Best dogs for SHTF?

[Docwatmo]

I have a little terrier and she is 10 times the guard dog any other dog I've ever owned.  Small, doesn't need much food and will let me know if anyone comes within a hundred yards of the house (or longer if she sees them moving),  She has the most viscous growl and bark too.  Far worse than any growl that came out of any other dog I've ever heard. 

She has small dog complex too and will fight (and has scared off) much bigger dogs.  Kind of the best of both worlds.   I think the guard dog aspect in SHTF is more important than any fighting dog ability.  Any dog can be easily killed with a club,  But you have to get close enough to do it and you aren't getting that close to my terrier without me knowing and having time to pick up a rifle.

[chrisdm8]

We have two jack russel terrier and one big lab mix mutt. The combination is great. The lab mix is too laid back to be a good guard dog but big enough to be scary, the terrier's are great watch dogs but too small to do anything. When you put them together it's a nice combination. Also, as for hunting ... terriers have their place for flushing out. I watched ours in action a while back and it was impressive how they can use teamwork. The terriers had a raccoon trapped in amongst the grapes. They went in and flushed him out right to the waiting lab mix who promptly dispatched the raccoon with one swift bite and shake.

Two thoughts ... 1) dog work great in groups 2) a well trained mutt can be more useful than a pure bred w/o training with many respects

Final comment, we were at a local winery and they also bred dogs. They were breeding great dane / german shep. mix. Those dogs were the most impressive thing I've ever seen. They looked like 200 lb german shepards w/o marking.

[Dainty]

The best dog for SHTF is the dog you know and trust.

It just had to be said.

If you're looking at small breeds, I'd submit the Xolo, though they come anywhere from toy to mid sized. As an ancient breed they were used as live bedwarmers, hunting dogs, food, medicine, and all-around companions. They naturally come either hairless or coated. The hairless Xolos are very hardy, unlike other hairless breeds. Dark skinned, the most common, requires no sunscreen in the sun and without clothing they are fine even at 20 degrees as long as they have good shelter to come back to.

The breed itself is still quite primal. It is absolutely amazing to watch just how much they sniff (everyone who saw joked about it being part bloodhound) and how accurate their alerts are. Anything unusual and they alert to it instantly, and not necessarily with a bark. They're known to only bark when needed. They do not have the high biddability of retrievers but they are extremely smart, the kind of breed that needs stimulating experiences and training in order to keep it from going bonkers. And yet this same dog will still happily snooze at your side. They are very much "velcro" dogs.

The hairless variety is especially useful as a living "hot water bottle". The Aztecs used this breed to warm people who were ill, in fact, sleeping with Xolos became the "cure all" of the time and the dogs were even eaten out of the belief that their meat was medicinal. A modern twist is that these dogs are now actually being utilized as service dogs by those suffering debilitating chronic pain.

That being said, probably the two best breeds for guard/intimidation purposes would be either a pitbull or a german shepherd. But as others have alluded to it isn't so much the breed as it is the actual dog that's important and how it benefits the family.

[Nicodemus]

I'd have a tough time picking a breed for solely SHTF scenarios. I've been close to every dog that has ever been my canine companion and when I think of them I don't want to think of them in the position of giving their lives up for mine. It would be similar to me thinking about sending my little niece into a fight. So, I probably wouldn't choose a fighter.

"Trouble! Run away doggie and save yourself while I take care of this!"  

I probably wouldn't go for an enormous breed fearing that if times got too lean it might be tough to feed the dog.

I'd also stay away from any breed that has a list of well known medical problems or was considered a short lived breed.

Through my life I've had the pleasure of the company of a Collie, a Bloodhound, a German Shepherd, a Black Lab an Irish Terrier and now a Miniature Collie. All of them were great alert dogs, fiercely loyal, mostly obedient and a number of them good protectors. The Miniature Collie we have now is a little bit of a hardcase, but we rescued her from the SPCA and though she's learned a lot, she still has a few bad habits that surface from time to time, hence the mostly obedient notation.

So, I guess my primary concern would be an alert dog with good eyes and ears that would hopefully be more of a deterrent than a dog I would want to jump into danger, a loyal family dog that would listen and respond to commands. With this in mind, it's really going to come down to training because a lot of dog breeds fit this role.

I'd also think about having a breeding pair, because it isn't like dogs would be easy to come by in a long term SHTF scenario. The pups might even be a commodity.

"How can he think about dogs as part of the family and consider the possibility that the puppies might be a commodity?" 

I know, I know...

[Dan]

Go to the dog breed info center and take the quiz to see what breeds they recommend for you. There may be a breed or two that you haven't considered or didn't even know about.

As much as I love Rottweilers I don't think it would be my pick. Like other big dogs they can eat you out of house and home when times are good much less if the SHTF. No, I think I would go with a medium sized breed they live longer, it would be possible to have a breeding pair or more with the same food supply and they could perpetuate their numbers if only for a short time. Another benefit is they could overcome an intruder with superior numbers rather than brute force. Two is one, one is none. An intruder may be able to fend off a single dog, even a large one, but when the pack comes at them from multiple directions even medium size dogs would be intimidating. Remember, if the situation was bad enough long enough people would need to be careful about injuries, even small ones.

My kids. R.I.P.
I think this was taken in 1997. Clockwise from the left is Ebony, Tera, and Braun.

[pamela]

I love dogs, but wonder if a person is trying to hide and lay low, if a dog might put them at a disadvantage.
Unless you could keep the dog quiet it might give away your  location by barking.

I have 2 dogs BTW. LOL

[Have-Gun-Will-Travel]

SHTF dog is one that you could eat if things got that bad

[flagtag]

SHTF dog is one that you could eat if things got that bad

 

[homeshow]

we have a collie mix (border, standard, and australian) she looks like a short haired Lassie.  loves us let's us take her food bowl away regularly and is very energetic and hates strangers.  good dog

we also have a great Pyranese mountain dog (mostly 7/8) he'ss 7 monhs old and 80+ pounds allready loves me and the wife and is friendly to whoever we bring to him.  a jaw that could crack hickory.  and a member of a breed well known for killing everything unwelcome in it's territory.

so we have a guardian dog and a herding dog.  also get a dog suited to your environment.  it's 15 degrees out tonight.

[The Wilderness]

SHTF dog is one that you could eat if things got that bad

Have-Gun-Will-Travel, joking or not, do not ever mention anything like this on this forum again.

You have been warned, I suggest you hear it well.

TW

[ncjeeper]

I would have to vote for a well trained German Shepherd for an all around protection, extremely intelligent, faithful to the death  type dog. They are so incredibly smart it's scary. Living alone in BFE would be almost impossible without my Hoffen. She really doesn't eat much in comparison to other dogs that size. At 9 years old and 90 pounds she strikes terror in the heart of strangers. Her only vice is  her quest to kill any cat she sees.  So... don't have any kitties here anymore.

X2

[PowerJoker6.0]

im looking into getting myself either a belgian malinois or a GSD, just cant make up my mind though.

[TwoBluesMama]

The best dog for SHTF is the dog you know and trust.

Um - what kind of dogs do I love.  Let me think a minute.  Um - oh yeah - Heelers!  See picture at left!

Seriously we've been owned by many dogs over the years, shepherds, shepherd/coyote mix, golden retriever, hybrid wolf/shepherd  and now the Blues (dad and son) and I agree with Dainty - your dog is the best dog during stressful times.  They know you and if you've raised them well they will do anything including defend your life.  I have no doubts that my boys will fight to protect me with everything they have. They are very protective and together they are frightening but also loving and gentle with us and family.

Besides old Blue picks up his toys when asked.  Takes the stuff scattered through the house and deposits them into a basket in the kitchen, herds the chickens in without scaring them when needed and absolutely hates it when girls cry - he goes crazy and will literally climb into your lap! My heart will break when I lose him and he is getting old.  I try not to think of this ever but know the day will come.

[ChEng]

I have to say for ease of care and lower maint a Mutt is the way to go. Especially a mix if it's of a couple of good hunting breeds. Like lab/german short hair mix. Or hunting plus guard dog mix.  My preference for a hunting dog is the German Shorthair, all mine have been way to friendly to be considered guard dogs though.

Our dog is also a mutt, and as far as guarding goes, he is more of an alarm ("Yippee! someone is coming to pet me!!!!" ) rather than a "go-out-on-patrol-and-blast-them-all-back-to-the-stone-age" type  .  Of course, since he has come to adopt us (he is nice enough to let us think that we adopted him), I would be in big trouble with the wife and kids if I even mentioned the possibility of him not coming.  Sooo,,, He has some food in our storage (we did get bugs earlier, so now the dog food gets frozen and will be vacuum sealed when we get that sealer.

[monger20]

I'd have to go with our Wolf

She is amazing. She has traits from many breeds; she points, retrieves, cuts & herds. Smart, good with kids, longevity & nothing sticks to her coat. She gets wet & doesn't stink. INSTINCTS - not much gets buy her.

Does anybody know of a good wolf/mix sire?

[amanadoo]

Jumping in to say that the first dog I thought of reading this thread was Jack the bulldog from The Little House books. Obedient and loyal, even when they basically left him to drown, poor guy.

I don't think it does much good to get a dog NOW based solely on what one thinks would be the best dog for SHTF. Who knows what the world will be like if that ever happens....and we will all probably have very different needs for any animal we choose to keep when that happens, than what we need right now. I think that if you need a guard dog now, that's what you should get...if you need a hunting dog now, that's what you can get. Etc...

If there is a big event, once it's over and the world has started picking up the pieces and restructuring, I think that people will again want dogs solely for companionship. So, if your dog survives the big event with you, you'll probably be grateful for him on the other side regardless of what strengths he brings to the table initially. How many times have you seen homeless guys with their dogs? Dudes barely holding on to life, still find a way to keep their buddy alive and with them.

[reefmarker]

Sister Wolf touched on Border Collies, but Australian Shepard is my pick. 

Smart as a border collie, but not as crazy.  Also, much larger and with the lion's mane of fur around thier chest they look even bigger.  Everyone is absolutely terrified to step onto my property while my dog is out.  She is also gentle enough to not mess with the cats or our small dogs.  She has massive territorial instincts, but stops as soon as she is submitted to (which can be pretty funny to see, when another dog is upside down in the yard and can't move without fear of another knock down.)  The Ausies tend to knock down their victims first with a head butt.  When she was a puppy I had a bunch of very bruised shins.  The only bad trait is hearding, which she has had trained out of her.  When she was little, if it was not moving she had to make it move, and if it was moving she had to make it go another direction.

They are also an air scent dog so they can detect sent trails in the air better than most dogs.  Most dogs are ground scent dogs and require a scent trail on the ground.  This is also very cool to watch, she will turn her head to one side, stick her nose up, and then take off for whatever she smells long before the tree rat or rabbit makes it into the open.

They are great with kids and love to be petted and taken care of. 

[OzarkThumperGirl]

I know Jack mentioned Black Mouth Cur's as good dogs so I went out to my local humane society and found a Pit/Mountain Cur mix.  He was my Christmas present to myself and boy is he a dandy! His name is Deebo.  He is very gentle and loves people, kids, dogs and cats but I can tell he's going to be an excellent guard dog.  Since he is a Pit mix, the humane society had already been training him under their "Pit Program" so he would be more adoptable.  Deebo has been an excellent addition to the family! 

[Sister Wolf]

he's sooooo cute!!!!!

[NWBowhunter]

 OzarkThumperGirl that's good lookin dog. Congrats

[OzarkThumperGirl]

Thanks Sister Wolf and NWBowhunter!

Now if I could just convince the cats he's okay!

[ncjeeper]

How old is the dog? Will it grow any bigger?

[gundog]

I think the best all around dog for SHTF might be a GSD.

But I think you have to choose the breed you love........they bring so much more than "protection".......in fact I think the fighting or protection you get from a dog not trained to do so is negligable at best and could be a detriment to the situation at worse.

To me a large dog with a fierce bark and a serious demeanor who does not bite is the best of both worlds.

Labradors are my choice of breed. There are many badly bred labs out there, being popular has really increased the number of labs from backyard breeders and puppy mills. You need to do your homework to get the lab that fits you best and does not health issues.





We also have a Rat Terrier, an american breed similar to the JRT. He is our alarm system. Nothing happens anywhere around us that he does not know about.

[madcap1one]

Love the GSDs, had two as a child/teen but man do they shed... No idea how my mom, who ran a home cleaner than most operating rooms put up with them (other than she liked the dogs more than her children - with good reason!)

The better half and I have two Boxers currently, and I sometimes wonder if they have any capacity whatsoever to protect us. Sure they bark at strangers, but about the only aggressive trait I have observed is in response to evil squirrels - and I am not sure that is aggression as much as frustration that the squirrels won't get close enough to play with.

One note, with bully breeds such as Boxers - which we had trouble training (since we were unreasonably stupid and took two pups from the same litter) one of the useful things we did, and which has direct prepper application, is to give them a job/role to play in the pack/family unit. For us, with bully dogs who like to pull on leash, we bought them backpacks and loaded them down. Some weight, a positive pulling outlet, hauling their own gear/BoBs/food, getting in some puppy exercise, a win all around. A further note on this topic - should you decide to try this, spend no money and jury rig an old backpack or duffel to try it out once or twice. Then spend the extra money on a really high end bag custom made for your pup if you decide to proceed with this plan. The general retail bags for dogs at your local Pets R Us chain - are a waste of money and effort.

[OzarkThumperGirl]

How old is the dog? Will it grow any bigger?

The humane society thinks he's around 11 months old.  He weighs 55 pounds so I don't think he'll get much bigger.  He might fill out more after he gets neutered in January.

[PAprepared]

Funny you should ask. One of my favorite breeds has always been an American Bulldog. If you check the breed characteristics they have everything one would want in BOL/Homestead protection. A good, hardy working dog with strong alliances with its masters and more importantly their children. During the great depression they were often called "the babysitting dog" because they are so good with small children. People would just leave their toddler in the back yard with these 100 pound bruisers!

http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/americanbulldogs.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ52Iiq9_QA#

We just got a female in Oct, she is now 6 months old. Smart as a whip and was a breeze to train. She will eventually be between 75-90 lbs and is a natural guard dog.

We love our big bully!!!!

[CharlieFoxtrot]

Here's ours.  10 months old and 90 lbs.  Already an amazing watch dog.

[Sister Wolf]

Looooooove Rhodies!  Congrats on the beautiful pup!

[Morgan96]

A well trained attack toy poodle will leave your enemies incapacitated with helpless laughter.   

[CharlieFoxtrot]

Looooooove Rhodies!  Congrats on the beautiful pup!

Thanks.  He's been such a positive addition to the family and a perfect companion for two high energy boys.