What To Do If Your Dog Runs Away

Nothing can be more harrowing for a dog owner when his best friend runs away. Whether the dog dashes a stray cat, totally slips your leash, or is nowhere to be found in case someone left the gate open, the situation can be a nightmare. It doesn’t matter why or how your pup ran away, losing the dog can and will be devastating and your heart will break. But the important thing is not losing hope. Remember, you can still find your dog and return him home safely. But that’s if you know what to do and when to do it. Here are some important things to do if your dog is nowhere to be found.

Look for your Dog with your Friends and Family

The first thing to do is not panic, although it can be difficult not to, you won’t have a lot of time to pace around the house. Your dog is out there – team up with your friends and family and go looking for the pup! You can only solve the problem if you’re thinking clearly. Note down all the spots you take him to in the immediate area. Be sure to check the neighbor’s backyard as well – if your dog wandered off because the gate was open, chances are it’s sniffing around your neighbor’s property or visiting other animals or pets in the area. And don’t forget to keep a picture of your pooch for reference.

Don’t Forget to Shout Out the Emergency Recall Word

Most dog owners train their pups to immediately respond to an emergency word, also known as a recall word or phrase. This is a strong signal that your pooch will respond to and hurry back to you if he’s close by. It has to do with the pooch’s stimuli. Although training a dog to listen to your recall word takes a lot of time and effort, it’s worth it.

Call the Police and Send Out an Alert to your Local Pet Rescue

If you don’t find your dog within the first hour or so, there’s still no need to panic. Call in emergency pet rescue services as well as the police. Be sure to also alert every animal shelter that’s within a 50-mile radius of where you live. Calling the police will make sure officers patrolling every area in the 50-mile radius will be on the lookout for your dog. You’ll also have to provide a picture of your dog and a precise description so that they rescue the right dog.

Print and Distribute Flyers

Flyers are still a good way of getting the word out to the public as well. Have large “lost dog” flyers printed with a clear picture of your dog.? The flyers need to be precise and must catch attention. The fonts should be easy to read, and the details should include a couple of your dog’s characteristics and words/phrases it responds well to. Also, provide your phone number and address so that people can get in touch with you if they find your pooch.

Update the Registry for your Dog’s Microchip

If you’ve microchipped your pooch, you’ll have to quickly update the unique number of the chip into the pet registry. You have to ensure all information about you and the dog is up to date. You see, when an animal rescue organization takes a pup off the street and into the shelter, they immediately check its microchip. If the microchip has all the right information, it can quickly communicate the details with a recovery service, which will then get in touch with you.

Never Chase Your Dog if it Bolts

While it’s hard to just stand there while you can see that your pooch has taken off, there is a good reason why you shouldn’t run after your dog. And let’s get one thing clear, it’s safe to say that you won’t be able to keep up with the four-legged animal. Plus, if your dog runs away because he’s afraid of something, you’ll never be able to catch it or find it if it decides to hide. Furthermore, you’ll possibly make the situation worse if the dog’s under the impression that you’re playing a game with it.

The only possible way you can turn the situation around is by ricking the dog into thinking that it has to run after you – that you’re simply playing a game of hiding and seek with it. Grab your dog’s favorite toy and start running around with it if it takes off, confuse it and make it come after you to retrieve the toy.

Go and Visit Animal Shelters Yourself

Animal shelters can be busy places, and this means that the individual that you spoke to on the phone could have possibly missed your dog. It could be right there, and they may not know it. Moreover, it’s also possible that they could’ve easily mixed up the description of the dog you gave them. This is why it’s important to go to different animal shelters in person and see everything for yourself.

However, don’t be assertive, stay calm, and walk them through everything. Politely ask them to let you search the kennels and if you don’t find your dog anywhere, just leave a description of your dog and your personal contact information with them.

Seek Help on Social Media

Social media can be a powerful ally. And there’s no question that the power of Facebook and Instagram have helped people quickly reunite with their lost furry friends time and again. The first thing to do is make a post about your missing dog on your personal Facebook page. Then open community pages for pets and add a post there. While you can make posts on multiple ‘lost animals’ pages, it’s a good idea to post them on pages dedicated to ‘yard sales’ or anything similar. Just ensure you reach as many people as you can.

Some Possible Reasons Why Your Pooch May Make a Run for it

The Poor Guy is Frustrated

Your pooch may think about running away if it feels bored or frustrated about something. For example, leaving your dog alone for extended periods can end up making it feel lonely – and it will try to escape. Similarly, your dog may have too much pent uppent-up energy – this energy can’t release anywhere inside because it doesn’t have enough toys to play with. So it will venture off.

Increased Levels of Anxiety

Separation anxiety can also cause your dog to run away. Being apart from you can completely stress out your dog. Here’s how you can know whether your dog has separation anxiety:

Does your pooch act nervous or strange when you’re about to leave?
Do they wreak havoc inside the house while you’re gone?
Do they have accidents despite being housetrained?

If they display one or all of these signs, then your dog has separation anxiety. And it may run away.