*Kennel Your Dog*
In a perfect world, dogs belong in the house - snoozing on the couch, under foot or in my lap. But, as we all know, this is not a perfect world and my "house" is a mobile home. In stick-built homes, my dogs have always been in the house with me, as it should be. Far be it from me to go into detail about my fear of mobile homes, especially since I own and live in one. However, I have always regarded mobiles as death traps or fires waiting to happen. I've seen fires. I've seen the charred rubble that remains after a mobile home is engulfed. I personally knew a man who's mobile home burned to the ground while he was at work - and the biggest tragedy was that his dog perished in that blaze. I think too highly of my dogs to endanger them in such a manner - now that I know that it not only CAN happen - but DID happen to someone I knew.
For a long time, I believed that a dog left in a stick-built house was safe and sound, too. The sad thing is that stick-built houses go up in smoke, too. Why take the chance of Fido perishing in a blaze while you aren;t there?
Spend the money and put forth the time to build or buy a suitable kennel. It's real easy to buy a chain, rope or cable and tie him to a stake in the yard, to a make-shift trolly using an overhead line or even inside a barn. Even easier to let him run loose, or if you have a house with a fenced yard, to just let him have the run of the yard.
These lack the element of security for all your possessions - including Fido. I have kept dawgs in all the aforementioned ways and when it comes to security and peace of mind - nothing beats a sturdy kennel.
The Beagle kennel was built with the intention of keeping the beagles in place. That purpose was served. I was not thinking about keeping bigger dogs out - and it didn't. I was mortified when I looked out the window one day only to see someone's free-roaming mutt inside one of my kennels mounting one of my beagles! Odd thing of it was that the "stray" recognized one of two things - instantly: it was either the expression on my face when I came out of the house, or the sound of a woman-gone-mad pumping a shotgun. Either way, he did exactly what I wanted him to - gave up women and sex and headed for the hills. Fortunately, he hadn't made contact and my beagle was fine. Nonetheless, had I not looked out the window - hadn't been home, I may never have realised the problem until a litter or two looked a bit "off."
For much of my life, rather than physically taking a dog for a walk, I succumbed to the easy way of doing things - having a chain or cable that could reach to the front or back door. Simply open the door, attach Fido and resume what I was doing before Fido indicated he needed to go out. Fido will bark or scratch at the door when he is ready to come in, and the process is reversed - open the door, unlatch Fido and in he comes. Dog went out, took care of business and came back in - and you don't even have to put your shoes on. It's economical, convenient, effective, suitable for just about any housing situation - urban, suburban or country. It makes travel with Fido convenient, too. He already knows the score with a cable tie-out no matter where you go or end up.
The down side to the tie out is that your dog is a sitting duck to predatory animals. The kennel omits this danger. Make it 6 feet high with a roof and bottom. Nothing can jump over and nothing can dig under. Fido is safe - and accounted for.
War recently posted about Feral dogs in a SHTF scenario. Exerpts from that post follow:
Subject: Feral Animals in Survival
Posted by: War
I've dealt with feral dogs that had formed into starving packs.. it wasn't pretty.
During a disaster, or quarantine, "Fluffy" may be let loose to run wild and forage for himself. A starving animal is a dangerous animal.
In WV people frequently take their unwanted animals out to the country, or old strip mines, and put them out.. there's a special placein the depths of Hell for these people.. right down near Dante's lowest level where traitors dwell.
Dogs especially form packs, and in the winter they have attacked children and even adults.. we tangled with a pack one winter during training.
When a disaster hits and food is scarce, or when the owners die,these animals will probably form up in packs and roam neighborhoods..if you are caught out unarmed, you may be in trouble. It's easy to dismiss neighborhood dogs now, but when you see the canines of astarving dog, there's nothing cute about it. Feral Dogs are worse than many natural wild animals because they are used to humans and therefore have no instinctive fear of them
Many survival novels have a scene in them where zoo animals are roaming around.. that's probably not much of a concern.. if untended,these animals would mostly die in their cages. But the simple neighborhood dogs WILL be a danger. They may attack openly, or they maylay in wait. A few dogs from a dog pack may even "herd" you into the main body of the pack.
In a disaster, if you see a feral dog, assume there are others nearby. In Fact, if you only see one dog, be especially wary since this may be a pack that's learned to "herd". If they've gotten to thispoint, it's a smart pack, and they have experience in bringing down prey (probably a person or two also).
When in doubt, Shoot the animal and find a place where you can't be flanked, like putting your back to a wall... you may have to wait for the rest of the pack to come to you. If unarmed, you may end up having to spend a considerable amount of time up a tree.
Given a choice between using a club and taking to a tree, I'd take to a tree. If you use a club (stick, log, etc) while you are whacking one dog another will jump you. Dogs are used to this tactic when fighting large animals.. much like fighting bears and stags, one dog dances just out of range while another drives in for a bite.
The best defense is a firearm, and don't stop shooting until thewhole pack is down or they'll simply regroup and be a danger againlater.
Also watch YOUR pets during a disaster.. a starving animal will eat other dogs or cats.. basically anything they can bring down.
During a disaster or long quarantine, chances are good that you'llhave to deal with one of these packs.. so make plans to deal with them now. Get used to carrying a weapon when you go out, and be mentally steeled to shoot to kill.
DO NOT go out without a gun, the danger will be very real, and always has been throughout history during times of plague.
Subject: Alpha/Beta Dog
Posted by: gm3
I have had to tangle with more than a few wild dogs and wild dog packs, coydogs and dogs with rabies. I do not look forward to this experience again.
I equate dog packs to inner city crack gangs. Alone, they are a minimal risk at best but together they are your worst nightmare..
The Alpha, leader, is dangerous in the pack as he has to maintain his status quo with the pack, he must be assertive and initiate the first attack. The Beta is the most dangerous as he is a wanna-be Alpha,he will constantly try to "one up" the Alpha in front of his pack peers and will take wilder chances on attacking.
Pack dogs will either try to corner you or catch you in the open. In a "cornered" attack they will attempt a frontal attack while at the same time try out flanking you, they sense fear and are vicious. They can manipulate terror and use it to their advantage.. If you have tofight them and have the luxury of time and clear thinking whack the Alpha and Beta first, most time the rest will disengage but not always.This of course is a "Perfect World Scenerio", most cases you will shootthe targets of the most opportunity.
In an open field attack they will most likely be running in a wide circle around you and close the circle, taking nips at you testing your stengths and weaknesses and wear you down in the process. This is very stressful and it is easy to panic. This was my major experience, they were closing in and I started shooting. I was hunting rabbits alone andhad a .410 over and under shotgun. After this experience I take an M870, having only a .410 was frightening to me and I was shaking like aleaf when the dogs broke off the attack. It was lightening fast and brutal and I was lucky I escaped unscathed.
I witnessed my Dad viciously fight pack dogs when I was young. The level of violence and viciousness of my Dad against the pack dogs shocked my Brother and I. He fought them with a hardwood walking stick.I now understand he was fighting to protect his children. He swore loudly at them also and I now believe they sensed he was not affraid of them and would kill them all if they gave him a chance...This is one ofmy worse nightmares, to be attacked by dogs while with my boys. The pack dogs will attempt to separated the smaller weaker targets from the stonger one(s) while the Alpha and Beta rip the smaller weaker targets to shreds.
Be ready for the fight of your life if you are confronted in the open and forced to fight, use every weapon you can, a rock, stick,knife, handgun, shotgun etc and like War said, a tree is the best option...If you are able to shoot them and cause them to disengauge and flee continue shooting if you can, shoot them on the run, kill/wound everyone you can.
Now understand I am a dog person however, I shoot every single wild dog out in my AO I see. I shoot them with a 10/22 with 60g 22lr subsonics as they hit hard and are very quiet. Heart/lung takes them down everytime. We have rabies alerts out here, skunks mostly and wild dogs get into chickens and rabbits. Once I had 12 rabbits in pens and all but one were killed by dogs.
Should tshtf I will continue to shoot dogs with subsonic .22lrs asI do not want to burn up my service rounds in my defensive firearms and I want to aviod making noise for security reasons.
Remember these "Pets" are now wild animals with no regard or fear to humans and in fact their familiarity with humans they had during thier "pet status" makes them unfearful of humans. I have heard oflocals who were quiety approached by a single (Alpha most likely) dogin the field and were bitten then attacked by the others..
Buckshot wrote some excellent articles on this subject based on his experiences with pack dogs. I think they are still here in the archieves. I type "Buckshot" in the search engine then go through his many articles and find it.
Thinking about this in advance is yet another subject that needs tobe well thought out. I think you have to shed your preconcieved "Lassie Notions" as this is a very dangerous reality..
JMH
Semper Paratus
Subject: Deal with as many as possible now...
Posted by: Raidyn
My theory on dealing with roaming dogs is that if they are a nuisance now, they can only get worse if TSHTF.
A dog roaming the neighborhood while "owner" is away can quickly go from just collecting patting from humans they know to chasing and attacking other animals in a second. I have seen many dogs since my childhood walking around neighborhoods that were perfectly nice to me because I petted them whenever I saw them or tossed a little food their way occasionally. But some of those same dogs I have witnessed attacking smaller dogs of neighbors and threatening school children coming home from school. I know that most people's pet dogs are tame under most conditions. It's just that even domesticated dogs are territorial. If there is something that doesn't "belong" in their territory, it will get special attention from them. Sometimes that attention can escalate into violent behaviors. It doesn't take long for an irresponsibly owned dog to develope destructive behaviors like garbage rummaging, chasing other animals, growling at kids or strangers to the area, etc. And it can only get even uglier from there.
Because of seeing a lot of that behavior myself, I have dealt with several roaming dogs whose owernship was in question. The problem of dealing with these animals in a populated area is the noise predominantly. Sheeple are less inclined to care what you are doing if you do it without making a lot of racket and "disturbing" their afternoon yoga session. Sheeple love a distracting activity. Especiallyif it involves voyeuristically watching and judging other folks actions. Don't invite this by shooting a loud gun in a neighborhood.
For dealing with problems in this situation I have found that a wise investment is to get a sound suppressor and a .22 rifle loaded with Aguila's heavy weight sub-sonic rounds. Most states allow the ownership of suppressors and it's a tremendous tool in allowing us todeal with violent or questionable animals. This is of course assuming you have legally purchased the suppressor from either a Class IIIfirearms dealer or a Class II Manufacturer directly. As for qualifications, if you have legally purchased a pistol recently, you are almost assured to pass the qualifications to own a suppressor. There is however the monetary issue....the tax on buying one is a one time fee of $200 plus the price of the suppressor.
This may not be for everyone, but it is definitely easier to keepthe local free-roaming dogs thinned out before TSHTF than after andthey have gotten hungry.
As for the ammo, it's important to use subsonic ammo with a suppressor to keep the noise to a minimum (if less noise is your goal).The Aguila "super sniper subsonic" rounds are great for this application. They have good punch at reasonable ranges and do a decent amount of damage due to the inertia a larger mass of lead provides.Plus they are not very pricey if mail ordered.
If you are interested in getting more info on this option todealing with pests quietly, ask your local fireams seller if they know where the nearest "Class 3 dealer" is. They will most likely have an idea.
Just my take on the topic,
Raidyn
"He who hesitates, perishes." -Satchel Paige
Subject: Personal Experience
Posted by: Osage
Parts of N Fulton Co, GA in the late 60's were awash with feral dog packs. Our farm backed on a large swamp that formed the NW county line.I've hunted dogs over bait. Nasty job, but was the only way to keep the packs killed back enough to have livestock on some parts of the farm.I've seen dog packs regroup and counter-attack when caught in a kill zone by gunfire.
One neighbor got run up a tree while out squirrel hunting. No sling on his rifle so he left it on the ground to save his life. (NOTE toself: buy a sling) His brother rode in on a large horse firing a.30-'30 and got run off by the dog pack. Boy was finally rescued by menin two pickups firing shotguns and M-1 carbines from the beds.
On the subject of .22 rimfires and dogs: I've seen dogs (bird dogor German Shephard size) with ultimately fatal heart/lung shots by.22LR and .22 Magnum turn and attack their human killers. Took shots to the legs and/or brain to stop 'em. You want more knockdown, IMHO, than a rimfire gives when lives are on the line.
Get the picture? It doesn't take an Einstein to know that pet dogs can become feral and dangerous. The sad part is that some of those feral dogs out there are actively someone's pet and the owners are oblivious to the daily activities of their dogs while they are out and about. Your own Fido can become their target if loose in a fenced yard, roaming his own property or tied to a cable outside your house. Don't let it happen to your Fido.
Got that kennel up yet?
Afarmer
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