PIC THREAD!! Meet Mario, my new Bug Out Dog...

Doc Maker · Jun 13, 2012

He's just a year old but he's a big boy (67lbs.) We begin search dog training this fall and I wanted to ask your thoughts and comments. What are the best qualities of a bug out dog? Let's see yours.

Trailboss · Jun 13, 2012

Nice looking dog. Looks like a flat coated retriever. I suspect he's a smart dog.

Doc Maker · Jun 13, 2012

Nice call... pure bred flat coat. Too smart for his own good.

MarkAd · Jun 13, 2012

Hey DOC, bring him out to the dog park on Bandix Rd. I would love to meet him.

Grunwald · Jun 13, 2012

A bug out dog?
Hmm how much can he carry?

Hook686 · Jun 13, 2012

Maybe his own food and water. I am wondering what he is going to be trained to search for.

kenjo · Jun 14, 2012

Flat coated retrievers are great dogs. My dog was a flat coat/border collie mix but he looked just like yours except for having a white streak on his forehead and white feet. He was pretty smart, although after I taught him to play chess he still fell for "fool's mate" a few times and he only beat me twice. I suspect he cheated when he sent me to the pantry to fetch him another biscuit.

Hook686 · Jun 15, 2012

Kenjo I understand. I have va Standard Poodle and it can be embarressing to have a dog smarter than I am.

Sgt Nambu · Jun 16, 2012

Best quality for any situation, the ability (or smarts) to alert me quietly. I have had Doberman Pinchers that were good at that.

Sgt Nambu · Jun 16, 2012

Beautiful dog by the way! He does look smart!

Cougfan2 · Jun 16, 2012

Beautiful dog! Very cool that you're training him for a search dog. :s0155:

mattdomes · Jun 17, 2012

Grunwald said:
A bug out dog?
Hmm how much can he carry?

+1 We train my GWP (German Wire-haired Pointer) with a pack. Another positive to this is that in the beginning they tire out quickly but in the long run they build stamina. A dog pack w/ 2 Nalgene's filled with water works nicely.

Burt Gummer · Jun 17, 2012

Emotional support is the #1 quality. Far more reliable than any woman.

jimboshooter · Jun 17, 2012

You may need to adjust the type of women in your black book. The right woman beats a dog anyday of the week.

OFADAN · Jun 17, 2012

Here is our search & tracking dog after he successfully found me on a 30 minute track. I got all "cammo'd up" and hid...and hid well. I called my son on the radio and told him to locate me with the pup. My whole family is learning how to work with the dog and it was my son's turn. During the track my wife even tried to get this pup distracted and off course but he "Charlie Mike" anyway in spite of this distraction. This pup found me with ease and I was so well buried in the brush my family walked by me on numerous occasions.

Anyway our dog does both tracking and searching and is gifted at both air and ground scenting naturally. Most dogs are natural at air but not ground. This breed tends to do both naturally. He is two this month and 127 pounds. He is training for evidence searching and human tracking. When you say "searching" then in K9 vernacular that means searching for inanimate non-living artifacts or evidence. Tracking implies looking for living beings. This guy does both. He understands English commands and now were working on his German commands.

We've invested many hours in training this dog and I don't know how many classes and private lesson's we've had but it is a bunch! It is worth it.

This fall he'll be mature enough to start his sentry and self defense training although much of this he is doing naturally now. He is a loving and friendly guy as long as you're inside his Circle of Trust (pack). Outsiders he is not overly warm and needs a family member to introduce them to our pack. These dogs are used in the south to hunt hogs and Mtn Lions. They can turn it on if necessary. He is a valuable member of our team.

It is fun to work with our dog huh Doc!

At one Year old! Just learning obediance off leash.

My dog's family tracking and hunting hogs!

Burt Gummer · Jun 17, 2012

jimboshooter said:
You may need to adjust the type of women in your black book. The right woman beats a dog anyday of the week.

Average marriage is 7.8 years of nagging, boredom, lies, deception.

"The one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties."

"Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship."

"How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being."

- Oscar Wilde

Average lifespan of a dog 12.8 years. Unconditional friendship, love and support. You are #1 and always will be till death does you part.

soberups · Jun 17, 2012

My personal preference for a bug out dog is my toy poodle. Seriously. He weighs all of 7 lbs, eats hardly anything, drinks hardly anything, has poops the size of tootsie rolls, and he barely ever sleeps. He also never barks....that is until someone comes to the door at night, or is in the yard. Then all hell breaks loose and he lets me know on no uncertain terms that there is an intruder. He is hyper-alert and full of energy. I dont need a dog that bites someone, I need a dog that wakes me up so that I can decide whether or not they need to be bitten and with which gun.