Natural food for our four legged survivalist friends

One of the things I sure am going to do for survival purposes is have a dog. Some of you know the reasons. One major drawback is that it is a living being that needs food. So, all I know I can give to a dog is meat. But are there other things. Stuff I can farm or pick up from nature. So on and so forth.

How to make your own dog food.

A comprehensive video series. at ehow.
How To Make Your Own Dog Food


[edit on 8-9-2009 by The Utopian Penguin]

Don't forget cats too!

It'd be good to know what's good to feed them in the wild too!

Good thread.

My german shepard digs for earthworms(to eat),and also LOVES dandelion roots,and the young leaves.
Strange,but I think he knows whats good for him.(or hes just mad)
Broccoli and caulliflower stumps also make him drool.
I bet theres a lot of other things in nature you could add to home made dogfood.
Bits of raw veg are great and healthy.

Good idea for a thread. We have a substantial deer overpopulation here. This year my plan is to get 6 permits and fill them all. Fortunately, I have two deep freezers, which one is empty. I'm looking to butcher the deer myself and save the choice cuts for my consumption and the lesser cuts I'm going to freeze for my two bird/guard dogs as a high protein supplement to their diet. Hopefully...they won't acquire too much of a liking to deer and attempt hunting them instead of target game.
Granted, we can't count on the electricity to power our household appliances. But since we produce our own beef, I have an investment as well as a shtf food supply. Bought me a couple power inverters to operate the freezers if the s did htf. Rabbits would be a good source of nutrition for them too. Unfortunately, my dogs don't like fish, or I'd be set!

Since you brought it up, just curious, are cats of any use when the SHTF?

Only other animals I can see being useful are producer animals (Chickens, Pigs,Cows,Goats,Etc). Travel animals such as horses or mules. Birds for messenging, early warning system (yellow canaries), or hunting. All those in the trainable animal catagory. Unless you're crazy enough to try and train a bear or lion cup to protect you or something of the sort lol.

Dang Marrr, 6 permits. Hope they don't cost much. I find it disgusting that we need that many permits, licenses, papers, and so forth to do the basics.

reply to post by furzball

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Cats keep mice and other vermin away. Should a makeshift community form, they would almost be essential to have.
If the SHTF scenario happens and we need to abandon the cities, Where do you think all the rats are going to go?
right along with us. They follow the trash.

I would also like to pint out, that if we are really tanked, and need to get out of dodge and never go back, pets are a hindrance to travel with, unless the afore mentioned canines are with you.
I have 4 cats, and I love them all, but if they went tsar bomba nearby, I would leave the door open. They can survive better on their own.



[edit on 9/8/2009 by reticledc]

My plan;


Dog's get to eat all the squirrels, rabbits and other such animals as they can catch.

Cat get's all the mice and birds she can get her paws on.

Hell, this is essentially their diet now.

reply to post by The Utopian Penguin

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Great link. I'll take a look at this.

Its always nice to have a dog that can chase down rabbits. Dogs are the best companions. There's so much they can do compared to cats.

reply to post by WatchRider

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Mice. Cats can survive on mice, they'd need to catch them on their own though.
Let nature take over with cats.

A good plan, the last time I was out camping/hiking, my dog (Malemute) caught eight rabbits and countless mice in five days, three rabbits she caught while leashed to me.

A bad tactic on the rabbits part is to think hunkering down and hiding is a good idea. My Mal is fixated with food and never passes up a meal even if it is hiding.

She will be a great asset if TSHTF

reply to post by mamabeth

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You may want to use another container for the water for your cats.
I doubt the plastic used in those jugs are food grade and may lead to leeching of chemicals into the water.

Storing Water For Emergencies

[edit on 8-9-2009 by The Utopian Penguin]

reply to post by The Utopian Penguin

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Thanks,I didn't think about that.

As far as diet, I know a lot of people advocate the raw food diet.
I have a cat with Cerebellar hypoplasia, a balance disorder. My cat could never survive on her own but would easy to take in a B.O. situation, and could be very useful against snakes and rodents.

One thing I forgot,one of my cats has a chip in him.I wanted to have
it removed ,the vet didn't want to remove it.Any ideas of what I can
do?

Watch the end of A Boy and His Dog to get ideas...

Dogs will pretty much eat whatever you are eating. Cats are a little more picky, however. I doubt they would enjoy a MRE, or other survivalist rations.

reply to post by mamabeth

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I don't mean to sound cruel but in a SHTF scenario unless your a survival extroirdinaire those cats will hinder you dramatically, may even be your downfall if you let it. If i had the indoor type of cats you had i would use them as a food supply, it sounds mean but its survival of the fittest when SHTF

don't take it offensively as i would probably be crying as i ate or killed them but a SHTF scenario is serious and you have to make sacrifices to survive.

edit: im actually surprised no one else has said this to you here, ask yourself in a SHTF scenario, do YOU really think you will live with them until their natural death when everything around you has gone to hell? I dont see it happening personally.

edit2: i mean do you really think all these supplies for them will last!?
i mean come on toys???? you cant be taking this serious. i mean really think about what your saying, litter pans? hun, i really dont think you will have the time to be scooping up their poop out of a litter pan when your starving. you will need a reallity check when SHTF, again dont take this offensive, it is my humble honest opinion, opinion isnt fact, you may fly through this SHTF scenario with flying colors. but i really doubt it with this kind of thinking.

1.Stainless steel bowls for food and water
2.Litter pans and scoop (2 pans and 1 stainless steel scoop)
3.Blankies and towels
4.A couple of toys
5.Hair brushes and combs
6.Packets of cat food
7.Pet vitamins
8.Carriers(won't fit into bags)
9.Litter(won't fit into bags)
10.Water,I saved some of the jugs their litter came in to use for this
11.Flea and tick shampoo
12.Neosporin cream for cuts,not the ointment
13.Stridex,alcohol free&sensitive skin,for feline acne


[edit on 12-9-2009 by 4stral4pprentice]

I know it not Natural food for our pets,but there are survival pack out there for our pets. Something to consider.



Pet Survival Kits

I found a few places so a Google search will do it nicely.

[edit on 14-9-2009 by The Utopian Penguin]