Prepping to Survive: Furry Friend Bug Out Bag

   

Prepping to Survive is a post where I explain different things you'd need to survive. It's more than just things to buy, it's how to be prepared.

My first prepping to survive post I'm starting at the "bottom". If you have pets you'll probably want to at least try to bring them along in a bug out situation. Because you love your furry friends... But if you bring them along and you're not prepared it could be seriously stressful, depending on the situation that makes you need to bug out in the first place. So I'm going to tell y'all what you should put in a doggie (Or kitty) bug out bag and what would make it easier if you needed to get outta dodge. 

Bag: Now this is kind of hard because you already have your own bags to carry and if you have young kids you'll more than likely have to carry their bags too. So my suggestion is a small bag you can attach to yours, along with a saddle bag for your dogs. They can carry some of their own stuff, a bottle of water, treats, etc. That way they can help carry their weight and you don't have to carry a whole other bag just for them. Of course this also depends on the size of your dog. If you have a tiny dog they can't very well carry a bottle of water and other things as well. So it all depends on the dog. 

Here are some bags you can attach to your bug out bag:

And here are some of the best saddle bags I found for your dog to carry their own stuff:

Water: Water is so important. It's important for you, it's important for your family, it's important for your furry friends. Try to bring at least x amount of water per dog. Now for my bug out bags I always just plan for 72 hours and try to keep stuff in my car, my husbands car, in my purse, in my kiddos every day carry bag, etc. 

But you also want something easy for them to drink out of, because have you ever seen a dog try to drink out of a water bottle? You'll end up wasting more water than they get to drink. Which isn't ideal in a bug out situation. So you'll want either a water bottle with a bowl attached or a collapsible bowl.

Food: 
I suggest getting a baggie and measuring out three days worth of food for each dog. It shouldn't be too heavy for them to carry (Again, depends on the size of the dog) and you know they'll at least have enough for 72 to hours. You can even include a little extra just in case.

I also found this, which you can keep in the car. Keep some food, water, toys, first aid, etc in there so if you don't have time to grab the bags you at least have stuff in the car.

You can also do research to see how many calories a dog of their size needs in a day and they have freeze dried meals that keep longer, are higher in nutrients and calories (So they eat less) and they're lighter. I haven't done a ton of research on this yet though.

Leash/Collar:
Obviously this is a super important item. If you don't keep a collar on your pet I highly suggest keeping a collar with the leash in your bug out bag. With my dogs we use a regular collar, a pinch collar, and an e-collar. An e-collar isn't the most practical when bugging out because it can die. But we keep the regular collars on our dogs and then the pinch collars on their leashes. The leashes are in an area that is super easy to grab on the go.

I also suggest getting leashes that can hang things, we hang a flashlight, doggie bags, and the treat bag on ours. You can hang a small water bottle, small first aid kit, etc.

Flashlight:
Like I said above I suggest hooking a flashlight on the leash and a small flashlight in the pet bug out bag. I also suggest either light up collars or putting a light on their collar.

First aid:
They have pet first aid kits on Amazon, but really you can just look up what the pets could need and put a couple things in their bug out bags and also in your own first aid kits so you know you always have them. 

With my first aid kits I like to just look up makeup bags or the soft pencil cases, because they end up holding quite a bit. 

I will make a post later explaining what should go in a human's and furry friend's first aid kit. 

Sweater/rain coat:

This is more for cooler parts because you want to make sure your pets are comfortable. I found a doggie hoodie you can get them that have the hoods and also a little pocket that zips up, so there you go, more storage.

They also have cooling vests for your dogs, even if not for a bug out situation it's good to know these exist.

Doggie booties:
Doggie booties are so important if you're going to be walking! Especially on the hot ground in the Texas summers. But also you don't want to have to worry about rocks cutting your pups paws or them getting bit. 

Toy:
Comfort items for your pets! They are going to be stressed. Your furry friends feel exactly what you're feeling (At least most of them) So if you're stressing out, they probably will too. Also if you have a hyper dog they might want toys too. One of my dogs loves rope toys, so we could just hook one on the leash and then my other pup loves stuffies and she's little. So we can just take a small stuffie for her to help with her anxiety. 

Calm down meds:
Speaking of anxiety, you might want to keep some chews around that help to calm your pups or even ones to help them fall asleep.

Blanket/bed/sleeping bag:
Depending on where you are bugging out to, if you want your pet to lay down they will probably want something comfortable. At least our dogs do, they're queens I swear. You'll want something easy to transport and light.