if its a short term apocalypse as I would likely aim to gather some livestock.
 

teacuptiger

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#8
Dogo for large game and carrying a pack, a Tibetan Mastiff for protection (cuz no one would mess with that dog, lol) and drafting if need be, and a Whippet/JRT mix for small game.

I think that's a pretty good mixed bag.
 

Dogdragoness

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#10
I wouldnt take three, it would be one, three in the apocalypse (you didnt say WHAT KIND of apocalypse it was, I am assuming its a zombie one!) I would want a medium size dog (that way I dont have to carry and worry about finding as much food) that is good off leash, so probably a herding breed or mix of some sort.
 

BostonBanker

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#11
The day we have any sort of apocalypse that is going to last more than about 12 hours, I will be the one in my car, using the last bit of fuel to run it in the garage with me inside.

I am so not made for post-apocalyptic life.

Any dogs who will be equally useless in that situation are welcome to snuggle up with me and go peaceful into that good night. So I guess my three would be a chihuahua, a pug, and a Cavalier.
 

Torch

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#13
Coat not withstanding, I think a good APBT would be a great choice. I imagine that I would be eating a bunch of varmints, which they are often excellent at hunting. They're portable, great cuddlers, and very hardy.

I suppose my second dog would need to be a larger guardian breed. I don't want a huge dog that would have a big appetite or be unable to scramble through tight places. Maybe a female Rottweiler?
 

Dekka

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#14
Also I would want breeds that are hardy and long lived. To many giant breeds are old before their time. I will assume we won't have easy vet access.
 

Romy

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#15
I am inordinately pleased so many people are picking borzois. :p

So, I'd want my dogs intact for sure.

1. Male borzoi (self black or self black and tan if we can pick colors)

2. Female fila brasileiro

3. Female wirehaired pointing griffon

Zois don't eat a ton for their size. Filas are very easy keepers, and griffs are average eaters. Also with this combination of dogs I can make more dogs, and they will be longdogs/lurchers with the potential to be good utilitarian dogs which would make them valuable to other folks needing guard and hunting dogs. Plus I wouldn't mind a sighthound fila mix if the opportunity came up. :eek: The griff would be the get-along-with-everybody dog that shouldn't have a problem living with a fila bitch. lol

Anyway, zois are good hunters. Mine are great at treeing coons in wooded areas, so yay. Filas are also great hunters and guard dogs. Griffs are great watchdogs, athletes, and wonderful at gathering food in the water. Charlie used to retrieve butter clams for me at high tide, and was a great bird dog. Since I live near the ocean that's a bonus, and all three could do draft work.

Honestly during an apocalypse I'm not going to rely on hunting game in order to provide food for me and my family though.

I'd probably hunker down and garden/raise small livestock (I've spent way too much time thinking about this, lol).

If you raise root crops, you can plant them in such a way that they just look like weed patches. This is how so many people throughout the years survived invading armies marching through and eating everything in sight. Even if all your cattle and sheep were gone, you still had beets, carrots, potatoes, onions, etc. Buckwheat looks like weeds and can be sown randomly in fields, grows well in poor soil, etc.

I'd also raise small stock, namely rabbit and quail. Rabbits are silent and you can actually raise them in underground warrens successfully, so I'd move them into places like the crawlspace of my house to keep them safe until getting a good underground warren done. They can also eat junk like grass clippings, weeds, hay, etc. and grow up just fine. They also reproduce quickly so they'd become good trade and gift fodder for other survivors to start their own colonies. And they'd make good dog food. ;)

I'd raise quail too. Eggs, meat, and they don't crow and give their position away.

The other benefit to farming these small animals is that you probably won't have a big chest freezer to put something like a deer in. With bunnies and quail you can just process what you want to eat that day, and tada, the rest will be there later.

There's also yucky forms of protein. A worm farm sounds gross, but I would totally raise worms in composted leaves and stuff if it meant my family was going to get enough food. Snails too, and they are actually delicious.

ETA: and mushrooms. You can literally grow them on garbage (straw, poop, old logs, etc.) and they have a decent amount of protein and lots of B vitamins, and you don't need sun so if the apocalypse involves no sunlight you can still grow them.
 
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#16
My post apparently wandered off into Neverland.

I'm with BostonBanker. I'm wimpy and I don't want to live in a world where I have to hunt my own food and poop in a hole. Since my boys don't exist (though Gambit would do just fine on his own), I would take my Felony, find a garage and end it all.
 
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#17
I am inordinately pleased so many people are picking borzois. :p

So, I'd want my dogs intact for sure.

1. Male borzoi (self black or self black and tan if we can pick colors)

2. Female fila brasileiro

3. Female wirehaired pointing griffon

Zois don't eat a ton for their size. Filas are very easy keepers, and griffs are average eaters. Also with this combination of dogs I can make more dogs, and they will be longdogs/lurchers with the potential to be good utilitarian dogs which would make them valuable to other folks needing guard and hunting dogs. Plus I wouldn't mind a sighthound fila mix if the opportunity came up. :eek: The griff would be the get-along-with-everybody dog that shouldn't have a problem living with a fila bitch. lol

Anyway, zois are good hunters. Mine are great at treeing coons in wooded areas, so yay. Filas are also great hunters and guard dogs. Griffs are great watchdogs, athletes, and wonderful at gathering food in the water. Charlie used to retrieve butter clams for me at high tide, and was a great bird dog. Since I live near the ocean that's a bonus, and all three could do draft work.

Honestly during an apocalypse I'm not going to rely on hunting game in order to provide food for me and my family though.

I'd probably hunker down and garden/raise small livestock (I've spent way too much time thinking about this, lol).

If you raise root crops, you can plant them in such a way that they just look like weed patches. This is how so many people throughout the years survived invading armies marching through and eating everything in sight. Even if all your cattle and sheep were gone, you still had beets, carrots, potatoes, onions, etc. Buckwheat looks like weeds and can be sown randomly in fields, grows well in poor soil, etc.

I'd also raise small stock, namely rabbit and quail. Rabbits are silent and you can actually raise them in underground warrens successfully, so I'd move them into places like the crawlspace of my house to keep them safe until getting a good underground warren done. They can also eat junk like grass clippings, weeds, hay, etc. and grow up just fine. They also reproduce quickly so they'd become good trade and gift fodder for other survivors to start their own colonies. And they'd make good dog food. ;)

I'd raise quail too. Eggs, meat, and they don't crow and give their position away.

The other benefit to farming these small animals is that you probably won't have a big chest freezer to put something like a deer in. With bunnies and quail you can just process what you want to eat that day, and tada, the rest will be there later.

There's also yucky forms of protein. A worm farm sounds gross, but I would totally raise worms in composted leaves and stuff if it meant my family was going to get enough food. Snails too, and they are actually delicious.

ETA: and mushrooms. You can literally grow them on garbage (straw, poop, old logs, etc.) and they have a decent amount of protein and lots of B vitamins, and you don't need sun so if the apocalypse involves no sunlight you can still grow them.
This guy has it figured out except for the dog part :D

though I'd probably just stick with the dogs I know. Tolerant of heat and cold where I live. big enough to do damage and small/agile to not be burdensome. Great noses, great protectors. People seem to naturally avoid a strange prick eared dog that looks vaguely like a wolf.

I think game would be extremely difficult to come by in a short period, so hunting would only come back into play after a lot of us died off.
 
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#18
I'd say Dogo and Patterdale.

Dogo obviously for protection from people and predators of any species, as well as potentially taking down large game. It's coat would keep me from losing it in thick brush and as far as winter goes, I'm sure all of us could raid a Petco. I'd use a Patterdale as an alarm system and taking out all the smaller critters. Where I'm at it's hot and humid a majority of the year with thick underbrush in the woods. So the Patterdale could easily maneuver and successfully hunt in these conditions.
 

Elrohwen

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#19
Wait, so you're saying Watson wouldn't be useful in the apocolypse? :rofl1: (j/k, he would be useless. His "hunting" would consist of scaring prey away and never catching anything)

I would pick a Malinois. In one dog you get protection, enough speed and agility to hunt, and a devoted companion, plus I could pick it up in an emergency unlike most GSDs or LGDs. I would only want one, because I don't want to worry about food for myself and a bunch of dogs.
 

monkeys23

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#20
Lily type dogs 4eva. Seriously. She's a great watchdog, she has great flushing and retrieving drives, she won't charge after something if I ask her not to, she has good herding drive, I can pick her up and run if I have to (have done it before!), and she is a spectacular watchdog. We have guns, she's totally all we'd need. Best working mix type ever. :)

I love Scout dearly but the lack of self control she has over her barking would probably get us killed.

If I couldn't get another Lily type dog I'd say a smaller working bred GSD bitch.
 

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