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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Preparing and Making a Base Camp



Why we need to Prepare for Super Storms and Make a Base Camp


Sandy is another wake-up call to prepare for the worst.  Although local emergency response teams were on the scene assisting and doing what they could during and after the storm the damages and the number of storm survivors was overwhelming which left many people without help.


The beaches along the shoreline were completely wiped-out and many homes are gone, totally destroyed with everything the survivors owned. People were wearing donated clothing because they could not find their homes or belongings. Many people wandered the streets wondering what to do.

Sandy has raised the need for preparing for survival everywhere. More and more television shows are showing us how to prepare and survive. There are several excellent survival training classes available on and offline which can teach you how to survive a disaster in addition to what you can learn here about training your pet dog to help you.

Every skill you learn, even if it is only one skill from any source, may come in handy one day to help you and your family know what to do so your not left wandering the streets wondering what to do.

How to Prepare for Super Storms


The lessons here can be used to teach the family pet vital skills to use while you are awaiting help to arrive during and after an emergency.

Family Disaster Dog lessons can be taught as part of your daily activity with your dog and family.

For instance, it only takes a few minutes to pack a k9 survival bug-out backpack on your dog before you take your dog with you on a drive in the car. If you do this each time you take your dog then your dog will learn to remind you to get the emergency supplies when you go for a drive. And, having those supplies with you may one day come in handy and save a life because you will have lifesaving necessities with you.

It only takes a few hours a month of training for your family to have a greater chance for survival.

There are many ways you can prepare.

You can prepare by yourself or by forming groups in your neighborhood or in your club and circles of friends. Online social networks and schools are good places to find others who would be interested in learn with you how to prepare for disasters.

You can train as often as you like or groups can meet once a month to train with their dogs as a group. The group can use the lessons here in paper form to hand-out for people to practice at home. Survival and rescue information should be gathered from a number of sources on and offline for educational purposes.

The basic idea is for you, your family or the group to learn how to be self sustaining with  survival and rescue skills.

Another thing you can do to prepare in your own home and on your own time is to pack a 72 hour survival Go-Bag, which is also called a Bug-Out Bag, a Ready Pack or in a dog’s case, a Family Disaster Dog Backpack.



Keep these backpacks near the exit to your home or office and one in the car if you do not take the home go-bag with you each time you leave the house. Many people carry their go-bags everywhere, similar to an over sized purse or book bag.

Also feel free to share the information about Family Disaster Dogs with your friends, family and community. Ask us for Free material for groups, workshops and sharing.

Self Sufficient Means Feeding Yourself. 


Prepare for super storms like Sandy by learning more about food storage. Stock your home and office with at least one week’s supply of food you can eat without cooking. Make sure you can easily open the packages. Include medical supplies and first aid kits. Learn CPR and take first aid classes.

Store an excess of water for cleaning and cooking.  Make sure you have a way to purify the water before cooking or drinking. Find an alternative natural source of water near your home or office, wherever you spend most of the day. You'll feel better knowing you can go get water if the need arose.

Make sure to store your survival food and supplies in an easy to reach location, preferable out of your home but on the property or nearby in a hiding spot you can reach if your home is damaged or you must evacuate.

Speaking of evacuating, if you are told to leave your home or office, where do you plan to go?

Base Camp and Evacuation

It is a good idea to set up a meeting spot up before a situation occurs. Any safe, secure and private location a short walk from home can work as a base camp or meet up spot.

Base Camp can be your home away from home. 



If you live where you can plan a base camp or bug-out location and store supplies at the camp then prepare the camp beforehand by stocking it with supplies. This is where your family will meet if you are separated and without a home.

If you live in the city, you can prepare by finding a clear, comfortable spot in a city park or wooded area near your home. The more private the location is the better. The spot should be big enough to house the people in your group, preferably near a water source but away from danger if possible. Seek high ground if flood is possible, low ground if dangerous winds may prevail without floods.

This public spot will turn into your base camp for evacuation purposes. This spot will not be stocked up with supplies because the supplies will be divided up and stored in easy to carry packs kept with each member of the group or family.

Show everyone the meeting spot and explain you will all meet there in an emergency. Every person can bring supplies to help set-up camp using what they can carry, at the time of evacuation. Each person should bring extra items along with their own Go-Bag and each dog should carries supplies.

When the call comes to evacuate, everybody will know where to go and what to bring which will give them a sense of security. Even if a person is not able to carry much, they can do a part to help get a base camp location set up and comfortable.

Your group will stay at this location until rescuers or outside aid from the police, fire department and rescue teams reaches you.

In most disasters you will be cut off from outside aid for hours to days.

Be prepared to be out of electric, heat and water for many days by learning how to use alternative energy methods for cooking and heating. Make sure the methods are safe for indoor use.

Teach your pets and children what to do if they are separated from you. They should learn how to go to the meeting place on their own, how to stay warm and how to remain in one spot when people are looking for them. Teach your children to Hug-a-Tree.

In the event of an emergency or disaster you are advised to prepare and move to a location away from your home for your safety because of the possible dangers and damages to collapsing structures, also the loss of power lines can cause fires and natural gas leaks can cause explosions.

Disasters occur very quickly and in minutes devastation can surround you. Dealing with this fact can be overwhelming to even the strongest individual. Evacuating to a safe spot beforehand can save a person from some of the trauma and emotional impact of being left without knowing what to do or where to go when all is lost.

Survivalist and Rescuers agree the safer and more comfortable option in a disaster is to move or evacuate to a comfortable camp spot where you can wait it out with friends and family instead of overburdening the resources that are overwhelmed during these events.

Churches, hospitals and shelters are full and short on supplies because so few people are prepared to become self-reliant and tend to themselves in these situations. Churches and shelters are there for us yet outside aid is usually cut- off due to roadway damages creating a lack of resources.

The more self-reliant we are then the less of a burden we are. This makes us more able to survive ourselves and gives the way to those who need more help.



Base camps plans can be comforting.  It’s a nice feeling knowing you have someplace to go. Camps can be made quite comfortable and much more like home then a shelter or church hall.

Everybody can have a few personal items at camp or have a few personal items ready to go to camp to decorate with. A special picture or blanket will be a great comfort to you when the city is dark.

If you are caught off guard and without any help or supplies during a disaster, remember every town or city has a park or wooded area where a base camp can be chosen. During a disaster you will be able to camp just about any place you find that feels safe away from damaged structures. Go find a spot as far away as you can walk, make the best camp you can from what you find along the way, then stay put and survive.

If you know what to do then you can Do IT!

Instead of standing there wondering what to do.

Why suffer when you can go camping instead?

Be prepared, be safe and be there tomorrow.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Family Disaster Dog Example

Family Disaster Dog Example




Family Disaster Dogs are everywhere. They are common in homes worldwide in numbers to high to count. These dogs are right under our feet and often found sleeping beside the bed or under the covers. If we look around any public place there is bound to be a family disaster dog nearby, ready to act at a moment's notice to save somebody's life.

These dog's are easy to spot because they are ordinary dogs relaxing with their families, undercover or out of a hero's costume. They wait.

Like Duke in the video link below who without any formal disaster or rescue dog training jumped into action and saved a baby's life.

WFSB Channel 3

And, Boone who jumped in front of a rattlesnake to save a boy.

Then there was a born hero in a newly adopted Chihuahua puppy who saved its new family from a fire that destroyed their mobile home. As smoke and flames spread through the residential trailer, the agitated puppy barked and growled persistently until it woke the home’s owner. When she realized the building was burning she was able to wake her children and two house guests and escort them safely outside.

This story has a sad ending because when the woman returned to grab her puppy it refused to come out from under the bed, where it had been hiding. She was unable to catch it, and was forced to retreat from the home as the fire spread. Several occupants of the residence made attempts to rescue the puppy, but had to flee due to thick, choking smoke.

Tragically, the young dog died in the same fire it had saved its family from. 

You can read the story here

There is another example of a great dog in action, this family credits their dog with saving their lives and sounding the alarm after a carbon monoxide detector goes off in their home.


.Have No Fear ~ A Dog's Nearby!



Author Amber Higgins

Author Amber Higgins
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Welcome UK and Worldwide Visitors

Welcome UK and worldwide visitors and friends to Family Disaster Dogs online! Although I'm an American author and dog professional the worldwide web has given me the opportunity to connect with some wonderful folks who have contributed pictures for my books. The "Start Mantrailing" book features RRI K9 North Scotland trained Search and Rescue Dog "Amber" on the cover and her teammates training in the book, plus American dogs using my training methods. A portion of sales of the Start Mantrailing book or copies were donated to RRI North Scotland. The children's picture book "My Puppy Can Find Me" has my daughter and bloodhound as illustrations by UK cartoonist Scotty King. You can find the books on Amazon UK or use the contact page to order from me. When you click the links will take you to your own county pages of this site.

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