Alright...

Let's assume that Sit X has occured, you have your palace in the woods (or anywhere else), and you are tucking in for a bit, but unknown to you is that the dogs of the area, now abandoned and neglected, are banding together and heading into the countryside to find food. Let's assume that their supply of food in refuse and trash has been depleted and they have moved to hunt in the wild as packs.

How can you stop these menaces from troubling you? Are there ways to dodge their well trained nose?

I assume that keeping your food wrapped well and out of reach will be a good start, but how can you stop them from pestering you and your camp? And what if you have a dog of your own?

12 Ga with 00 shot.

Just send a message around to your fellow buddies from afar, to let-em know your gonna have a big luncheon/buffet and they are invited!


ETA....Theres no reason to tell-em whats on the menu!

[edit on 21-10-2009 by Doc Holiday]

If they have made it to the point of pack mentallity, it is easy to control the "pack" shoot Mr. dominate 1st

Its like coyote hunting...in ways....if there is more than one dog you want to shoot, which one do you shoot 1st? easy question...

The one furthest away, because after the 1st shot, the one furthest away, is the one most likely to get away, in the turn and run...

Honestly, I'd feed em. No better ally in a survival situation than a dog or two, and f they are hungry, they will be loyal to you if you establish that you are their master and will provide food.

The reasons why canines travel in packs is because they are naturally scavengers. Thus they are, by nature, cowardly.

Yes, dogs can be nurtured into aggressiveness, and even naturally in a pack, can sometimes be aggressive. However, it doesn't take much to deter either a single aggressively bred dog or a pack of aggressive feral dogs.

Loud sounds are all it takes to scare them off (just as with bears).

Fighting back is all it takes to scare them off (just as with bears).

Killing the Alpha is all it takes to scare them off (perhaps permanently).

If you have no fear, and show that to a pack of canines, they will not attack unless they think that you are too weak to back up your lack of fear.

(And if all else fails, hiss and gutturally growl like an angry cat! It is instinctual in dogs to fear that warning sound. Hearing that sound coming from a human will make them even more confused and frightened. I say this from experience after being attacked by a pack of feral Rottweilers while I was walking home drunk one night.)

All dogs, unless feral to begin with, will seek out the company of Humans. Thousands of years worth of domestication can't be wiped out in a year, regardless of how bad things are.

And if Sit-X does occur, I would personally feel much more comfortable having a couple of well trained dogs with me in my camp. You can't find or build a better intruder alarm system, nor can you find or hire a better, more loyal friend.

In Sit-X, friends like that will be hard to find.

Hmmm well since you said they where previously domesticated I would probably make a point to re-domesticate them. Utilize their natural hunting ability for the purpose of survival. I would first need a means to feed them in order to gain their trust. (Note to self: bring dog food with you)

I've seen quite a few dogs that adopt new masters. Some of these are dogs that become violent to trespassers.

I've done a considerable amount of hunting with a Dog. They are not a hindrance, they are an asset.

Man's best friend doesn't have to be a menace, and this is your only possible ally in the animal kingdom at this point.

If this method failed I would use them as a food source. Hey a few billion Chinese can't be wrong!

[edit on 21-10-2009 by DaMod]

Originally posted by fraterormus
The reasons why canines travel in packs is because they are naturally scavengers. Thus they are, by nature, cowardly.

Yes, dogs can be nurtured into aggressiveness, and even naturally in a pack, can sometimes be aggressive. However, it doesn't take much to deter either a single aggressively bred dog or a pack of aggressive feral dogs.

Loud sounds are all it takes to scare them off (just as with bears).

Fighting back is all it takes to scare them off (just as with bears).

Killing the Alpha is all it takes to scare them off (perhaps permanently).

If you have no fear, and show that to a pack of canines, they will not attack unless they think that you are too weak to back up your lack of fear.

(And if all else fails, hiss and gutturally growl like an angry cat! It is instinctual in dogs to fear that warning sound. Hearing that sound coming from a human will make them even more confused and frightened. I say this from experience after being attacked by a pack of feral Rottweilers while I was walking home drunk one night.)

This is not true will all dogs. I have a GSD and he was shot twice by a guys who was tresspassing. The dog took 26 stiches and 2 months to recover. The guy lost an eye and took over 70 stiches 40+ is his face and head. It was all I could do to get the dog off of him. In fact i left him in the woods while I took the dog to the vet. I called the DNR on the way and they met him at his truck about the time he found his way back to it. He hasen't come back.

Originally posted by Jkd Up
How can you stop these menaces from troubling you?

They're not that sweet when a stranger (man or animal) comes onto the property.

Interesting thread...I have a couple real life incidents about it. First, I worked for a small rural PD and we actually had a group of 4 or 5 dogs that started running as a pack. They got aggressive with people walking around the city and became a problem. The dogs made a "den" of sorts in a ditch just on the outskirt of town. Ironically, had they walked into the farmland ans messed around they would have been taken out by local farmers very quickly, but I digress. We ended up calling in animal control and chasing these dogs down. Animal control was able to tranquilize them and remove them. My point is a pack of dogs can be a significant problem. And re-domesticating them isn't a great option. Consider this. If you are in a survival situation much of your time will likely be spent hunting or gathering...Not sure if taking the time out of your day to work with dogs would be very fruitful. I think "converting" them into a food source is a better plan.

I've also been in Iraq and can tell you they have massive stray dog problems there and while you might be able to befriend a single stray as an asset, a pack is a whole other thing.