How do I silently take down dogs in Far Cry 3?

When taking on outposts or groups of guards in Far Cry 3, I'm constantly struggling to find a way to silently take down their pet dogs, so I can still earn the extra reward for handling an outpost without raising an alarm.

What methods can I use to silently take down guard dogs? Bonus points for versatility, or giving me multiple ways of handling the situation -- I might not always have access to a silenced pistol.

Solution 1:

Note that the requirement for getting the full "Clear outpost without getting seen" bonus, is that they don't see you (this includes guard dogs, by the way). It doesn't matter how much they hear from you, your rocks, your guns and your explosives. Also, the alarm will only be triggered after a soldier saw you with his own eyes. You can make as much noise as you want, as long as they don't spot you. Yes, that's right - you can clear out an outpost by bombarding it with grenades and RPG rockets from a nearby cliff, and still get the 1500 exp bonus.

When you still want to take out the dogs without making a sound to avoid alerting the guards, there are silencers for most guns available (not just for pistols, but also for SMGs, some assault rifles and even for sniper rifles), and there is the recurve bow.

During most of the game, I always tried to carry at least one silent long-range weapon (sniper rifle or bow) and one silent automatic weapon (smg or assault rifle).

Solution 2:

Land mines are a lifesaver, that's how I took the VERY first outpost undetected too. first, takedown everybody and make sure the dog is minding it's own business. sneak over to the back wall and place a landmine, then get far away before tossing a rock at the wall by the mine.