dog food

i've got a blue heeler named Hermes


best friend i've ever had. i plan on having him with in if the snip ever does hit the fan. obviously his 40lb bags of dog food will become either difficult to find, retarded expensive if i can find and/or a horrible burden to carry whilst on the move.

do any of you have tips on how to feed your dog from the wild? obviously...if he catches himself an animal he could feed himself at times that way...but certainly i'll have to supplement his diet. he's a bit more wild than most dogs but still he's been house raised so i doubt he could fend for himself.

if any of you have an experience with this, i'd greatly appreciate any advice. or maybe just anyone who has ever made their dogs food themselves and never bought food from stores...what kinds of things do dogs need?

thanks for any help/advice!

i have a 7 year old border collie and he is the best friend i have ever had, except for the wife lol
sorry i cannot help you with your question but a dog is for life and if you treat them well they will treat you the same. you have a beautiful dog there and i wish you well.....flag and star for you

I'm assuming in a survival situation you'd be hunting for yourself...so get him used to eating cuts of meat as his main diet now, and then you'll be able to share food in the wild? It would be healthier for him than commercial dog food anyway...

Ah I thought it was a thread about how to use your dog for food I would boil him then roast him

I too have wondered the same. Our 75 lbs Belgium Shepherd is not only family but part of our security as well. All I have done is to have some extra bags of food for about 3 months and after that I just figure him as another adult in our survival food calculations. Water is a big issue too because he drinks more than any one adult so do not for get the water! Luckily dogs are not too picky about the water they drink.

Since he's a member of your family, just feed him what you're eating, and he'll be great...(great looking dog BTW).
Just avoid the obvious chocolate

reply to post by neOrevolutionist


Unless its people .

Sorry watched the Road again last night

Dogs need veg too so if you are feeding cut of meat mash in some sweet potato or something similar. I, too, have a 6 year old border collie. She will be an amazing protector if it comes to that, but unless something clicks she'd be an awful hunter haha. I used to take her blackberry picking with me when she was a pup and she'd nibble all the berries off the brances along the bottom. Dogs are just the sweetest things

Originally posted by elliotmtl
I'm assuming in a survival situation you'd be hunting for yourself...so get him used to eating cuts of meat as his main diet now, and then you'll be able to share food in the wild? It would be healthier for him than commercial dog food anyway...

You won't have to, all dogs will eat meat regardless. Some prefer cooked while others will eat raw.

There's more crap in dog food than one cares to mention. You have bought up a good point though. You would have to fend for yourself as another poster has pointed out...so he'll get used to whatever you have to hunt...The obvious tips are to avoid sharp bones...but armed with a shotgun and a good aim you should be fine.....yes dogs in the wild wouldn't last as long but with due care as to what he eats and your presence he should be fine! x

reply to post by ICEKOHLD

True, water for your dog will be an issue. One of the healthiest mixtures of food is getting a large saucepot, add raw rice and meat cover with water and boil for about an hour. Let cool and portion it and freeze the rest. It is one of the healthiest meals and they love it. No offence but why would this recipe be so hard to find on the internet. It took me 2 minutes to track a good one 2 years ago.
Please try not to give him canned or dry dog food. Most pet food is made with sh*t, animal parts, same specie animal (cannibalism). Look up prion disease. You'll think twice about buying processed pet food.
I love my 2 dogs

I use variations of the B.A.R.F. dog food diet for my Bear Boy. He's now 9 months old, 110 lbs. Great Pyrenees.

I also give him whole raw carrots as chew toys. In a shtf situation, raw bones will be a part of the your dog's diet. Boil some bones, use the broth to mix with anything and he will eat it. To keep a good supply of bones on hand, learn to smoke them to keep them fresh. Marrow is an excellent source of vitamins and nutrients.

Here is a little info in BARF recipes for pets.

Dog Food Recipes Using The B.A.R.F. Diet

By mythbstr
The B.A.R.F. Diet

More pet owners are switching from feeding their pets commercialized dog foods to the all-natural B.A.R.F Diet. This type of diet, which consists of 60%-80% raw meaty bones and 20%-40% other dog food ingredients that can be a combination of offal, fruits, vegetables, grain, eggs, and dairy products, provides all the nutritional needs of our canine friends.

As compared to processed pet foods that are usually grain-based, raw meaty bones make up a large part of canines’ actual evolutionary diets. Get young puppies started on B.A.R.F. and see them live a longer and healthier life. Take a look at the following steps as to how to prepare B.A.R.F. dog food recipes

mythbstr.hubpages.com...:

Des

reply to post by ICEKOHLD


Dog food is not a problem.
As long as I can eat, my dogs will too.
Simple actually, just think of them as your own children and act accordingly.

Dogs can and will eat rotten roadkill with no ill effects from it.

The dog will get along just fine. Until you learn to stomach what he already can eat, worry more about you and less about him.

reply to post by ICEKOHLD

Great name for a dog ! (I have a ratty called Hermes) I feed my 2 GSD x Collies fresh meat and/or fish every day and making your own dog food can be simple. Any meat that you could find/kill/runover will be suitable mixed with pasta (dried would be fine because you can simmer it over a fire to soften it) or rice, add some veg such as carrots, peas, celery or whatever your dogs like (mine love Chinese mix with beansprouts) and leave to simmer. When its cooked I add some Cod Liver Oil (which is fine for now but may be difficult to find when the world is ending) and crushed Chondroitin Green Lipped Mussel mix to keep their joints flexible.

Both my girls are nearly 12 and being German Shepherd mixes they are prone to hip and joint problems but they are doing fine thanks to a good diet and natural supplements. Dog food manufactures try and make people believe that feeding your dog a good diet is difficult and you can give them "c--p" in a can and they will love it. My girls turn their noses up at canned food. I know it was not part of your question but I buy any meat or fish in the supermarket that has been reduced for them and freeze it and buy dried pasta and rice and it actually works out cheaper than feeding them tinned food.

One of my girls is a total thief and this morning the postman brought a package and while I was at the door signing for it she helped herself to a packet of jelly beans I was eating, she has been on a sugar rush since. Being a collie she has a big brain and can open cupboards and has been known to steal cakes from inside (lemon is her favourite) so I think she will be much more competent at finding food than I am when the time comes !

Your dog may surprise you and be feeding you instead! I have (tried) to train my dogs to kill their own food. One older girl, lab mix will kill a rabbit and not eat it. My younger girl, not so good at the not eating part but the better hunter of the two. Yesterday she got a squirrel, night before, a huge river rat (about 5 lbs). I had to trade her an egg to get it away from her. I give each of my girls a whole raw egg in shell (from my own chickens) every day. They crack it and eat it. Also, IMO, cooked rice is a descent base filler for dog food, add a few carrots or other veggie your dog will eat, a raw egg or some cooked or raw meat and good to go. Also, many dogs eat grass. Although they mostly puke it up, they are getting nutrition from it. I never give my dogs cooked bones unless they are cooked in a pressure cooker to soften them to a chalk stick strength. Rabbit and beef bones won't soften up but chicen bones do so they get to devour all those bones. Haven't tried pork bones in a pressure cooker yet so I don't know. Raw bones I have no problem with.

Make sure your dog is caught up on the rabies vaccine. It would be a bitch to lose your friend to an easily preventible disease.

reply to post by ICEKOHLD


Dog food?

It was good enough for Max, so...
Pass the Dinki Di!

Good question and not a hard solutio at all.

Your dog will eat whatever you are eating. I suggest that you reserve the choicest cuts of whatever game/ scavanged meat for yourself. The head, back, feet/hooves, boney pieces and organs, when boiled, make a fine broth and both you and your dog will enjoy.

here on our farm, our dogs have enjoyed for a number of years the days when we dress a deer, clean fish, or kill hogs... generally the pieces not desired by humans are actually preferred by dogs... and even cats. Don't know why, but nature is a wonderful thing.

Remember, by boiling the pieces... you get the nutrition out of the meat, the bones, and it tenderizes the ligaments and joints, and meat attached to the bone.

Season with some wild garlic..aka wild onions, maybe some hot pepper, and salt...if you have been smart... you will have a stash of corn meal too. Mixed with the broth towards the end of cooking and you have a wonderful meal that is nutritious too.

So you will need some form of meat...water...a pot or pan to cook in.... wood and a fire... and anything else extra...seasonings and maybe some carbs...rice, dried beans, corn meal, flour, etc.

Believe it or not.. this is a diet that many people lived on during the Great Depression here in NC. My folks called it "corn meal soup."

Bon Appetite, amigo.

reply to post by ICEKOHLD


He is a beautiful dog! I have 4 Siberian Huskies. I have learned so much from these companions. I have recently moved into the village after having lived in the "country" for years. I learned much from these animals during that time; mostly, dogs have an innate and instinctual drive to hunt. Much more than I ever imagined. They especially enjoyed hunting birds and small game, like squirrels and ground hogs. My malamute "hated" our goat. He used to stalk and attack that poor goat every chance he got; had to eventually get rid of the goat because the dog was fixated with him. Additionally, dogs can survive in many harsh climates and environments; this includes extreme cold temperatures and high heat. The husky coat is marvelous at insulating; keeping the cold & wet at bay during the winter and protecting them from the heat during summer.

I think it should go without saying, that which ever PEOPLE you wind up killing throughout your travels in the whole post-societal-meltdown scenario ... I should think that it goes without saying that whatever people you kill, until you decide that they make up a valuable food source for your SELF or for your fellow travellers, that THEIR meat should be considered as a source of dog food. I just don't know that it would be all that wise to decide to bury them or cremate them, when you'd then have to seek out other food sources, and even dip further into your own reserves just to keep your dog alive. Now, once you're past that little hurdle, you might worry about your dog, depending on the type of dog I suppose 'cause maybe you're talking about a chihuahua - ha ha - but yeah IF your dog were big enough to pose a danger then you wouldn't want that dog to pose a threat to you if it were to make associations between the people you're feeding to it, and YOU. The whole "taste of blood" argument. So yeah, in that case you'd wanna prepare that human meat in some way, a way in which the taste and texture, smell of it's origins etc, is disguised. So again, you'd be looking at cooking the meat, cleaning and butchering the corpses in the first place, etc. Whether or not you wanna butcher said people IN FRONT OF your dog is yet another consideration. Whether or not, and more to the point HOW you'd want your dog involved in the killing of which people is yet another. Because the whole "attack dog" scenario is something you'd wanna keep under control also. Which is to say, you can't have the dog jumping in whenever you get in a tousle, and you can't have the dog jump in every time you get in a proper FIGHT either. It could get YOU hurt or worse, and it could get the dog itself hurt or worse. It could completely compromise you to have the dog get in the middle of things, whether for the best of intentions or not. So too, as many of you dog people will intuit, the dog could be a useful TOOL. A servant in a certain fashion. Whether or not you make the types of distinctions whether or where the dog is superior or inferior to other people, and whom those people are, is something else you'd have to decide. I know a lot of people would say "My dog is FAMILY." And for a lot of people, that's all they've got in terms of family. But those who DO have loved ones, children etc, those of which who've considered all of the ultimatums, there are those who would consider the dog to be in the very final analysis to be a walking form of food-stuffs. Livestock, essentially. In which case you'd be more careful about what they eat in order to not contaminate the meat.

Aghhh, this window just dumped a whole other chunk of # I was typing. And I don't care to re-type it all. Fair enough, it's a lot to 'digest", as it is. Ha ha. So I'll leave it at that for now. Blah blah blah. Ha ha.

-Sigh.