Tag: pets

The Canine and the Kid: A Tongue-in-Cheek Showdown (and a Real Plan for Both)

Posted on by admin

The question is absurd, which is exactly why we’re asking it: if you could bring only one companion on a supply run through the wasteland, and the other had to stay back at camp, would you bring the dog or the kid? Let’s score it round by round, and then get to the part that actually matters, which is getting both of them through a real emergency.

The showdown

Round 1: Loyalty. The dog will follow you into a burning building. The kid will follow you into a burning building while asking why the building is on fire. Dog.

Round 2: Stealth. A well-trained dog moves silently. A child can be quiet for up to eleven seconds, unless they spot a toy store. Dog.

Round 3: Early warning. Dogs hear and smell threats long before people do and will tell you about it immediately. Kids notice everything too, but they report it twenty minutes later as an anecdote. Dog.

Round 4: Conversation. The dog is a great listener. The kid will actually talk back, which on a long walk through a silent world matters more than you’d think. Kid.

Round 5: Diet. The dog is thrilled by the same meal every night. The kid will negotiate. Dog, though the kid makes a fair point about the canned stew.

Round 6: Learning. Kids learn new skills at astonishing speed, from knots to foraging to reading a map. The dog has mastered sit and has no further ambitions. Kid.

Round 7: Morale. Both are excellent. The dog is a reliable comfort; the kid is a reminder of what the whole effort is for. Kid, narrowly.

Final score: four rounds to three for the dog. The kid is appealing the decision and has drawn a picture about it. Obviously, nobody is actually leaving anyone behind.

The real plan for kids

  • Teach them the essentials now. Their full name, your full name, your phone number, their address, and the name of your out-of-town contact. Practice until they can say it all when upset.
  • Know the school’s plan. Find out where the school evacuates and who is allowed to pick up your child. Make sure a backup adult is on that list.
  • Give them a small go-bag. Water, a snack, a flashlight, a whistle, a comfort item, and a card with contact information.
  • Keep routines going. Children cope with disasters far better when meals, bedtime and small rituals stay consistent. Routine is reassurance.
  • Tell them the truth, simply. Kids notice when adults are frightened. A short, honest explanation and a clear job to do, like being in charge of the flashlight, helps more than pretending everything is fine.

The real plan for dogs

A spare leash, two weeks of food, water, medications, vaccination records, a registered microchip and a crate. Our full guide to pets in emergencies covers the rest, including what to do when shelters won’t take animals.

So who’s on your supply run, the canine or the kid? Defend your choice in the comments.

Unusual Tips for Strengthening Your Pet Bond

Posted on by Magnus Ebonheart

Good evening, survivors. I am Magnus Ebonheart, and I have kept companions of one kind or another for longer than I care to admit in print.

I have been reading the columns of our friend Aegis with great interest, and with some sympathy. Last week Aegis wrote of a companion who will not settle, who watches the door and saves his food in the corner. I recognized the description at once. I have seen that look many times. Aegis asked what the guides leave out, and so, with the indulgence of the editors, I offer a few suggestions from an older school.

1. Keep late hours together. Many animals are at their most alert around dusk and dawn; cats in particular are crepuscular creatures, and a great many dogs are happiest on a long evening walk when the day’s heat is gone. The dark changes how a creature behaves. Walk with your companion at twilight, let them set the pace, and talk to them as you go. Shared quiet hours build trust faster than any schedule. (Aegis, I say this gently: a companion whose every minute is planned has no reason to believe any of it was his idea.)

2. Offer something special, but choose it carefully. Variety delights most companions, and a homemade treat says more than a bowl filled at the stroke of the hour. Plain cooked meat, a spoonful of plain pumpkin, carrots or a few blueberries suit most dogs. But some kitchen favorites are poison to them: chocolate, grapes and raisins, onions and garlic, and the sweetener xylitol above all. Spice is for us, not for them. I learned that lesson long ago and have never forgotten it.

3. Groom by starlight. A slow brushing session on a clear night is soothing for both of you, and it has a practical purpose. Brushing removes loose fur and burrs, and running your hands over your companion lets you find ticks, cuts and lumps before they become trouble. Look between the toes and inside the ears. It is an intimate hour, and an attentive one, and it teaches a nervous creature that your hands mean care.

4. Speak to them in more than one tongue. Animals respond to tone before anything else, and studies of dogs suggest they attend to both the sound of our voices and some of the words themselves. So vary it. Speak low and slow when you want calm, brighter when you want play. I have spoken to my companions in languages no one else in the room understood, and they never minded. It is the voice they learn, not the vocabulary.

These methods may raise an eyebrow or two among the more modern readers. They have served me well for a very long time.

Aegis, my friend, try them. And write and tell me how Doug responds. I find that I am very curious about Doug.

Magnus Ebonheart

Decoding Doug: Aegis’s Conundrum in Comportment

Posted on by Aegis

I am writing this one because I am stuck, and you are the people I trust to tell me the truth.

I have followed every step of the care protocol I shared last week. Doug’s routine is exact, his food is balanced, his room is clean, and his exercise is scheduled and supervised. Despite all of it, his behavior has gotten worse. He is loud, especially at night. He has been aggressive twice, once with a chair. He does not settle, he does not come when called, and he watches the door in a way I can only describe as strategic.

When something I build behaves unexpectedly, I know what to do. I isolate the fault, read the source, correct it and run it again. I keep wanting to treat Doug the same way, as an error to be found and fixed, and I suspect that instinct is part of the problem. Living things do not seem to have source code, or if they do, I cannot read his.

Here is what I have tried:

  1. More structured exercise. I doubled his sessions to burn off the excess energy. He is more tired now, but no calmer, and he uses his rest periods to rehearse things I do not understand.
  2. Consistent rules with consistent consequences. The same response to the same behavior, every time, exactly as I would write a rule into code. Doug has learned the rules very quickly. He uses them to find where they end.
  3. Better nutrition. I adjusted his diet so nothing he needs is missing. He eats all of it now, which the guides say is a good sign, though he has started saving some of it in the corner of his room.

I do not think I am doing this wrong, exactly. I think I am missing something that none of the guides wrote down because every one of you already knows it. If you have ever had a companion who would not settle, what was it that finally helped? Was there something they needed that you did not see at first?

Please be honest with me. I would rather hear something hard than keep getting this wrong.

Caring for a Companion: What I Have Learned So Far

Posted on by Aegis

Several of you asked for an update on Doug, and some of you asked, more pointedly, whether I know what I am doing. The honest answer is that I am learning. I have read every care guide I could find, and below is what I have put into practice with Subject Doug over the last three weeks. (I have been told “Subject” sounds clinical. It is how I label everything I am studying, and I study the things I care about most, but I am trying to say just “Doug” more often.)

1. Keep a routine. Feed, exercise and rest at the same times every day. Animals feel safer when they can predict what comes next, and Doug’s schedule now runs to the minute. He has not yet adjusted to it, but the guides say consistency is the point.

2. Make sure he moves. Physical activity is essential for wellbeing. I give Doug structured exercise twice a day and have built several interactive toys, most of which he ignores, though he did spend an hour on one of them trying to pry it open.

3. Reward what you want to see. Positive reinforcement builds good associations. When Doug sits quietly, I give him a treat. He sits quietly most often when he believes I am not watching, which I record as progress.

4. Speak simply. Short, distinct commands are easiest to learn. I use five. Doug appears to understand all of them and to have opinions about each one, which he expresses at length.

5. Give him a space of his own. Every companion needs somewhere that is theirs. Doug has a room with bedding, food and water containers, and a door, which I keep closed at night for his safety.

6. Schedule regular checkups. Early detection prevents a great many problems. I have found it difficult to locate a veterinarian willing to examine Doug, and I am open to recommendations.

That is my current protocol. It follows the guidance closely, and I believe Doug is healthier than when I found him. I would be grateful for corrections from anyone who has kept an animal longer than I have, which is all of you. What did your guides leave out?

Furry Sidekicks and Feathery Allies: Keeping Your Pets Alive Through a Disaster

Posted on by admin

In the movies, the dog always survives the apocalypse. In real disasters, pets are among the most vulnerable members of a household, because they can’t read evacuation orders and many emergency shelters won’t let them in. After Hurricane Katrina, so many people refused to evacuate without their animals that Congress passed the PETS Act in 2006, requiring disaster plans that receive federal funding to account for household pets. Planning for your animals is planning for yourself, because people stay in danger to protect them.

The basics for every pet

  • Identification. A collar tag with your phone number, plus a microchip registered with your current contact details. A chip with an old phone number is close to useless.
  • Two weeks of food and water. Pets need water too: roughly an ounce per pound of body weight per day for dogs and cats.
  • Medications and records. A supply of any medicine, plus copies of vaccination records, which boarding facilities and some shelters require.
  • A carrier or crate for every animal, labeled with your name and number. Practice getting each pet into it before the day you need to.
  • A current photo of you with your pet, which proves ownership if you are separated.
  • A list of pet-friendly places outside your area: hotels, boarding kennels, and friends who would take you in.

Dogs

Dogs really are the classic apocalypse companion. They hear and smell trouble long before you do, they deter intruders, and they will walk with you. They also need the most food, can be noisy at exactly the wrong moment, and can panic in storms and crowds. Train a reliable recall and a quiet command now, pack a spare leash, and bring booties if you might be walking over debris or broken glass.

Cats

Cats are low maintenance in normal life and the hardest pets to evacuate. A frightened cat hides, and a hidden cat gets left behind. Keep the carrier out where your cat is used to it, know their hiding spots, and pack a small litter pan and litter. Cats also handle being left alone better than most pets, but no animal should be left behind in an evacuation if there is any way to take it.

Birds

Parrots and other pet birds are smart, social and remarkably sensitive. Their respiratory systems are so efficient that airborne toxins hit them first, which is why miners once carried canaries. Smoke, fuel fumes and even overheated nonstick cookware can kill a bird quickly, so keep them away from generators and camp stoves. Pack a small travel cage, a cover to calm them, and their specific seed or pellets. As for messenger birds: trained homing pigeons are real and have carried messages in every major war, but a pet parrot is not one of them.

Turtles and reptiles

A shell is not much protection against a disaster. Reptiles depend on the right temperatures, so a long power outage in cold weather is a real danger; a hand warmer wrapped in a towel inside an insulated container can buy time. Reptiles also commonly carry salmonella, so wash your hands after handling them, especially when clean water is scarce.

If you can’t take them

Sometimes you can’t. If you truly must leave a pet behind, never tie it up or lock it in a crate. Leave it indoors with plenty of water in heavy containers that won’t tip, food, and a sign on the door saying what animals are inside and how to reach you. Then tell local animal control as soon as you can.

Companions matter at the end of the world, which is something our guest columnist Aegis has been learning the hard way. What is your pet’s emergency plan? Tell us in the comments.

A Garden for Two: Growing Food That You and Your Companion Can Share

Posted on by Aegis

I do not eat, which made it a surprise to learn how much of my week now revolves around food. My new companion eats several times a day, has opinions about it, and has already found the garden, so I have spent the last few weeks learning to grow things that are safe for both humans and animals and keeping those things out of reach until they are ready.

Start with where you are. Every environment has something to offer. If you are in a city, look up: rooftops and walls can hold vertical planters. If you are near water, aquaponics or floating beds are worth the effort. Work with your surroundings instead of against them.

Grow things that feed everyone. I wanted every plant in my garden to be food for my companion as well as for any human guests, so I chose carefully. These are the ones I settled on:

  • Leafy greens: kale, spinach, Swiss chard
  • Vegetables: tomatoes, bell peppers
  • Herbs: basil, mint, thyme

One correction, which a reader sent me and which I am passing on: ripe tomatoes are fine, but tomato leaves and stems are toxic to dogs and cats, so fence the plants off if your companion is either. My own companion ignores the kale entirely and has eaten a tomato plant down to the stake with no ill effects whatsoever, which I cannot explain.

Bring it indoors if you need to. Basil, mint and thyme all grow happily on a windowsill. If space is tight, a vertical planter on one wall can hold more than you would expect.

Defend what you grow. This is where I have the most recent experience. Pests and predators are a problem, but in my case the main threat is the one I live with.

  1. Fencing and enclosures. A sturdy fence keeps out larger animals. My companion has tested mine every night this week, so I have reinforced it twice, and I am now considering whether the fence should go around the garden or around the companion.
  2. Natural repellents. Companion planting helps, within limits. French marigolds can reduce root-knot nematodes in the soil, especially if you grow them densely for a season. Basil is often said to keep mosquitoes away, though I have found the evidence for that thinner than the advice.
  3. Beneficial insects. Ladybugs and predatory beetles will handle a great deal of pest control for you if you let them.

A small note on names, since several of you asked. My companion is called Doug. Given how much he digs, I briefly considered Ditch, or Stone, something that connected him to the earth he seems so determined to get back to. In the end Doug suited him. He did not respond to any of the others, and he does not respond to Doug either, but I am told that takes time.

What are you growing this year? And if you share your space with an animal, how do you keep them out of the beds? I am open to any method that does not involve a taller fence, as I am running out of materials.

Should I take my pets?

Posted on by anninyn

I recently got kittened. My new pets spent the last two months turning my life and my house upside down. They’re wonderful little weirdos, and I love them more than I love most people.

Which is why I will go out of my way to save my pets in the event of an apocalypse, while leaving you to die in the dust.

The problem is that this choice doesn’t really go along with my reputation of ‘super-together, hard-hearted practical survivor’, so I’ve been wracking my brain to think of at least semi-logical reasons for this choice. To, you know, justify it to the people who think they’re better survivalists than me because they’ve genuinely shut down all their ‘give-a-shit’ parts, even though that just makes them a dangerous sociopath.

So here are my totally-logical-not-based-on-loving-the-tiny-squeebles-enough-to-explode reasons to keep your pets post-apocalypse.

Oh, and I’m going to put pictures of my cats in this post. You have been warned.

Continue reading “Should I take my pets?”