John you asked about a dust mask for your dog. Well the first idea that hit me was start with a muzzle. After all they are made to fit around a dogs mouth and nose. Might not be a happy puppy but. Then take filter paper and cover the muzzle. You might have to piece something together from people dust masks or coffee filters. With the coffee filters you might need a double layer. Then have several so it can be replaced. Not real sure of the best method of hooking filter to muzzle that would take some trial and error.

Not sure if it would work but might be a place to start.

Apart from dogs that are completely or mostly furless (chinese crested) etc then a dogs coat should do for protection. I have Pyenean Mountain Dogs (Great Pyrenese in the US). They have very thick fur coats with two layers and are relatively immune to cold and wet. Ok they are a bit on the extreme side and wont actually get out of the shallow hole they have dug in the lawn to seek their kennel or tarp unless it is raining heavilly, muddy or below about -4 degrees centigrade. Their coat is ridiculous in comparison to shorter coated breeds but its not cold or wet you have to worry about (especially cold) but heat. Particularly with flat faced breeds. Pekinese, boxers etc. They can die of heat stoke very very quickly even in the UK. Shade is more important from sun than anything else.

Shelter needs for dogs can therefore be basically the same as ours (tarp to shelter under, something to lie on if the ground is wet or very cold) with the addition of a secure ground anchor (looks like a giant metal corkscrew) or tree to tie them to. I find my dogs are happy enough in any conditions as long as I am with them. They would not want left behind.

The other thing to take is a collapsable water bowl unless you dont mind sharing your cooking pot!, although mine have been trained to drink from taps, streams from bottles and using water pistols (I have a small son). They will happilly drink from muddy puddles with no ill effects (I frisked them but have never found any purification tablets, milk bags or pumps so either something funny is going on or they hide them well <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />). Food wise they usually get dog food and view "people food" or leftovers as a massive treat. In a real emergency stuff the dog food they will happily eat what I eat (and weirdly will enjoy it more because they are sharing with me - talk about easily pleased)

My FAK is specifically geared for use on dogs as well as me and contains some veterinary meds.

Unfortunaely mine expect food to be provided. However I used to have a lurcher. They should almost be part of your emergency equipment - as long as you like eating rabbit.

With my pack along my family do not need firearms! They would kill or die to protect us. Least I can do is make preparations for them to leave Dodge with the rest of us.

I have a 5 month old chocolate lab male. Before I got Fergus, I kept a 3 day supply of canned food in my truck for roadside emergencies, mostly chili. It struck me just how unpleasant 3 days would be in an encloseed space with a dog who has been eating Nalleys extra hot. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> I bought a small bag of his regular Eukanuba and put it in the truck. I will simply rotate it like I do my own food.

Vince

With respect to a dust mask for your dog, there ways to jury rig filter material with plastic cones, etc. However, keep in mind one of a dog’s primary ways to cool their bodies is through panting. If the mask would inhibit this vital function, they might become hyperthermic very quickly.

Pete

JohnN:

Instead of a dog backpack, consider a folding luggage hand cart, one with large diameter wheels.

You can adjust the amount of load bearing weight on her back by positioning the weight of what she carries. The further back on the cart, less weight, the further forward, the more weight. You don't want the weight too far back as it would try to lift her.

If she is injured, it can be used as a dolly to carry her. If you have to lower her by rope, you can lay her on the cart and strap her down, thereby spreading her weight on the cart and putting the lowering connections on the cart instead of her.

For those times you go somewhere without her, you will have a luggage cart.

Good luck!

Bountyhunter

Dogs went to war with us in WW1 and WW2 in both cases protection was provided for our furry friends with provision of gas masks. Bit extreme for just blocking out dust but I would imagine that it will be easier to source NBC gear or BA sets for dogs than it will be to source dust masks. Probably expensive though.

While discussing this though a dog will need to be acclimatised to wearing a mask. Dont expect the dog to understand that that thing needs to be on its face just because its dusty. Some dogs will happily "wear" their owners spectacles or hats but some will not.

"Not all the dogs necessarily run off. That is breed and training related."

Too true. With breed being more important than people realise. Herding breeds tend not to run off in general as they are always waiting for instruction from the shepherd. But my Pyries are much more independant and have been bred to wander off and check things out on their own (guarding the flock against bears and wolves) as the shepherd may have been miles away. Its next to impossible to train them not to do this as they have been doing it for a couple of thousand years now. At least if its nothing interesting the boys will come back on their own but my [censored] has no sense of direction and gets lost trying to get back! Needless to say she never gets let off her lead unless in an enclosed area.

I've had other dogs who didnt actually have a lead. They never needed one.

Raststr, not all dogs will run off, but it tends to depend on breed, training & intelligence of the owner (IF the owner is around), but I've worked with dogs for 40 years, and filtered it down to just a few basics: a) all dogs can get scared, & b) most owners are dumber than their dogs.

A Mal-igator is like my Terv in that they may go exploring, but mostly stick pretty close to their owner. Breeds like Irish Setters, Beagles, etc, well..... make sure they have ID.

John, I think the suggestion about a cart is a good one. My dog weighs 50 lbs, so I couldn't carry her far. I've been looking at those lightweight collapsible baby strollers with the idea of conversion in mind. Aluminum + ripstop nylon on wheels.

For a dust mask (living here between two volcanoes), I was wondering if a whole-head mask might be the way to go, an adulteration of a horse fly-mask that fits loosely over the whole head and attaches to her collar.

If anyone has info on a source of dust-mask fabric in larger pieces, I would appreciate the info; otherwise, it's going to be patch-patch-patch. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Sue

Good question. We adopted a dog from our local ASPCA. She's an elderly toy poodle, very small. She has an extra-small safety vest through which a seat belt may be threaded. When we go somewhere for an overnight stay, we take along her things, such as a comforter she enjoys, her heated bed, her fleece blanket, booties to protect her paws from snow and ice and salt, her food (Iambs - the best there is), and her water and food bowls.

-- Craig

Over the years, you can become fairly proficient at caring for a dog’s typical injuries with common human FAKs. But there are some conditions that require quick response and immediate transportation to a veterinarian hospital. I lost Baron, a German Shepard Dog, to Gastric Dilatation Volvulus, GDV, aka, bloat. Up until that time I had dogs for over thirty years without encountering this problem. I had read about it and took precautions and was very careful on what, how, and when I feed and exercise my dogs, since I had large breeds with deep chests, which are susceptible to this condition. One Sunday after his supper, he barked in his special manner that let me know that something was wrong. He was standing motionless and with his stomach distended and hard. I knew he was in pain. My neighbor, who was also my veterinarian’s assistant, arranged for an emergency surgery at a veterinarian hospital. However being the weekend, it took a number of hours for the surgeon to arrive. Even though the surgery was preformed it was to late and within two days Baron had to be put down.

This was a tremendous loss to my wife and I and to the hospital, veterans home, and senior care facilities that Baron was certified to visit and was a part of the his routine. My other GSD was also heart broken without her constant companion and life long playmate.

Since that time I have researched and consulted with a number of veterinarians as to what I could have done differently. The consensus being that GDV is a nasty condition that can’t always be prevented or cured. But one thing I did learn is that once GDV is diagnosed or suspected, immediate doses of Simethicone, in the form of Gas X, or similar, to relieve gas pressure and to keep the intestines from twisting prior to emergency surgery is very successful.

I now carry a specialized K9 FAK for my dogs at all times. I would hate to in the outback without medication to enable me to get one of my dogs to a veterinarian or to see them in pain