If you’ve lost your dog, don’t despair! Most of us that have dogs consider them a valued member of the family. Here are a few ideas that may help re-unite the two of you as soon as possible!
The First Thing You Should Do
The first thing you should do is realize that dogs are creatures of habit, but they are also very easily distracted. If you have a favorite park or dog run you frequently take your pet to, that should be the very first place to head towards, on foot, and you should be calling your dog’s name as you go there.
One thing you may want to remember is that, unless you actually saw your dog escape, you can’t really be sure what kind of a head start they have on you, and dogs have very acute hearing. In fact, your dog can hear its name being called from as far as a quarter mile away. Also, dogs are very sonically oriented animals, so if it’s used to hearing food rattling in a bag or some other container before being poured into its food bowl, you may want to bring that bag along on the foot search.
Another thing: dogs are by nature very social animals. If you take your pet on regular walks, and there are any other dogs nearby, that would be a good place to check. As you walk, listen for barking, especially for the barking of two or more dogs at once. Dogs are territorial, and if your pet is encroaching on another dog’s territory, they will let your dog know in no uncertain terms.
If your foot search fails, the next step is to widen your search area. In urban areas, many of the areas accessible to your dog may not be accessible to you in a car, but take heart from the fact that a dog can find hours of fascination in a neighborhood field or baseball diamond. So once they find themselves there, they may not want to leave.
Your first instinct may be to forego the foot search due to the fact that you could cover more ground in a car. Remember, your dog will recognize you much faster than they will recognize your car!