Feral Dogs

[edward_4576]

Hi there folks I have a question and it's about our four footed friends. If you dump a puppy in the woods it's going to ether die or go feral, however if the dog was kept by people how long would it take to go feral in:

A. the Country

B. the City

C. the Suburbs

The reason I ask is I would like to be able to add the times into my preparedness plans.

Thanks folks....

[edward_4576]

http://www.newschannel9.com/onset?id=8563&template=article.html

http://www.newschannel9.com/onset?id=8591&template=article.html

[Vinland]

Im not sure of your question....you *want to *take a dog born in captivity with * *its siblings and mother and dump it off into the woods??? I can tell you if you dump it into the city...it'll either get taken in by someone or more likely get picked up by a Dog controll officer where it goes to a shelter where it will hopefully get adopted or worst case get Euthasol. Same in a suburb...although they are more likely to call the dog warden....and see option #1.
I'm not sure why you ask and not sure I want to know....

[CarolAnn]

I think the question more than likely addresses "how soon are dogs going to become dangerous" after the SHTF situation starts?

When people can't feed themselves, they'll soon be dumping dogs. How long will it take these abandoned pets to become a danger.

If this is indeed the question, I think that it would depend on the individual animal, how it's been treated so far, and genetic disposition. Since there are some feral dogs out there now, and breeding, the problem will get a lot worse when (if) civilization breaks down, just due to numbers increasing.

On the upside, dogs have been bread for hundreds of years to be companions to humans, so an individual, well chosen feral dog might be rehabilitated to be a companion and helper again if handled properly.

(Edited to add) Also, the article is about a pack of 15-20 pit bull mixed dogs that might not even be feral. Someone just isn't taking care of their dogs, and are letting them interbreed. Since bulls were developed for fighting, they're not a breed you'd want running loose at any time.

Some jerk here in Madison had more than 50 "beloved pets" that were pit bulls bearing the marks of fighting. The animal control people put his stupid hindend in jail and now we're paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for their keep whiile the system tries to figure out what to do with the poor critters.

Personally, I think that before they euthanize them, they should feed that guy to them and take care of both problems at once.

I love dogs, even pit bulls, since I've owned a pit bull-boxer mix. But when they've been bred and trained to fight, they'll never be trustworthy pets.

[unclesam]

In a SHTF situation if people cant feed themselves I doubt packs of dogs will be a problem.Dog meat is said to be mighty tastey. ;)

[edward_4576]

I've thought about that and I can imagine "Dad" taking "Spot" out to the country and dumping him to keep from euthanizing him. Heck, in KC they basically banned Pits and I've noticed folks that don't live in KC have been taking in friends dogs that are pits and pit mixes....

I think everyone is aware of all the rabbits and baby chicks sold around Easter and how they end up in the woods. Where I grew up you could walk in the woods with out worrying. Today you go out with out a fire arm and you might not get home all in one piece.

I am trying to develop a time table for a SHTF scenario. I was going to include things like if supplies were not delivered how long till 1st responders stop responding. I had participated in a thread that discussed feral dogs and such and I wanted to add that as well. that's where the question came from.

[Smoky]

How long does it take a dog to go feral? Well, as soon as he is dumped and gets hungry! I'd say in 2 days he will be hungry enough to hunt, if something doesn't eat him first.
If he finds other dogs running loose and SURVIVES that meeting, he will have a place in that pack, making it worse than before.
I na SHTF situation, I would say kill them and recycle the parts. Meat if not eaten could be boiled outside (whole carcass) in a barrel to kill parasites, then fed to hogs. Dogskin makes good gloves, by the way. Anything left can be buried to enrich the soil.

[edward_4576]

Two days after all readily available food was gone. *Hmmm.... * Yea I can see the pack mentality, even though I'm not a breeder. *Would dogs in a pack still be submissive to humans? *Perhaps submissive is not the right word but how about obedient?

[leera]

This is an interesting question.

In the city or suburbs the sitation would be far different that in the country.

But most dogs that have lived in and around humans and been treated fairly well,will take a lot longer than that to go feral.

In the city,the dogs do tend to pack up,but usually getting into garbage,fighting with other dogs,chasing rats,etc.........there's really not anything for them to hunt,and often a dog that had been running loose for a year or more will still have a strong attachment to people.

In the country,if the dog isn't shot,and does manage to learn to hunt,it would be out of desperation.......if there were no humans feeding it,no garbage to get into,things like that.

As for a SHFT situation,I doubt you'd have all that much to worry about with feral dogs......I'd be more worried about feral people and the damage they could cause.

[edward_4576]

Feral people!!! Yep, as a matter of fact if you watch local and national news you can see "feral" humans every day. The ones you see are the worst of the worst, what you call rogues. If it takes a few days for a dog to go feral, I wonder how long it would be for humans to loose their mask of "civility"? Interesting exercise in psychology ehh?

[leera]

Edward,I have a very strong feeling that people would forget who they are long before a dog would go feral. :)

[lost1]

??? The way things are going, I'm afraid we might find the answer to this question far too soon. Personally I would rather deal with an abandoned dog long before I would a displaced, hungry person.

[crepemyrtle44]

When I was a wee child just after the "dark ages" in the town where my grandparents lived, I remember a story about the people in town had to go and shoot feral dogs. They had gotten to be several packs roaming around. That was before people could get their pets spayed or neutered at a good price or in some places free.

[CountryKitty]

In my neck of the woods---they'd be coyote crap after the 1st week. Most dogs that are dumped have no idea of how to hunt for themselves...after a week without food, they'll be easily subdued by coyotes, which are very widespread these days.