So I splurged a little

I went out and bought a puppy a few days ago. He cost me a few hundred bucks which probably could have been used for other preps. I'm pretty well set in most areas, though. The only spot where I'm sorely lacking is the off grid retreat with fully functional bomb shelter so he didn't set me back too much from that goal.

Pets are something that I feel like everyone should have. I'm a dog person myself. Even if all you can get is a little one he'll be enough to at least warn you of trouble before it's on top of you. Some of them are even better at taking care of pests than cats are. They're cheap to take care of and, for the most part, can take care of themselves. They say that just petting a dog lowers most people's blood pressure a few points. They're definitely a good stress reliever for me. After a long day at work spending time with the dogs is probably my biggest stress reliever.
A lot of times I even prefer their company to people.

Picking a breed is important. Different breeds have different temperments and characteristics. Obviously, if you're allergic to dogs, then you've got to be much more careful about what breed you pick. Either that or you have to find a different pet. If you've got small children then you've got to pay attention as well. If you want a good guard dog that can do more than latch on to a toe and attempt to bark people to death then you don't want to get a chihuahua. the newest addition to my household is a shih tzu. They're great house dogs that are very hearty, great with kids and tough enough to be able to rough house with bigger dogs. They're not that yappy but they'll let you know when they think something's not right. I've also got a samoyed. They're a great, all around working breed. I have no illusions about mine. He's so old and spoiled that if I ever actually needed to use him as a working dog then I'd have to work with him 10x harder to have any hope of him being able to do anything useful. He's smart enough and eager enough to please that he'd try to figure out whatever I ask of him. I picked him because they tend to be intelligent, well behaved, protective without being overprotective and well tempered.

Make sure that you do some research before you pick the dog that you want. Make sure that you can take care of it. Don't get a teacup poodle if you've got 6 rambunctious kids. Don't get a great dane if you live in an apartment. Don't leave a brand new puppy home alone with your jealous pit bull. Don't feed them crap food. Figure out what you want out of a dog and then find a breed that meets those criteria. Educate yourself and it'll be easy to figure out what to expect. If you bring the dog home and then realize that it's not the right breed for you and your family then it's probably already too late for the dog. That's exactly how most dogs end up at rescues, in pounds or abandoned. This post might not pertain as much to urban survival but if it helps a pooch or two survive bad owners then it'll be worth it. Then again, I doubt that you guys are the types of people that dog lovers need to worry about.