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But I'm puzzled over lost dogs. if a dog wiggles his way out of his leash, they run away, and won't respond to their names? or are there particular types of dogs that are more apt to run away from their owners, once they have that freedom?
My dog likes to be chased. If she gets loose, calling her name eggs on the game. Now she knows she is about to get chased and she runs farther and faster. I have finally learned to deny my instinct to try and catch her and I just stay put. She'll explore the neighbourhood and come home 10 minutes later.
I believe what it comes down to is some dogs who get loose want to explore all the smells and can't figure out their way home.
Or someone sees them loose exploring, picks them up and either keeps them or turns them in to a shelter.
My dog likes to be chased. If she gets loose, calling her name eggs on the game. Now she knows she is about to get chased and she runs farther and faster. I have finally learned to deny my instinct to try and catch her and I just stay put. She'll explore the neighbourhood and come home 10 minutes later.
I believe what it comes down to is some dogs who get loose want to explore all the smells and can't figure out their way home.
Or someone sees them loose exploring, picks them up and either keeps them or turns them in to a shelter.
It's everyone's inclination to chase an escaped dog but usually it's the worst thing to do because as you found out, it makes them run farther and faster. What I've seen recommended is to get the dog's attention and run in the opposite direction calling her. The idea is to get the dog to chase you and "catch" you so obviously you don't want to run too far or too fast. It may not work but IMO it's worth a try.
It's everyone's inclination to chase an escaped dog but usually it's the worst thing to do because as you found out, it makes them run farther and faster. What I've seen recommended is to get the dog's attention and run in the opposite direction calling her. The idea is to get the dog to chase you and "catch" you so obviously you don't want to run too far or too fast. It may not work but IMO it's worth a try.
Yeah, I've tried that. She likes to be chased, she does not like to be the chaser. My other dog likes to be chased too, and whenever he tries to get her to chase him, she won't do that either. Sometimes they get going in a circle and they both think they are being chased, but it never lasts long. LOL They are goofy dogs.
If she hasn't gotten too far and I've got my keys handy, opening the car door works. Then she'll run back and jump inside. Car rides are even better than being chased!
Yeah, I've tried that. She likes to be chased, she does not like to be the chaser. My other dog likes to be chased too, and whenever he tries to get her to chase him, she won't do that either. Sometimes they get going in a circle and they both think they are being chased, but it never lasts long. LOL They are goofy dogs.
If she hasn't gotten too far and I've got my keys handy, opening the car door works. Then she'll run back and jump inside. Car rides are even better than being chased!
She sounds like quite a character! Glad you found something that works.
I've never owned a dog, but, through the years, I've seen the flyers taped to the light poles in the neighborhoods, announcing Lost Dog. Tonite someone tucked a Los Dog flyer under the windshield wipers of nearly every car in the neighborhood. Mind you, this is a townhouse complex, with a courtyard for their dogs, with 6 foot wall separations.
I understand ferrets all to well, being a ferret owner, and I know, when walking my ferret around the neighborhood, he gets out of his leash, it's comparable to a bird flying away! My ferret does not respond to his name, so it's Good-bye, perhaps forever!
But I'm puzzled over lost dogs. if a dog wiggles his way out of his leash, they run away, and won't respond to their names? or are there particular types of dogs that are more apt to run away from their owners, once they have that freedom?
I know a couple instances of this happening.
A coworker had adopted a dog and only had it for a couple months. Her roommate went to answer the door and didn't bother to monitor the dog, which took off through the open door and never returned. My coworker was devastated, and the roommate felt horrible since it happened on "her watch."
Another coworker had a well-trained dog but they had recently moved to a new complex. The dog was in the backyard and chased a rabbit or something, hopped the fence and went running off. Never came home. My coworker is positive that had they been at their OLD home, at which the dog lived for years, he'd have come home eventually - but since was a new place in another part of town, it's possible that once the dog stopped running, he just didn't know how to get back home.
My parents had a couple dogs during my childhood that LOVED to dig under the fence and go run around the neighborhood. My husband and I had our dog get out once but we were able to catch him just a block away because the dog tired out (he was old).
It happens - and is why owners need to be on guard when walking their dogs, letting them into the backyard, or opening their front doors (among many other scenarios in which a dog can get loose).
It's everyone's inclination to chase an escaped dog but usually it's the worst thing to do because as you found out, it makes them run farther and faster. What I've seen recommended is to get the dog's attention and run in the opposite direction calling her. The idea is to get the dog to chase you and "catch" you so obviously you don't want to run too far or too fast. It may not work but IMO it's worth a try.
That's true, and if that doesn't work I've known people who've gotten their dogs' curiosity up by lying on the ground. Then the dog came over to see what was up with mom or dad. Judging by the way all my dogs have acted if they were in the room if I was on the floor trying to do stretches, that would be a good method.
No body has mentioned having a dog micro-chipped, to identify it. All shelters do that as a matter of routine, when a stray comes in. All it takes is a slow pass of a chip reader over the dog's neck/shoulder area, to see if it has one. If it does the chip reader will show ID number and they call the national register to find out the owner's name and phone number. Chips cost about $25. Inserted with a small injector device, and it doesn't hurt or bother the animal at all.
Our cat has a chip, and she isn't a outdoor cat at all.
No body has mentioned having a dog micro-chipped, to identify it. All shelters do that as a matter of routine, when a stray comes in. All it takes is a slow pass of a chip reader over the dog's neck/shoulder area, to see if it has one. If it does the chip reader will show ID number and they call the national register to find out the owner's name and phone number. Chips cost about $25. Inserted with a small injector device, and it doesn't hurt or bother the animal at all.
Our cat has a chip, and she isn't a outdoor cat at all.
Jim B.
My pets have all been chipped even my indoor cats.
No body has mentioned having a dog micro-chipped, to identify it. All shelters do that as a matter of routine, when a stray comes in. All it takes is a slow pass of a chip reader over the dog's neck/shoulder area, to see if it has one. If it does the chip reader will show ID number and they call the national register to find out the owner's name and phone number. Chips cost about $25. Inserted with a small injector device, and it doesn't hurt or bother the animal at all.
Our cat has a chip, and she isn't a outdoor cat at all.
Jim B.
It should have been mentioned. Dogs and cats should be chipped (and the contact info kept up to date!). But for a chip to bring a dog home, someone has to find the dog and bring it to a vet, animal control or shelter to be scanned. Once dogs have been out lost somewhere for awhile, they may become disoriented and fearful of everyone-even people they know-and difficult to catch. And some people who happen to want a dog persuade themselves that the owner must not deserve to get the dog back, or just decide that finders are keepers. So it's not foolproof.
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