Losing a dog is a terrible thing. However, you are more likely to lose a dog than you are to fail to find it if it is lost. It's important to stay calm so you can search for your pet without feeling anxious. Take a deep breath, and use this article to help you find your pet.
Step
Part 1 of 4: Looking For It Around Your House
Step 1. Ask family members for help
If you haven't seen your dog for some time, ask your family members if they have. Maybe your dog is hiding in a certain room or one of your family members is taking him for a walk. Also, find out who was the last person to see your dog.
Step 2. Get your dog to appear
Dogs love food, so you might be able to lure them out by offering them a treat or a bag of food. Surround the area around the house with the food so your dog can hear it.
Step 3. Search in a systematic way
Once you're sure you haven't seen your dog, start a systematic search around your house. Examine each room carefully, looking under the bed and in the cupboards. Be sure to explore every room, bathroom, and nook in your home. Don't forget to look under and behind household furniture.
Step 4. Look in unusual places
Fearful dogs can find unique places to hide. Look behind and in large furniture, as dogs can also hide behind the refrigerator or curl up under the washing machine. Also, be sure to check the holes it can enter and even areas like the water heater room. Small dogs can even hide under a bench (behind a footrest) or behind a pile of books in a bookcase.
Step 5. Call your dog
While searching, make sure to keep calling out his name. Your dog may be sleeping soundly in a corner, and not hear you calling him.
Part 2 of 4: Start Looking For It Outside the Home
Step 1. Get started as soon as possible
Your chances of finding the dog are higher in the first 12 hours since the dog ran away. In fact, some experts in this field have noticed that almost 90% of pets will be found again if their owners search for them within the first 12 hours.
Step 2. Use your pet's name as often as possible
Your dog knows the name and can respond. After all, your voice signals where you are.
Don't forget to use his nickname too. If you often call your dog "Poki" instead of "Princess," try calling the two names interchangeably
Step 3. Take a food bag with you
Food is a big motivator for any dog, so take a food bag with you. Shake the bag as you search for it, and say the name you usually use for the food.
For example, if you often call him “Biscuits” and his name is “Fido”, you might want to say, “Fido! Want some biscuits?"
Step 4. Take advantage of the silence
The most effective time to search with a food bag and call your dog's name is when it's quiet or calm outside. Try to find it in the morning so your dog feels safer coming out of hiding. Your dog may already be out at this time, looking for food.
Step 5. Be a detective
When searching, check for signs from your pet. Watch for footprints in your dog's mud or feces. Observe if you see the hair falling out. These are signs that you are following the right direction.
Step 6. Look in high and low places
Your dog may be near the ditch under the porch, climbing into the car, or hiding in the barn. Check all the small spaces you see because dogs can shrink to fit into small spaces. Use a flashlight to check dark places. Do not forget to check the back and underside of the bushes.
Step 7. Listen as much as you speak
You need to hear your dog's sponging sound to your voice, such as his cries, barks, or the rustle of his body rubbing against other objects. Your dog can indicate its presence when you stop making noise and start listening.
Step 8. Leave his favorite things outside
Put his favorite toys outside as they can lead your dog home. Also, try leaving something smelly outside, such as dirty clothes, which may also lure your dog out.
Step 9. Think about things that are happening in your environment
Observe newly built or abandoned houses as dogs can seek refuge in them. Also, consider if someone has recently moved in since your dog went missing because dogs sometimes get into cars carrying moving items.
Step 10. Use your car
You will need to find the dog outdoors on foot when entering tight spaces. But if you want to find your dog, drive your car around the house calling out his name. Drive at low speed, and follow each road systematically. Keep the car window open, so you can keep calling his name.
Step 11. Start from the closest location to the farthest
Some dogs run when they leave the house. You'll have to look for it within a radius of 1.6–3.2 km on the first day, but dogs can actually run up to 8-10 km. Since it's rare for a dog to run for more than 10 km, there's no harm in looking in that radius.
Step 12. Ask for help
The more people who help you find it, the more likely you are to find it. Ask for help from family members, friends, and neighbors, and coordinate your search locations. Next, define an area for each person, so that no more than one person/group is wasting time searching in the same area.
Step 13. Talk to the neighbors
Neighbors are a great source of help to help you find your dog. They may see your dog going in a certain direction, or one of them may be caring for him at home because your dog has lost his collar. Knock door after door in your neighborhood, and bring a photo of your dog to show them.
Also, be sure to ask your dog about people like mail carriers, who carry a lot of mail and travel around your neighborhood
Step 14. Notify the local shelter
You will need to notify the local shelter that you have lost your dog, so that the workers can help find your dog. Don't forget to contact private agents in the same field too.
Also, take the time to visit the shelter at least once in the first two days after your dog goes missing, in case they find him. Visit every other day if your dog has not returned after the first two days
Step 15. Ask the veterinary clinic
Call your veterinarian, especially if your dog's leashes have information about the vet's clinic. However, you should also check with other emergency clinics in your area to determine if your dog was brought there because of an injury.
Step 16. Be careful when looking for your dog
Don't search alone at night, and take your flashlight and cell phone with you when searching.
Step 17. Keep looking
Pets can survive quite a long time out of the house. You may find it months after the dog went missing, so keep looking and checking at animal shelters in your area.
Part 3 of 4: Making Missing Dog Announcements
Step 1. Make a flyer
Print out a flyer with a photo of your dog, a brief description of its characteristics, your dog's name, and your phone number. Don't forget to include the area where the dog disappeared, although you don't need to give the exact address. Also include the date your dog went missing.
- Write the title at the top of the flyer. Write the title “LOST DOG” in bold and easy-to-read form on the flyer. Write short and clear messages.
- Color photos are better than black and white photos. Make sure that you use a photo of a dog whose face, body, and features are clearly visible.
- Try to use light colored paper as that will attract the attention of many people to read your flyer. You can also try offering a reward for finding your dog to help motivate people too.
- Try sticking the flyer in shops and restaurants and pay phone booths, as well as trees. Do this within a radius of 1.6-3.2 km from the point where your dog fled, although you can also stick it further than that radius as dogs can run very far. Dog-themed places are great, such as pet shops and clinics, but try other places that a lot of people pass by, such as laundromats and gas stations. Always ask permission before you paste a flyer.
- Keep any key information about your dog, such as a heart on your dog's hind paw, without listing it on the flyer. That way, you can ask those who contact you to describe your dog and hopefully sort out those who are trying to trick you.
Step 2. Advertise it on the internet
You can put the information on a dedicated lost animal website, such as Craig's List. Also use your social networks. Send this information to your friends, and ask them to share it with their friends. The more people you reach, the more likely you are to find your dog.
Don't forget to publish your information online for others to share. For example on Facebook, you can change the setting to “public” before you activate the display of the information without changing any other settings
Step 3. Advertise this in the newspaper
Place an ad in the newspaper. Write it down briefly and clearly, including your same information as your flyer.
Step 4. Be careful with scams
Bring a companion if someone calls you and says they found your dog. Have the person meet in a public place, and don't give them gifts until you've actually gotten your dog back.
When someone calls you saying he found your dog, ask him for a full description of your dog. Listen to the headlines you wrote on the flyer
Step 5. Check any lost dog information you've published
Check the pet list found on the website where you published information about your lost dog. Also, check the newspaper's special sections for found pets.
Part 4 of 4: Preventing Lost Dogs in the Future
Step 1. Put an identification tag on the dog collar
The identification label must contain your dog's name and your contact number. That way, if someone finds your dog, that person can contact you. Be sure to keep current information in case your contacts change.
Step 2. Install the microchip on your dog
A microchip is a harmless chip that is inserted in the back of your dog's neck. the chip contains an ID that your vet or animal shelter can scan so that when they find your dog, they can contact you.
- Be sure to update your contact changes as deprecated contacts are no longer useful for your dog.
- One of the reasons you should put a microchip and identification tag on your dog is because the collar could come off in the middle of the road. If the collar is lost, the person who found your dog will not be able to contact you.
Step 3. Close the spots where your dog can escape
Make sure that you don't have any holes in your backyard or anywhere else in your home where it's easy for your dog to escape. Also, be careful when opening the door, and make sure that your dog is not waiting near the door and getting ready to run out.
Step 4. Try using a GPS-enabled microchip or label
You can purchase a label affixed to your leashes that has a GPS tracking feature. If your dog goes missing, you can use your smartphone to track it down. As a more advanced option, a microchip with the same technology is also available to be implanted under your dog's skin, so it won't get lost.
