Sound like you're very unlucky with your world! Personally I want my characters to (eventually) get a dog, a big cow of burden, and a sheep (cow rather than bull because of milk and sheep because of mod wool). The dogs tend to be "used up" due to Njerp/bear/robber encounters, so finding sources for them tends to be important.
In your case I'd try to explore neighboring regions for villages (once you've built up enough slow perishing food stocks to go on expeditions). Completing the game courses is not an urgent task, fortunately, as there's no time limit.