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Having just seen MrE's photos on another thread.

Sample photo here;

I was wondering what dogs folk think are most useful around the place. (All totally biased opinions acceptable of course )

Now I love Jack Russel Terriers. Fearsome, loyal and determined but not to costly to feed!

Must see if I can find some pics. (Not sure our most recent JRT is ideal though, she's a mini! A gift to my youngest daughter )

I love the short haired collie type too. Useless for defence though! Ours might just lick you into submission!

As a guard alone a dog is useful.

Then think about dog carts.

Keeping rats at bay.

You can snuggle up to them.

For the ultimate post peak guard dog, the Rat Thing from Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash:



A nuclear powered cyborg, half dog, half machine.

Both my places in Spain and Sweden are strategically situated at the end of a long dirt track. I know a minute or so before I have a visitor when my dogs alert me. As well as all the other obvious benefits, this alone may one day give me vital time if things are buggered.

A dog is probably in my view the most useful. I would say an Airedale is the most useful. It can do everything any other dog can do and more. But its devotion to its family is not measurable it truly is off the scale. Airedales in the USA have fought off big black bears to protect children (google has many examples). Also they were used in the forces to take a man clean out. Yet they remain a lovely dog and a great pet in the right hands, they read your body language and emotions very well, if your scared it springs into action. Plus if someone did break in or intend you harm in a bad post PO era then if the dog protects you, your not liable, your not going to nick or face rough justice which would seriously effect your family?s survival chances.

?He is swift, formidable, graceful, big of brain, an ideal chum and guard. There is almost nothing he cannot be taught if his trainer has the slightest gift for teaching. To his master he is an adoring pal. To marauders he is a destructive lightning bolt.\.?

This is not just the King of Terriers it?s the king of all dogs in my eyes ? I love em

http://www.hoflin.com/BR/Airedale%20Terriers (Owners Reviews)

Gallant.
I'm on my second and third Airedales now. But my first was Prince of the Airedales, King of the Terriers. When my son was an infant we had a 250-pound black bear come onto the porch. As I went to get a gun (I DID NOT end up shooting the bear), I told him, "This is it boy, this is what you are about, stay here, don't let him pass." I will always remember the focused, intent way he stood his ground, that stubby tail just wagging a bit. It all said, "Bring it, bear." Once a bull elk stood across our fence line shaking his antlers at him. He stood steady. Cougars used to come around and he'd face them off. It wasn't that he could really lick 'em. But he sure believed he could. I have his ashes now in a chest, with a reclining Airedale figure on top. I was honored to know him. If you are considering an Airedale I assure you s/he will tirelessly and faultlessly defend your children and property.

Now what chance would a man have to do you harm!

http://www.planetairedale.com/whatis.htm

Taken from Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airedale_Terrier

The Airedale can be used as a working dog and also as a hunter. Airedales exhibit some herding characteristics as well, and have a propensity to chase animals. They have no problem working with cattle and livestock. However, an Airedale that is not well trained will agitate and annoy the animals. Strong-willed, with the tenacity commonly seen in terriers, the Airedale is a formidable opponent.

The Airedale Terrier, like most Terriers, has been bred to hunt independently. As a result, the dog is very intelligent, independent, strong-minded, stoic, and can be stubborn. The Airedale is a dog with a great sense of humour. For those who can laugh along with their Airedale, the dog can provide a unique and entertaining company. For those who don't appreciate being outsmarted by their dog, owning an Airedale can be a trying experience. Patience and consistency in training will be rewarded as the Airedales have been known to reach great heights in competitive obedience, dog agility, and Schutzhund. Airedales can often be difficult to train. Being smart, Airedales pick up what is wanted from them very quickly; being smart, they do not want to keep repeating what they learned and can try to terminate a training session at the point when they "got it". Changing the routine at this point or taking a play-break is much more productive than trying to force the Airedale to continue as they are a stubborn bunch. Airedales require constant reinforcement, or they may decide to start ignoring commands. When training is resumed, they can quickly recover their acceptance of the command. Airedales are a stoic and intrepid breed and as a result, young Airedales exhibit a general lack of common sense and require training. For the same reasons, they need socializing with other dogs early.

Albert Payson Terhune wrote of the Airedale: ?Among the mine-pits of the Aire, the various groups of miners each sought to develop a dog which could outfight and outhunt and outthink the other miner?s dogs. Tests of the first-named virtues were made in inter-mine dog fights. Bit by bit, thus, an active, strong, heroic, compactly graceful and clever dog was evolved ? the earliest true form of the Airedale."
He is swift, formidable, graceful, big of brain, an ideal chum and guard. ....To his master he is an adoring pal. To marauders he is a destructive lightning bolt."
"He is swift, formidable, graceful, big of brain, an ideal chum and guard. There is almost nothing he cannot be taught if his trainer has the slightest gift for teaching. To his master he is an adoring pal. To marauders he is a destructive lightning bolt.\."

They are also very loving, always in the middle of the family activities. Airedales are also known for expressing exactly what they are thinking, unlike more aloof breeds. The Airedale is also a reliable and protective family pet. Airedales are exceedingly loyal and strong dogs; there is one story of an Airedale taking down a bear to protect its master. They are very energetic, and need plenty of exercise.

The Airedale is also a stoic, able to withstand pain and injury, the Airedale?s hurts and illnesses often go unnoticed until they become severe and require veterinary attention.

I?d say a dog is one of the most important things to have in your home in these times. You got protection from so much. But also the fun of going out, getting out of the house and active. It worked for the UK for century when there was no oil, and for good reason the work to pay ratio for such an animal is weighted so well in our favour you?d be crazy not to have one. If nothing else everyone could do with a best friend in these trying times

Dogs are great, always had them. What will decline post peak will be dog shows, think of the mileage needed to qualify for Crufts, which wouldn't have that many casual visitors either. Dog shows only came into being with the arrival of trains.

Last time I was at Crufts I saw an electric treadmill being demonstrated by a trotting but stationery Labrador. Getting outdoors is the whole point..? And to think the dog was using rather than generating electricity, on a device which cost ?1200...

I'm after a pair (m & f) of Irish Wolf Hounds. Fantastically loyal and very protective of their territory and owner. I love 'em.

When I was in the Police, a town in which I worked had a wave of burglaries of licensed premises. The modus operandi was to wait until many hours after closing, set off the alarms by breaking a window where the alarm strips were situated. When the Police were called out to the ?attempt? burglary the licensee would arrange for the window to be boarded up and return to bed. Whilst the landlord was tucked up in bed the burglar would find the weakest point of entry. Whilst in the pub the burglars would head straight for the fruit/fag machine and drill the money boxes with a suitable cordless drill and steal the money/fags.
This happened over a three month period in every public house in the town except one??.. The pub which had two long haired Alsatians roaming about freely in the pub.

I used to have a alsation ,I taught her to bark snarl and bring someone down on a hand signal, she also could do things like jump 6 foot garden fences, climb ladders , if you said to her fetch me the hammer from the garden she would do that thats how smart she was .
I also taught her to untie me if I got tied up , ok I watched to much champion the wonder horse as a kid ,alsations are very smart as well as tough .

Id say they would be useful but again you have to feed them although if times got bad they would make good eating and you could eat their dog food , Ive eaten one not one of my own and didnt know at the time what I was eating but wouldnt really be that bothered about eating one again or dog food for that matter .

you have to feed them well as puppys but they are not fussy eaters as adults , I used to know a women who made jumpers out of her alsations hair, nice jumpers but smelled a bit of dog when wet but if thats all youve got you would get used to it .

anyway a alsations better company in tough times than a lot of people if you train them well , especially if you can control them from making a noise at the wrong time , they do deter a lot of burglers .

you can train a dog not to eat food given to it by strangers , also you can train them to track people or find things

All of our four dogs are working dogs.

Max the Border Collie works with the sheep & goats and Judy the Griffon and our two wee Daschunds hunt and track wild boar, rabbits deer etc.

We couldn't live the way we want to without them.

Brilliant response.

Mr. E. I'm suddenly well educated about airedales!

It's funny though I've always had a Jack Russell around. 3 as I grew up and now have owned 3 as a grownup! Just always seem to find another once the position is vacated! (Actually not quite, this time the old boyo is still going strong and we have just acquired another JRT as a pup!)

So I guess I'd feel as strongly about JRTs as you do about airedales.

The cuddle bit is important too!

Argh! This thread has rekindled my mad wish for a dog. I've always loved the look and temperament of lurchers, but my hubbie fancies those rather over-bred retriever-types, so we're at an impasse.

Of course, I couldn't give up the cats, and lurchers tend to chase anything that runs, so....

Ah well! Maybe a gerbil would be cheaper to feed. (Although slightly less useful at repelling the hungry hordes...)

"Toyger" anyone?

A what?

Oh right: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyger

Dogs, hmm, not quite my style but yes I can see the appeal (so voted yes), they're much better than burglar alarms for security, and you can make friends with them. And you can hone your hostage negotiating skills if someone you know has a particularly bad one .