Best Dog Breed For Preppers?
Kevin Felts 02.21.18
Preppers, what would you consider to be the best dog breed for your needs? We all live in different locations, and have different needs in a dog. Because of that, there are going to be a lot of different answers.
Before we begin, the author makes no declaration of being a dog expert. All we are doing is making observations on various types of dog breeds.
There are six dogs in my pack:
- Five of the dogs are rescues.
- Four of those five were picked up off the side of the road as puppies.
- One was rescued from an animal shelter the day before it was going to be euthanized.
- The last dog is an older Corgi my wife had before we met.
Six dogs may sound like a lot, and it is. However, I live on a 30 acre farm, which is surrounded by thousands of acres owned by a timber company. The dogs are not kept in a fence, nor are they chained. They are free to roam the farm, and the guys who hunt the timber company land have been asked not to shoot them.
- Two Cur dogs, one is a puppy – both males.
- Hound mix, maybe a Redbone Coonhound mix – male
- Female Labrador mix – female.
- One Rottweiler, mutt mix – male.
- Cogi – male.
My Dog Pack
Besides the Corgi, the others are all high energy, love to run and hunt types of dogs. There have been times they were gone all day roaming the hunting leases (during the summer). During hunting season, I make an effort to keep the dogs home as much as possible.
The Coonhound mix, when he starts howling at something, everyone knows it. This dog loves to please and is always looking for approval. He will jump in the bed and snuggle every chance he gets. When the hound mix starts baying at something, he sounds like he can wake the dead. On the flip side of the coin, that type of noise would not be tolerated in an urban area. His loud baying sounds are probably best suited for rural areas.
The most independent dog in my pack is the female Labrador mutt. She is a small lab mix that weighs between 30-40 pounds. Despite her small size, she has plenty of spirit. When the hunting / chase instinct kicks in, she is probably the most vicious. There have been times when I had to chase her out of the chicken yard with a stick. If any dog is going to bring a rabbit home, it is going to be her.
My Rottweiler mutt mix, he and the female Labrador are brother and sister. They were picked up at the same time off the side of the road. This dogs loves to chase. He is not as driven as his sister, the female Labrador mix or the Cur dog. When the chase is on, he is full speed ahead.
The Cur dog is probably the best rounded dog in my pack. He is slim, agile, fast, smart, affectionate and independent. When walking through the woods, the Cur dog is always in front of the pack looking for something to chase. The puppy Cur is too young to tell.
Other Dogs
As this article is written, I am 50 years old and have experienced a number of dogs over the course of my life. Some of the breeds that left a lasting impression:
- Cur dog.
- Labrador.
- Irish Setter
- Golden Retriever.
- Beagle.
- German Shepherd.
- Doberman Pinscher.
My parents had a Doberman Pinscher when I was growing up, his name was Shadrach; as in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from The book of Daniel. He put up with my brother and I and never snapped at us. He was one awesome dog.
We also had a German Shepherd, and that was one great dog.
My brother has used Labradors for duck hunting for probably close to 30 years. Ever Lab he has ever had turned out to be a wonderful dog. My cousins had a couple of Labs, they were great dogs.
A guy I follow on YouTube, he likes Beagles for hunting small game. I had a neighbor who had a Beagle, it was a pretty cool dog.
Final Thoughts
We all know the German Shepherd and Doberman Pinscher have a reputation for protecting their family. There is a reason why the German Shepherd is used by police departments.
The problem is, when we talk about dogs there are so many excellent breeds it would be near impossible to cover them all. Which breed that may be good for someone, may not be good for someone else.
Take my Coonhound mix for example. As soon as he started baying at something in the night, if I were living in an urban area, the neighbors would call the police for disturbing the peace. However, living in a rural area where coyotes travel just 150 yards behind my house, the Coonhound is a wonderful guard dog.
So guys and gals, what is your preferred dog breed and why?
