Help my dog is lost

Whilst others are out searching, ensure at least one person stays home to receive your dog should they come back of their own accord.

97% of dogs that go missing from home do return on their own. This can take between 2 – 9 hours and if it goes over this time in the day they will often return home between the hours of midnight and 4am.

Keep your door and garden gate open.

If your dog goes missing whilst staying at a friends house or a holiday home, be sure to leave the house door and gate open, so that they can return home on their own unobstructed.

Since dogs use their nose more than their eyes, leave an unwashed jacket or item of clothing of the dogs owner outside. Open your car doors and boot. This will increase the chances of your dog returning by following their scent following instincts.

If you have driven to a location to walk your dog please go back to the car after waiting approx. 20 minutes where they were last seen.

DO NOT shout for your dog, just call for them like you are having a conversation.

Your dog will find their way back to the car within 2 to 8 hours. Open all doors and the boot and be patient.

DO NOT MOVE THE CAR

Retrace your paths, revisit the areas you have recently (in the last 24 hours) walked or ones you both frequently walk. You may find that they have returned to these familiar area in their search for you.

Ask local residents if anyone has seen your dog. Leave your phone number with them in case they do see or find your dog.

Check CCTV and Ring doorbells.

Expand your search – If you have still not located your dog expand your search area wider.

1. Call the Police on 101 to report your dog as missing and get an incident number
2. Call your local vets in case he has been found and taken there
3. Call your local dog warden
4. If your dog has gone missing near a railway contact Network Rail on 03457114141
5. Register your dog as missing on Dogs Lost
6. Drone to Home Team 03301242004 or email [email protected]

At some stage in the search for a lost dog, owners will be advised to not shout or chase their dog which is sometimes met with questioning, “My dog always listens to me and will come back to me if they hear me”. Whilst we as humans think this to be true, the dog, who is lost will not.

At this point it is important to not humanise the situation your dog is in. You are looking for a lost dog not your dog.

This change in the thought process is not a reflection of any owner or their bond with the dog, its about the dog who is lost.

This is where knowing about survival, primeval (feral) mode is vital and can help you find your lost dog quicker and keep them safe.

A dog that has gone into survival mode prioritises survival, food, water and shelter. When they are in this state, every human is viewed as a predator, even the one that has fed, loved and walked them for 1, 4 or 12 years.

Research has located a point in the dogs brain that responds to the scent of familiar humans, much more strongly than it does to the scent of other humans or familiar dogs.

Your lost dog will be trying to find you, by scent, rather than by sound or sight.

Strangers calling a lost dog by name or whistling for them can have a negative result, the result often being they are pushed away from their location. The lost dog does not know who is calling them, they hear a noise and see it as a threat and moved on which results in owners having the start the search all over again.

As an owner walking around the area your dog was last seen is key.