Your Pro Citizen Newsletter 38 - Man's best friend: asset or liability? Weekly Discount Code

Asset or Liability? Probably both.

 
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”
- Josh Billings

Man, I love dogs. Always have. My wife laughs because every dog in the neighborhood comes up to me, even when the owner offers up the “she never goes up to anyone, she just doesn’t like people.” Even with that I understand that every dog is different and has the potential to be a violent jackass anytime they choose to do so. All dogs are to be approached with respect and a healthy dose of caution, fortunately bad guys understand this as well. This caution always works in our favor as dog owners. Dogs are our companions, best friends, driveway alarms, UPS interceptors, and protectors. We don’t deserve them, and yet here they are. But they are also freeloaders. They do not produce anything and have a constant requirement for food, water, exercise, and hygiene breaks. What happens when we need everyone in the family to step up and be an asset for the community? Will little Mister Bojangles pull his 12 lb weight when the lights go out…or will he be a liability? What about if the lights go out for good, how much planning have you done to incorporate them into your plan?

Assets. Aside from having a bad day at work and coming home to the happiest greeting ever, dogs provide value in practical ways for the readiness community. Their ability to smell and hear is off the charts compared to their human masters. “Dogs have around 300 million scent receptors, far more than humans, allowing them to detect odors we can’t sense. They have about 50 times as many olfactory receptors (smell receptors) as humans. Also, the part of a dog’s brain responsible for analyzing smells is 40 times larger than ours”. (Dr Dr. Shannon Barrett DVM, downwardpaws. com 2024). All dog owners have those anecdotal stories of when their dog either found something obscure in the woods or detected / alerted to someone’s presence long before we ever knew they were there. They can alert us to noises that we did not hear, sometimes much to our dismay with their big mouths.

Presence is a deterrent. Numerous academic studies state that just having a dog reduces the chance of home break ins. The high percentage dog neighborhoods as a whole have lower crime as well, there is a built in “neighborhood watch” process established by owners walking their best friends each day. Criminals usually look for the easier target, having a dog as part of a layered home security plan can be a good idea. Even small dogs who alert to the presence of a would-be criminal can save the day (or your great grandma’s wedding ring). Dogs can also sense when something is “off;” on neighborhood walks they will lock in and provide and unbreakable evil eye to anyone they sense is up to no good. This serves as a great signal to leave the owner alone; most people have no interest in tangling with a canine.

But are they a trained asset? A dog’s asset to liability ratio will depend largely on the situation. It is pure prepper fantasy to think you will press Fido into SHTF service as some kind of working K9 if he is not lifetime trained to do so. Reality check time for most of us (myself included, I am by no means writing from a position of success with this). Is your dog trained and controllable (obedient) even when every cell in their knuckleheaded brain is telling them to bark or run toward something that has their interest? Or is he a one-man undisciplined wrecking crew? Some of you have invested heavily in training your dog(s), they will be a true asset for you during a social crisis. But what about us average dog owners? Even the well-mannered dog who is obedient can have their moments. The problem with them having “a moment at the wrong moment” is it can compromise you, your family, or your team during a crisis. Even professional K9/military working dogs can be a liability depending on the mission. Your circumstances may include trying to be quiet in a dark house, casually surveying storm damage, moving to your bug out location (will reiterate again our philosophy is bugging out is a last resort), or conducting an armed property patrol. The situation will dictate how you manage or “use” your family dog, METT-TC applies to integrating our 4-legged friends as well.

FTX Anecdote. Recently Jay from The Modern Minuteman conducted a small team FTX (Field Training Exercise). I asked him about the presence of the dog on the patrol and what he thought of having it along. The dog was well behaved and moved well with the team, but Jay’s feedback was direct: “the dog is a total liability. We were observing four OPFOR (opposing force) across the creek and the dog barked. They all picked their heads up and looked around for the source.” Even well mannered, obedient dogs can make one mistake that can cost you the mission. Take this anecdote and apply it to the dozens of crisis scenarios you anticipate, it may change how you plan to manage your family dog.

So what is the point? No matter your dog’s capabilities or lack thereof they are part of your family. Remember these dudes come with a set of requirements that don’t go away if you can’t get to the grocery store…or if there is no grocery store. Food, water, shelter, preventative medicine all applies to them as well. Plan accordingly and figure out a way to work around their shortcomings. We can’t leave their care and feeding to chance. Yes, they are another mouth to feed, but we have a responsibility to them. Think through how you will adapt them to a crisis environment and how to integrate them into your plan - even if it just means figuring out to keep them quiet when you need them to.

• Plan how you will care for your dog as crisis conditions change or deteriorate

• Emergency (people) shelters do not allow pets (but you shouldn’t be going to these anyway)

• Be honest with your assessment of their usefulness and obedience

• Include them in your food storage prep planning (kibble goes bad relatively quickly)

• Have preventative meds on hand for 12-18 months (heartworm prevention)

• Buy a dog specific first aid kit

• Setting them free to fend for themselves is not a plan

CM-8, The Modern Minuteman is Live today at 0700!

The CM-8 The Modern Minuteman is complete will be available on our site at 0700 today! We are excited to see another entry from Jay, this one is outstanding.

Today’s Discount Code (only good ‘til midnight)

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