What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

the.peon,
I think your going to find plenty of opporsition to any negative thoughts on the bulldog breeds on this board which is fair enough considering it is a board dedicated to game dogs and particulary the bulldog breed.

BUT you are totally correct in your thinking. People are qiuck to spruke the gamesness, never say die attitude of the bulldog but not unbiased enough to see that this thought process that is held in an animals mind would quickly mean it's end in the widerness. In other words if your Pit bull takes off after a deer while your in the middle of nowhere and chases it to the ends of the earth you will NEVER find it again. If it takes on a bear, lion or even a boar and wont give up...more often than not you going to be doing the rest of that hike alone. Better off having a dog that's a goer but knows enough to pull up and live to fight another day.

Just my thoughts.

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

Great post

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

i would take the ultimate gamedog an apbt like GR CH MAYDAY

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

Puredingo, you couldn't be any more wrong, or have not spent much time with bulldogs. They can, and do, hunt boar and bear right here. If you dogs run away never to be seen again, then it you who has failed.
I don't see how everyday things are deemed impossible

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

It may be worth checking out what kind of dogs Native peoples used. I don't know much about American native dogs but Australians had Dingos, Africans had Basenji, South East Asians had pariah type dogs and Inuit had Huskies. Most of these seem to be small to medium sized, all the big breeds, Mastiffs, Herding dogs, Greyhounds etc, were developed around civilization. In a purely survival sitution smaller dogs can hunt, alert for danger and most of all not eat too much. Mostly this is just a fun question and no one is 100% right or wrong, when the custard hits the fan the only dog I'll have is mine, a Bulldog.

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

Thr Ultimate would be whatever type of dog Bear Grylls owns.

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

Hot weather = CAO
Cold weather = CO

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

a bull mastiff becuase if need be i'd eat his big ass.

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

I agree I don't understand why people seem to underestimate these dogs intelligence and their strong willingness to please their owner gameness may be their biggest virtue but the APBT is far more than just a pit dog. These dogs can be trained like any other dog they have just as much will and smarts to be obedient as any other breed. And not all game dogs no matter how prey driven they are run off after an animal at the drop of the dime. I really don't understand this misconception that our breed has no self control under it's owners control when around other animals. I have seen these dogs being worked successfully in Shutzhund, on hogs, agility, obedience, while they may have not been selected for these specific things they are more than capable of doing them with the right owner. I don't think people give our breed enough credit they really are an all around dog and can be used for many different things which is what makes them even more appealing. I am not saying they should be guard dogs or anything like that. I am simply saying that they are well suited to hunt and at least alert the owner of danger in certain situations. And if you spend any amount of time with you're dogs and teaching them basic obedience and have a strong bond with them there is nothing they won't do for you absolutely nothing! To each his own I am sticking with my bulldog I will gamble on him in any situation.

Like Louis Colby said

"Whatever any other breed of dog can do, a pit bull can do it better - and then whip the other dog."

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

Well I can't speak for all bulldogs because not all of them are the same nor do I know all bulldogs but I have seen some GB Apbts do amazing things that most people wouldn't think they were capable of doing. I have seen some extremely obedient GB APBT'S. I have a friend who does things like Agility Shutz, and Obedience with her GB APBT's and while I know these things are often looked down upon by game dog owners I know they are capable of it as I have seen it. I am by no means saying that an APBT should replace hunting dogs or guard dogs I am saying that they are capable of doing a lot more than people give them credit for. Benthere you have more experience than I do with these dogs and I respect your opinion and knowledge so I wouldn't claim to know more about the breed then you do or even argue you're POV. I do know I have a strong bond with my dogs and they respect me and they listen to me. I spend a lot of time with them I still don't underestimate their genetics though nor do I think if they were in full fight mode and I said stop would they listen not if they wanted something bad enough .... if they took off after a bear in the woods and never came back I wouldn't be shocked lol I would be pissed that they left me lol. But I understand what you are saying that's kind of like 2 dogs being in the box fighting and you tell them to stop lol without a break stick that's not going to happen. I am still not leaving my dogs behind if I am going into the wilderness well they are coming with me lol and I will just hope they remember all the nights I fed them and they slept on my bed lol

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

Stupidest nonsense I have heard on here in some time.
Its alright, those that don't do will not understand. I for one DO live in the wilderness, off the grid in the mountains of Tennessee, smack dab in the middle of some 5,000 acres. Doesn't matter what anyone on the internet thinks, ill keep my gamebred bulldogs here and working

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

I respectfully disagree. There have been many bulldogs that have been used in catch work(T.F's Susan Renee sister to ch Alligator) for example and several other dogs in other venues. Even if they were not bred for a particular task.It takes extreme dog knowledge and the right dog ,but it is possible. It takes a intelligent, confident, well balanced dog with the right training and nerves,but with the right person anything is possible. Yes, there will also be those dogs that will never be able to do anything other than be a bulldog. I personally will take me a bulldog please.JMO

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

See Gila that's how I feel I know they can do this stuff because I know people who have GB Apbt's that do these things but I know some bulldogs are not suitable for it. But some are very capable .. But I also understand where Benthere is coming from I think it's going to depend on the dog though look at Virgil I believe some are just smart enough to know when it's time to work and when its not but hey what do I know lol....

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

People tend to forget that the apbt is still a dog and still possess the instincts of a dog. A gamebred apbt, despite its human friendly demeanor, will still bark and alert towards strangers and will even assault a man should his life or his family be in danger. People always state that an apbt is a bad choice for a guard dog because a stranger can just walk into the house and take everything with them etc. Well to be honest, this is true for 99% of all dogs. My neighbor's german shepherd will bark at me loudly as I walk by, but once I put my fist in front of the chain link fence, the dog begins to sniff and after a while, I can pet him. I'll bet you all that if I were to open that gate, I could probably walk out with the guy's dog. HOWEVER, should my neighbor's life be in danger, I am confident that the dog will come to his aid. I am also confident that he is only this friendly with me because I am close with my neighbor. However, if I was a stranger, the dog might not be as lenient and even though the dog might know that I am no threat, if I am a stranger and I choose to open the gate, the dog would have a different demeanor and begin warning his owner and I by barking. You can't just buy a dog and assume the dog will guard, to have a guard dog, one must take the time to train the dog. The only exception I could think of this would be the fila brasileiro. Even notorious flock guards like the kangal have this demeanor and if you don't present yourself as a threat, they will leave you alone. In Turkey, specifically Sivas, kangals are let loose and they run with the flock. They frequently encounter humans that are not their owners, they are either familiars or strangers. Either way, the kangal dog won't attack unless if they present themselves as a threat, and kangals are known for being amazing protection dogs in Turkey and they live up to their rep. ANY DOG that barks and shows aggression to every random person it sees in front of it is unstable and is a horrible guard dog and protection dog.

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

that's like any other breed out there. Some can do nothing but what they were bred for and many others are more then capable at many other things. just because a collie was bred to herd doesn't mean it can do sports. just because a saluki was bred to be an independent hunter doesn't mean they can't succeed at ob. just because bulldogs were bred to fight other dogs doesn't mean some can hunt in a pack. that's proven pretty much everyday here in the south. Pits are the preferred catch dog.

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

Any breed of tough dog will do, the trait that will make a dog stand out from the rest of the others is a SMART dog. A smart dog can learn to adapt quick and be trained to do what you want them to do.

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

"Takes deep, calming breath"...This is going to be a act of futility but I'll try anyway.

Rallyracer, Mate I do know quiet a bit about Bulldogs I actually know a fair bit about ALL dogs and that's how I can form an UNBIASED opinion and not get blinkered by the breed I've got running around in the backyard as I type. I know even MORE about chasing pigs. Believe it or not not everything is bigger and better in the USA and down here we have some hard, fit feral pigs that fight like the powers of piss.

But that's besides the point the point is I never once said a BD breed can't hunt boar, bear or whatever, obviously they can and most strain of hunting dog around here has a good dose of blood of BD in it BUT they hunt in a particular style that would not work in a survival situation. They usually chase hard and lugg up and they do it silently so if this was to happen 3 gullies over you wouldn't find your dog until it's fought itself to exuastion or the other animal killed (YES beleive it or not another animal is capable of killing a pitbull) that's why a pure bred pitbull is either ran with a bailer (some breed of sheep/cattledog) that will bark it's tits off and alert the hunter while the BD luggs up OR they fit the dog with tracking collars. I'm assuming in this survival situation none of those 2 option are available.

Now if your going to sit there and tell me you can simply whistle back you gamebred BD once it's taken flight after a deer or some other varmint then it's either NOT fairdinkun GB or you've been liking too many toads.
The original Aussie pig dog was the BullterrierxAussie Cattledog...exellent dog for bailing a pig up until you got there plus it had the balls to go on and lugg once given the command, A good all rounder for all purposes.

 

Re: What would you pick for a "wilderness survival dog?

Now if your going to sit there and tell me you can simply whistle back you gamebred BD once it's taken flight after a deer or some other varmint then it's either NOT fairdinkun GB or you've been liking too many toads.
The original Aussie pig dog was the BullterrierxAussie Cattledog...exellent dog for bailing a pig up until you got there plus it had the balls to go on and lugg once given the command, A good all rounder for all purposes.[/QUOTE]


"Licking too many toads" that literally made me LOL - good one!