Reading many of the posts on this forum has made me feel more prepared than ever before. Thanks to everyone for all the good info. But I worry about my dog. She is almost always with me . Any ideas on how to keep her healthy and safe in a survival situation?

Dogs are much more survivable than people. Basically, they just need to be kept hydrated. And you don't really need clean water, they seem to tolerate a lot more junk.

Water, food, spare collar, leash and ID tag, doggie FAK, toy.
Dave

I also (pretty much) always have my dog with me.

As Benton says, probably the biggest thing is to have enough water for the dog and some way for the dog to drink it. I have a big (80lbs) dog and she gets hot. I pretty much consider she needs as much water as I do, which means I'd prefer to have 2L for each of us at all times.

For the car and office kit, that isn't a problem, but it is too heavy to have that with me at all times. My approach is to have water ready to go in my office kit so that I can just toss the water into my pack and go.

In my case, a bowl isn't a huge issue since I carry plastic sandwich (storage actually) bags to pick up after her. In a pinch, you just make an improvised bowl. I also use a titanium camping "pot" to keep my dust masks from getting crushed which I could also use as a dog bowl. In my car kit I have one of those collapsible dog bowls.

In general, what you have for your dog will depend on your situation. I live in earthquake country, so I think about rough terrain (debris) and building escape. As such, a rescue sling seems like a useful item to have.

I also keep a set of dog boots for rough terrain, but I do worry about them impeading her ability to sweat and cool.

The other issue I worry about which I don't have a solution for yet is dust. I understand that several of the dogs that responeded to the 9/11 rescue effort died later due to gunk they breathed in. When I heard that, it made sense, but it (like other things prompted by 9/11) up until then I hadn't thought about it.

I wonder if an escape hood like this one might work...

Oh, you want to make sure you have a leash (or way to improvise one). Personally, I like this lead from Ray Allen because it has a ring in the handle so you can clip the lead back onto itself and wear it securely around your neck. It also small, and the braided portions allow for a comfortable, secure grip. The other nice thing about the ring on the handle is you can wear something like the Maxpedition Key Keyper on your belt, and then have an easy way to clip the dog to you when you want to have your hands free.

-john

Edit: Good point Dave. Dog should have collar (with ID)! Mine is "chipped" as well. FAK is also importaint, but my overlook this a bit since I just factor this into my normal carry FAK.

One idea I'd like to try is buy the right sized plastic kennel and store doggies survival stuff in it -- packed and ready to go.

( canned dog food, can opener, toys, leash, spare collar, bowl, blanket.)

You can get collapsing kennels if your dog is properly kennel trained and won't try to chew them up. I've got two that are built like a tent, the smallest packs down to about 6 by 19 inches for a 36 by 31 tent, plent of room for my 70 lb lab mix. Called a pack-a-pup tent. I bring that with everywhere, and set it up if I think she needs a refuge.

BTW, there was a previous dog kit thread you might want to check out.

-john