There is nothing more scary than losing your dog while walking in the woods. It is very important to stay calm. While your mind will most likely rush to all of the worst case scenarios, you should stay optimistic and follow these important steps.
Best way to find a lost dog in the woods.
- Proper collar tags
This is something that you should take care of before you leave your house. You should ensure that your dog has a tags on his/her collar with your contact information and address. Make sure that this information is up to date.
- Calling name
While this is a no brainer, there are some steps you can take to better your chances of finding your dog. First, go to the last place where you saw your dog, and try calling him from there. You should wait a couple seconds each time to listen for any sounds. If you hear any barking, even if you know it isn’t your dog, you should head in that direction. If another dog is barking, it is most likely because they have seen your dog.
- Signal calling
This is something we recommend to all of our dog owners. When your dog is young, you should teach him/her a signal (we recommend a whistle) that signals your dog to come. You can train your dog by doing the whistle, and then rewarding your dog with a treat when they come. Signal calling can be very helpful, because the sound of a whistle travels a lot further than the sound of your voice
- Social Media
If you have searched for your dog for 2 hours with no luck, we recommend creating a post on facebook. Facebook is very useful because people can share you post to help reach as many people as possible. In fact, thousands of dogs every year are returned to their owner through lost dog posts.
- Park Rangers
Another great resource that people often overlook when their dog gets lost in the woods is the park ranger. Obviously, this is only relevant if you are in a state park where a ranger is on duty.
- Leaving out food
As you probably already know, dog’s have an excellent scent of smell. They can smell some items from over 200 feet away. If your dog has a favorite type of food or treat, we recommend leaving some out in the woods to see if it attracts your lost dog. Additionally, some dogs are attracted to the sound of dog food, so you can use that sound to lure your dog. In some cases, people will leave parts of their clothing in the woods in hope of the scent attracting the lost dog.
