Man's Best Friend - The Ultimate Survival Companion

It is estimated that the common dog was domesticated from gray wolves approximately 15,000 years ago. Apparently ancient man, at that point in time, had grown tired of being constantly bitten in the ass on long hunts or worse yet, eaten alive after falling ill away from their tribes. Instead of chasing away their four legged counterparts with large tree stumps, they began talking to them, feeding them, and providing them with shelter. This is what is referred to as domestication and through that domestication, dogs ended up being used in vital roles such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, and even protection.

As a project of SurvivalRecon, one of the things we wanted to do was to examine ancient civilizations and early man to analyze their survival techniques and tricks. Upon doing that, one of the very first things we noticed was the extensive inclusion of domesticated animals in their daily lives. Because of this fact, we feel that when a situation arises (such as the collapse of society as we know it) that would call for individuals to take survival into their own hands, knowing how these ancient people survived would be valuable knowledge.

In today's piece, we wanted to explore the inclusion of dogs in a survival scenario. To do that, we will talk a little about some of the reasons we think you should have them along for your apocalyptic ride. Some important things to consider are: threat deterrent and close quarters combat, early warning security, hunting and tracking, as well as simple companionship.



Zombie is yuummmmm.

 A dog has 42 teeth compared to a human's 32. The dog comes equipped with 12 incisors, 4 elongated canines, 16 premolars, and 10 molars. This means Fido can do a hell of a lot more damage than you can by biting the enemy. They can also move faster than you can and clamp on to the forearm or leg of whoever you are fighting, be it uninvited guest or even hungry zombie. What's even better is that being animals ourselves, humans are naturally well aware of this fact. A snarling dog is an excellent deterrent and a formidable close quarters combat companion. If you don't believe it, just take a look at the military and police forces. They don't use attack dogs just because they think it's cool.

The average dog's senses are better at detection than any home security (or shabby lean-to depending on your circumstance) that you could buy. While a dog's hearing, contrary to popular belief, cannot pick up sounds from farther away than humans, it can detect much higher frequency and pinpoint the direction of origin much better than we can. But that's not even the most impressive thing about your furry companion. The real kicker is a dog's sense of smell. You see, Fido relies on his schnozzer more than you do your eyes. In fact, a dog's sense of smell on average is over 7,000 times more powerful than that of a human. Yes, you read that right. And you know what else that means? It means he can smell your enemies before you could ever hear them, see them, or even imagine they were there. Talk about a perfect early warning system! Oh, and this helps a lot when you are out hunting for a squirrel for supper too.

For all the physical and sensory reasons we listed above, your dog is excellent to have with you for early warning security, fighting, and hunting. The intangibles, however, are the fact that Fido is just a good companion to help keep you warm at night too. For decades, the therapeutic effects that dogs can have on their owners have been well documented. Just reaching your hand down and petting Fido has been proven to lower blood pressure and release endorphins in the brain. We believe that relaxation like that will be a premium when the shit hits the fan. It's not like you are going to be able to run into the local masseuse to work out that stress...

Let us know what you think about the article in the comment section below. We'd love to hear your opinions on the topic!

SIDENOTE: SurvivalRecon is a passionate supporter for animal rescue and adoption efforts. Dogs have a right to survive too! :) As such, if you are looking to adopt a dog in the Nashville, TN area, then we would highly recommend Agape Animal Rescue. Please check your local listings or search on Google for other wonderful rescue and adoption organizations in your area if you are outside the state of Tennessee.