Best All Around Dog for TEOFTWAWKI

[Wifezilla]

What about a livestock guardian type dog? Or a St. Bernard?

When I was a teen our family got an Irish Setter. She saved us a ton of ammo. She was so fast when we went hunting you usually didn't have to fire a shot! She would see a rabbit, point for 2 seconds then go get the darn thing herself and bring it back to you wanting a head rub

 

[Sunny]

I had a Great Dane/ Bullmastiff mix. She was shorter than a great dane. But taller than a bullmastiff. She wasnt as refined and narrow as a great dane. But she wasnt as wide as a bullmastiff. She made a great draft animal. I trained her to pull a cart.

She was friendly to small children. But would put out a scary bark at intruders. Although I dont think she would have ever attacked though. Her bark was way worse than her bite.. LOL

And pitts are a great breed also. They do have a bad rap. My mom stole a young one from a meth house. They had pitts chained up around the whole house. They beat them to try to make them mean. I guess they werent that great of gaurd dogs, they were still pups. About 6 months old. That dog was the best dog my mom ever had. R.I.P. Spuds.. When you got home. He would walk through the front door. And he wouldnt let you enter the house until he checked every room to make sure every thing was all clear. He was scary to intruders or strangers. But never bit any one. Unless they had meth on them, then he would bite. But not the person. He would bite the clothes that contained the meth. I guess that smell brought back bad memories for him.

I also have trained a blue heeler mix to pull a cart. She loved to do it. When she got to old to pull the wagon. I had to actually hide it, because she would want to go out carting if she saw it. Her mother was mostly blue heeler, with a tiny bit of austrailian shepard and border collie. Her father was a shorthaired pointer. She was my best dog ever. I miss her so much.

 

[savingdogs]

Okay, I have to chime in on this one, being the dog lover of course.

I have to start off by saying that people stereotype all breeds too heavily and dogs need to be judged individually as there are nasty tempered golden retrievers, wimpy german shepherds, labs that hate water and many other examples of dogs that fail to live up to their stereotypes.

Pit bulls I have rescued more than any other breed and mixed pits and I do have to agree they are a dog best chosen carefully and raised from puppyhood, although there are many good adult pit bulls in rescue if you know how to pick. But they can be a very healthy, strong and tough breed and is by far the smartest breed IMHO if you wanted to choose a dog breed on survivability alone, they would be number one on my list.

The german shepherd is an extremely versatile breed used for many purposes around the globe and also a very smart dog. Where your pit bull would probably not herd and might not guard, this dog would. They don't tend to be as healthy however.

If you ask a lot of hunters they really like their brittanys and german shorthairs if you asked for "versatile", and I have to give a nod to my personal favorite dogs, rhodesian ridgeback, the only dog considered to be a sight and scent hound and resistent to parasites and an excellent guard dog, but all three of these breeds are higher strung and aren't known to be particularly healthy. And brittanys are probably a little small for pulling a cart.

Two dog breeds I cannot help but mention simply because they contain so many individual dogs that are really really good dogs are the labrador and the golden retriever. But they are prone to a lot of health issues these days too.

And border collies are one of the smartest breeds and can be taught to do many things, and they are excellent herders which might come in handy as well as being strong enough to pull.

There are many mastiff-type breeds that would be useful for the pulling aspect and guarding aspect, many breeds fall into that group and deserve mention.

Personally, one dog would not be enough if TSHTF so you might want to have a pittie, a shep, and a couple of retrievers to go with your ridgeback, if you asked me, and personally, I'd pick a border collie too.

But then, I'm savingdogs......

 

[Denim Deb]

Someone is selling ridgeback puppies around here. And I had a horrible experience w/a pittie yesterday! I was being LICKED to death!

 

[valmom]

LOL- I had a Lab who hated water! And I took him to a field dog trainer and he didn't retreive, either. But he was a great! watchdog. My ex walked into the house one day unannounced to pick up the kids and Squealer had him pinned up against the kitchen sink and wouldn't let him move. He knocked after that.

The labs also pulled the kids in the winter in their sled- the kids would sled down the hill hook up a dog and get pulled back up the hill. I also went hiking with them and they had their own packs for their water and food.

I miss my labs.

 

[Icu4dzs]

my personal favorite dogs, rhodesian ridgeback, the only dog considered to be a sight and scent hound and resistent to parasites and an excellent guard dog.

I've always wanted a Ridgeback. They were bred to hunt lions and any dog that fearless is OK with me. There were two that lived near where I used to run every day and they were fiercely protective of their "territory". At home they are good family dogs and again very protective of the family.

Ridgebacks have my vote.

 

[Living the Simple Life]

For a good all-around farm dog, I highly recommend a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. They are a working breed and used to pull carts, guard livestock etc. They make awesome family dogs. We got our male from animal control at 9 months old. He now tips the scale at 97#. He is friendly (sometimes thinks he is a lapdog!), but very protective of the kids and our property. The breed has a fascinating history. They are the ancestral breed of St. Bernards, Dobermans and Rottweilers. The breed was almost lost until it caught the eye of a professor who was a dog lover who started a breeding program to save the breed. They are extremely intelligent and quick learners. The breed came to the US in 1967 and is mostly used for competition now. The 2009 pulling champion was a little female who was able to pull 4,982 pounds (51.36 times her body weight). I think she could handle a small cart!!

 

[TanksHill]

Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, That's a great looking dog.

Os so I have a biased opinion but I would get a couple more Rottweilers. Strong enough to tow, herding instinct, smart and loyal. Scary as hell if you don't know them.

http://www.akc.org/breeds/rottweiler/

The hip dysplasia comes form bad breeding and overfeeding. You can avoid it.

g

 

[SKR8PN]

I have two Labs and a Golden Retriever at the moment. The Golden is a little more high maintenance(hair care) but she is very intelligent, actually TO smart for her own good at times! You will also have to go a long way to beat a good Lab. They will retrieve whatever you ask/train them for, until their legs fall off. Then they get back up and ask for more. Waterfowl, upland game birds and I have even seen a Lab trained to flush rabbits! For the most part they have very soft mouths(don't damage birds or other game) LOVE to swim. If you teach them properly you won't be able to keep them out of the water. Both breeds are very VERY faithful. You simply can not beat a Lab or a Golden as far as personality and heart goes.
I will have a Lab and/or a Golden until the day I die.

 

[hwillm1977]

So wannabe-you wouldn't look at rescue dogs for the bloodline reason?

I would check them out, and want to be around them a while before deciding for certain. If the rescues will let you, do a trial basis. Rescues check them over really really thoroughly before adopting them out. BUT different dogs, have different triggers for aggression.

I agree with Wannabefree on pit bulls... we have one from a breeder (a backyard breeder before I knew better) who is insecure and gets scared by people who are afraid of him, which he reacts to by barking which usually makes the problem worse... we're working with trainers on him and I'm extremely careful with the situations I put him into and don't ever push him past what I know he can handle.

I also have a half lab half pit bull who is the best dog I've ever seen... she can easily pull me in a cart and does pull me during the summer, about a mile or two at a time... I sit on a bike and she gallops along the road dragging me. She knows 'left', 'right', 'go easy', 'stop' and 'hike' (which we use for 'go') for commands while we're going for a run. She is 95 pounds, I'm 155 pounds plus a bike.

She is smart, quick to pick up on new things, great with new people but protective of her house and yard, likes the animals in the yard but willing to leave them alone, great with our baby girl. She is just about the best thing we could have hoped for... she is a rescue.