I found this little dog a few months ago near my place. Someone had apparently abandoned her by the roadside. Probably, because they could not afford to feed her, or they moved to a complex where dogs aren't allowed.

No matter, I was lucky to find her. She is the most intelligent of my three dogs and her loyalty is uncanny. For instance; she is fine with me talking to someone as long as they stay their distance - get closer than 3 feet and the barking starts.

Touch me or make any kind of aggressive behavior and you'll have 10 pounds of psycho dog attacking you.

A few weeks ago the girlfriend and I were play fighting, when she pulled her leg back to kick at me, the dog attacked, biting her inside the right thigh, leaving teeth marks that pierced the skin. Needless to say, my girlfriend wasn't very happy.

So what can my pint sized bodyguard teach us about survival?

Like most survivalists, she is a hoarder. Most dogs have a natural instinct to hide food, but this one is the most proliferate hoarder that I've seen. She manages to hide at least 25% of food that I put in her bowl.

She has dozens of food caches scattered around the area and she is smart enough to find hiding places that the bigger dogs can't get into it. I mean this dog can fit through a 5 inch opening, places where the other dogs can't start.

We survivalists would be wise to do the same. Having several caches of food and gear hidden around our area is a good idea and cheap insurance, if we get cut off from our main food storage supplies for some reason. Things happen - remember Murphy's Law?

Another thing we can learn from this little dog is to always be on alert for potential threats. She is always scanning the area, looking for intruders. Her detectors seem to always be turned on - anything out of the ordinary and she is alerted.

It seems humans have lost their alertness. Most people are so preoccupied with themselves that they have no idea of what is going on around them. They make themselves easy targets.

I'm not saying you should be in a state of constant red alert, the stress of such a lifestyle would probably kill you before an aggressor. What I am saying is, be more attuned to your surroundings, don't get into the habit of walking around blind to what is going on around you.

Pay attention. Sometimes, something small can alert you to potential danger. For example, let's say it's been raining most of the day, you get home from work and notice the pattern of moister on the doorknob has been disturbed by someone turning the knob. Be like this little dog - pay attention. It could save your life.

Another thing I've noticed is that she isn't afraid to run if the situation necessitates it. She will go after the biggest, meanest dog that wanders into her territory. But the thing is, she knows when to run. If the fight is too much and she has no chance of winning, she isn't above running to me for help or hiding.

To many of us the idea of running or hiding from danger is unthinkable. But sometimes it does make sense. No matter how well armed we are we can not win every battle. When it's your family one casualty is to many.

Sometimes the best way to win a battle is to avoid the fight altogether. Other times it may be necessary to retreat to a better location offering a tactical advantage.

Take a lesson from this little Chihuahua - don't be too brave -  avoid a fight that you know you can't win.

Here’s how the graph looked.

Numerous high-level officials and experts warn that the economic crisis could lead to unrest world-wide – even in developed countries:

Today, Moody's warned that future tax rises and spending cuts could trigger social unrest in a range of countries from the developing to the developed world, that in the coming years, evidence of social unrest and public tension may become just as important signs of whether a country will be able to adapt as traditional economic metrics, that a fiscal crisis remains a possibility for a leading economy, and that 2010 would be a “tumultuous year for sovereign debt issuers”.

The U.S. Army War College warned in 2008 November in a monograph titled “Known Unknowns: Unconventional ‘Strategic Shocks’ in Defense Strategy Development” of crash-induced unrest:

The military must be prepared, the document warned, for a “violent, strategic dislocation inside the United States,” which could be provoked by “unforeseen economic collapse,” “purposeful domestic resistance,” “pervasive public health emergencies” or “loss of functioning political and legal order.”

The “widespread civil violence,” the document said, “would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security.” “An American government and defense establishment lulled into complacency by a long-secure domestic order would be forced to rapidly divest some or most external security commitments in order to address rapidly expanding human insecurity at home,” it went on.

“Under the most extreme circumstances, this might include use of military force against hostile groups inside the United States. Further, DoD [the Department of Defense] would be, by necessity, an essential enabling hub for the continuity of political authority in a multi-state or nationwide civil conflict or disturbance,” the document read.


Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair said:

Two things are certain - the federal government does not plan to just go away after a collapse and I need more ammo...

I get asked a lot of questions about prepping but every now and again I like to run a poll to help me prioritize your needs. This will help me make The Survivalist Blog better and more useful for you.

I’ve taken the 9 most common topics and listed them in a poll below. What I want you to do is to tell me which you want to learn about the most. Most of us want to learn about more than one but if it was just one which would it be?

Expand upon your choice in the comments (tell us what you want to learn about the topic, why you selected it etc) and feel free to list the rest in order of your priority.

What Do You Most Want to Learn About Prepping?