Best All Around Dog for TEOFTWAWKI

[Wifezilla]

Well, Cookie is pretty scary. Not because of her size or anything, but everyone assumes she has the plague or something and gets grossed out

*Cookie is over 21 years old and just looks like a bag of bones with random bits of fur stuck on her. She is healthy, happy, but just freaking old.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Nicholas has mad kung fu fighting skills and the ability to save me from mice that are as large as my thumb - and sometimes larger.

thats the kind of protection i need!

 

[TanksHill]

 

[tortoise]

Y'all make my head hurt.

 

[savingdogs]

We just lost a member of our pack-an ancient bassett hound. I would like to get another dog that may be more, shall we say, useful?

I would like a dog that can carry a good size pack, haul a small cart, guard property and my kids, if need be. Reasonably healthy (ie not prone to bloat, hip dysplasia, etc)

Is this asking too much? Are there any breeds or mixes that may fit this bill?

I don't see anything here that the OP is looking for an attack trained dog. It says "guard property." I think we got a little off topic here, the OP wants one that carries a pack, hauls carts and guards the kids. Attack training is perhaps a topic for another thread.

I believe I already listed two personal experiences on this thread already myself that illustrate the guarding traits in dogs I have personally known. One was a border collie and one a lab/pit, so those two breeds are ones I would suggest to the OP for their need for an best all around dog for TEOFTWAWK!.

 

[tortoise]

I don't see anything here that the OP is looking for an attack trained dog. It says "guard property."

Ooooo I love the object guard exercise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYal1kucpgQ

Here's a vocal dog, lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0sSMSOs8Tw&feature=related

 

[savingdogs]

So what are you recommending to the OP, Tortoise, a dog specially trained? a malinois? I think you've made the point that you feel dogs that are specially trained are important if you want a specific type of dog trained to truly hurt people on command or 100 percent keep an object safe.

Personally I prefer my dogs and their untrained instincts and good common sense. I've always been looking for dogs that were family pets and not exclusively a working dog, and I suppose it all really depends on what you want out of your dog. The OP can clearly decide if they want the type of dog around their child that is trained to bite like that, or whether they want to use the family gun for protection and use the dog as more of an alerting system and hopeful backup helper in times of duress, hopefully with some dual purposes, such as being able to pull a cart, or carry a pack.

Personally a dog able to herd or help hunt would seem useful to me so that is what I'd want, but it all boils down to what kind of assistance hiker wants when TSHTF. But your comments such as "we are making your head hurt" are the kind of comments that get good threads closed, so why don't you just agree to disagree with some folks who may have different dog opinions than yourself?

One thing I have learned, we all have our own ways and own opinions about how dogs are based on the dogs we have known. Agreeing to disagree on this topic is a very good choice; discussing dog training is like discussing religion or politics, it can go sour quickly because everyone is so convinced their own ideas are correct. My theory is that because dogs are very trainable by many techniques, so everyone is an expert....and I'm not being condescending, I say that meaningfully. I personally am not fond of highly trained attack dogs, I've lived around them and folks who said they were the experts experts and taught people how to train these dogs, .... the dogs ....bit people at the wrong times! So my experience with this has not been positive and feel that these types of dogs are best left for the police force and such, as there are very few "typical" owners who will be able to handle these types of dogs. Malinois can be VERY hard to own. I've re-homed several that people chose because they thought they would get into this stuff at some time and the dog was way too much for them. So from my perspective an attack trained malinois is only for a dog expert type person to own and control.

But I respect your opinion for yourself and for your dogs and your choices, and I can agree to disagree without suggesting you make my head hurt or I need to bash my head against the wall. You are going to make yourself crazy if you want to try to make all dog people agree on what is the best kind of dog. Can't we keep this a little more light-hearted so the thread does not get closed? The "best" dog is going to be in the eye of the beholder.

OFG will think it is Ti, for Denim Deb it was her cocker, for me it is my border collie, etc., for you, obviously, a dog with a lot of special training and an aptitude for it. I thought the idea here was to present our thoughts for hiker to choose the perfect dog for them, not argue regarding how to define the word "protect" or "guard" when speaking about dogs.

 

[tortoise]

I'm not suggesting a breed of dog. I listed a few of my personal picks for different purposes, but breed is virtually meaningless outside of the USA and AKC.

If you look at breeds around the globe, every country/region has a variety of "breeds" that serve different purposes. It's not pedigrees or show rings, the dogs are selected to perform a purpose. This selection over time changes the morphology of the dog to better suit it's intended purpose.

Breed choice does matter, but it doesn't make up for lack of direction.

Before I would let someone even THINK about what breed they wanted for a Service Dog, they had to submit a list of what they wanted a dog to do. Usually the breed they thought they wanted was not a reasonable match for the actual work they wanted done.

With a very vague guideline, the best anyone can say is that more than one dog is needed to fulfill all these needs completely.

When I'm talking about guarding, or protecting, these are tightly defined behaviors. There are several organizations that we can borrow definitions from, however that is pointless without knowing exactly WHAT guarding or protection means to a person. Clearly, I expect a dog protecting me to protect me with his life.

But more in general, if you don't select for it, train for it completely and rigorously, it's a crapshoot. Worse than a crapshoot.

If you want a herding dog, than get a instinct-tested herding breed dog, train it and use it for herding.

If you want an alert barking dog, pick something yappy and train it to bark.

If you want a deterrent, pick any large black dog.

If you want carting or pulling pick anything over 35 pounds without a roached back and train it for carting, 'joring, and breaking heavy weights.

Picking a breed doesn't end up with a working dog. Knowing what you want, knowing what it is when you see it, knowing how to train it, and knowing how to maintain it will get you a working dog.

 

[TanksHill]

Note to self.....

In case of TEOTWAWKI....... forget the whole dog thing and get a cat like OFG.

That or maybe another gun.

 

[tortoise]

Note to self.....

In case of TEOTWAWKI....... forget the whole dog thing and get a cat like OFG.

That or maybe another gun.

In case of SHTF, you'd better have said dog(s) --- or cat --- a long time ago. How are you going to transport a dog - finding a breeding from god-knows-where, find training info, etc., ??