dog kit – New Age Self-Reliance

It is important to be prepared for whatever may come. This could be inclement weather, injury, food shortages, and many other unknowns. While we may prepare for ourselves, what about our furry friends? Today I’m going to share with you, things I do to be prepped for my dog and whatever comes our way.

Stockpiling Food and Treats

Food security is something that I am very passionate about. This goes for not only my human family but our dog as well. I make sure to always have about three months of food and treats. There are two ways that I save on dog food to ensure I have a stockpile while maintaining my budget. Firstly, is that I have a loyalty membership through PetCo and set up a reoccurring delivery. With reoccurring delivery, there is a 5% discount, combine that with my loyalty membership and every 8th bag of dog food is free. Secondly, is to check for sales. The dog food brand we use regularly goes on a “truckload” price at a local store, I make sure to keep an eye out for this sale and will pick up a few bags. Subscribe and Save with Amazon is a huge win for stockpiling treats as well.

Water

On the note of food, we should also think about how will we give water to our dogs? Again, you will need to know how much your dog consumes. My dog drinks about a gallon a day, this means I need to find space for all those jugs or another storage option. I do have plastic gallons on hand in the event of an emergency, but a water filter is a great option that does not take up much space.

Variety of Leads

There are many situations in which having a lead for your dog is necessary. Therefore it is important to have a variety of leads to fit these different situations. For example, in our city limits, this means you need a tie-out if unable to get fencing. We also have a 50ft lead that is bright orange for when having our dog out in the woods with us. A slip lead is great when you need to maintain good control of your dog, and also can be utilized for everyday walks. The final type of lead we use is a hands-free lead. This type of lead has a waist belt and is great for when you are exercising with your dog.

First Aid kit

First aid is necessary and I have already written an article on first aid kits for dogs, including the one I put together, that you can check out here. It’s nice not to need a first aid kit, but it’s amazing to have one when you do need it. Make sure you have one for home and for travel because you just never know. I’m going to throw in grooming supplies here as well because grooming keeps your dog healthy. A nail trimmer is going to help keep your dog comfortable by keeping their nails from getting overgrown. A brush to groom out any extra fur to keep your dog from getting matted and overheated. Thirdly for grooming, pet wipes to give them an in-between bath and help if they get into anything messy.

Emergency Plans

Preparing for emergencies means practicing how you are going to handle these situations. For example, if there is a tornado, where is the safe place to take cover? Can you bring your dog to that safe place? Have you practiced with your dog to help ensure things go smoothly in a stressful situation? You can come up with plans and ask questions for many different scenarios including fires, SHTF, any type of storm, and many other scenarios.

Prepping for the unknowns and what-ifs should be an important part of our lives, just like our dogs are. They are family, so being prepared to take care of them in an emergency brings comfort to us. Let me know what you do to be prepared for your dog in an emergency!

When It comes to Prepping we often think of first aid kits; categorizing them by illness or injury, but rarely do we hear of first aid kits for dogs. Certainly, this has crossed my mind over the last few weeks, pulling out first aid kits, making sure they are stocked. What about Mora (our dog), what about other people’s dogs, do they have kits? So I decided to break down our kit and share it because we all know how important our dogs are, and keeping them safe is a huge priority!

Starting out we will go through the basic at-home kit. We will cover a few things to add to the kit if you are hiking, camping, or in the field with your dog at the end.

Main Kit

Wound Care

Inflatable collar – these are great to help keep your dog from licking a rash, incision, or infection. Having an inflatable one saves you room in your kit as it packs down small. The Kong Cloud comes in sizes xs-xl.

Deodorizing bath wipes – these can help you clean up a cut so you can get a closer look, or help get rid of dander buildup causing irritation to your pet. Nature’s Miracle is a great brand and is alcohol-free.

Styptic Powder – great for if you accidentally cut the wick of their nail. It will stop the bleeding right away, styptic powder comes in both unmedicated and medicated to help relieve pain.

Saline wash – the works best to clean out wounds and get them ready for prep.

Liquid bandage – for minor cuts. Nutri-vet is the one in our kit. It seals up the cut to prevent dirt or bacteria from getting in. It creates a waterproof film and tastes bitter to prevent licking.

First aid spray – similar to a liquid bandage, because it protects the wound from dirt and bacteria. This uses collagen to help stop the bleeding and promote healing. I have on hand one from Pet-Ag and has Bittrex in it, deterring licking and biting of the wound. Once dry, you can pair with a nonstick dressing on larger wounds.

Nonstick dressings – buy a box of your preferred brand and split the dressings between your first aid kit and the dog first aid kit. Putting them in both kits instead of storing them in one or the other, ensures you have what you need when grabbing either kit.

Bitter Bandage – you can use any self-adhering wrap, but again the bitterness deters dogs from chewing their injury. Nutri-vet is the brand I have on hand.

Pain medication – the most common option for this is aspirin. Nutri-Vet makes this in different sizes and doses according to pet size. While another option is a company called Licks, which has many supplements, including a pain reliving one that comes in liquid treat form.

A muzzle – muzzle training is a good thing to do with all dogs, because in the case of an emergency when they are in pain, you don’t know how they’ll react. A muzzle can be a good way to keep everyone safe and get your dog attended to faster. If they are muzzle trained prior, it will make muzzling in an emergency less stressful and better all around.

Other First Aid Items

Eyewash and Ear wash – there are many products for either or (Nutri-Vet ear cleanse is my preference, Burt’s Bees saline eyewash is my preferred eye rinse.) However, I recently discovered a product that is antimicrobial and made for both ears and eyes, saving you space in your kit. This dual-purpose solution is Theracyn Antimicrobial Ear and Eye Wash.

Pet Pectillin – this helps to relieve diarrhea for your dog and replaces electrolytes they’ve lost from having diarrhea.

Canned pumpkin – this helps with the opposite problem. If your dog has constipation a tablespoon of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) will help get things moving. Another option is to keep powdered pumpkin on hand and mix it as needed. That way, you won’t waste any either.

First aid book pertaining to dogs – consequently, having a quick reference to guide you through situations can be very helpful in stressful moments. They come in pocket guides for a quick reference or larger books for more in-depth knowledge.

For On The Go

When creating a first aid kits for dogs when you’re in the outdoors (hiking camping, in the field training or hunting) I would grab the wound kit as a base (minus the inflatable collar). Also, to the wound care kit, add the following:

A safety vest- this makes your dog high visibility and lets others know that what they see moving through the woods is not a threat or prey.

Boots – you can use these as a preventative measure to keep your dog from hurting their paws on rocks or very hot surfaces. Furthermore, you can also slide the boot over and injury on their foot to prevent them from messing with it.

Hopefully, this break down of our dog-geared first aid kit helps you get started on your own! If you already have a first aid kit for your dog, how similar is it to ours? Is there anything missing from our list that you would add?