Hi. It's my first time posting here. Unfortunately it's not a good topic to start out with but I am hoping for some advice from others who have experienced losing a dog and getting it back. I am an absolute wreck right now. My Malinois Riot escaped along with my GSD 2 weeks ago. We found her about 4 miles away after several hours thanks to a tip from a local dog trainer. We have searched endlessly, put out 200+ color flyers, called all vets, police, local trainers and rescue groups, visited all the shelters etc. We finally got a real solid lead. He was seen in a woman's yard two days in a row eating cat food she puts out for strays. Then he was spotted in a wooded preserve close to her house. The day after that the cat food was eaten and the bowl was stolen. This is very typical of my dog. He likes stealing plastic containers or my kids' toys and chewing them up. There were dog tracks in the snow too. BTW This house is very close to the area where we found our GSD. These sightings began last Friday. Today there was no sign of him. We set up a trap on her property baited with hot dogs and articles of our clothing and other dogs' blankets. I took my GSD to the house and played fetch with her on the property and left the stick there. I am worried Riot may have found a new spot since it got brutally cold for the past two days. I was told if I leave my scent there he would eventually come as long as he is within 1/2 mile of the area which I am certain he is. These are my questions:
1. Is the above statement true?
2. Has anyone recovered a lost dog with this or a similar method?
3. Does anyone have any other advice?
The best thing I did was advertise in the local Pennysaver with a slip ad (flyer that falls out of the booklet). I had many calls for dog sightings. Even if they weren't sightings of my dog it still helps knowing how many people out there are aware. Many people I approach with his picture tell me they saw my ad or one of the posters. The police have been very helpful so far too. Thanks for any help. BTW he will not go to anyone he doesn't know and it seems he is avoiding people like the plague so we have to be the ones to catch him.
Thanks for any help.
Amanda

I don't have any further advice, but don't give up. I placed a rescue with a girl that subsequently "lost" the dog (it turns out her father took the dog and dumped it, but for our purposes the dog was lost). I visited the shelters 2x a day, checked the dead on arrivals daily, put signs EVERYWHERE, called vets, went door to door, and some other things. Long story short, she was found. I kept her and placed her in a much more deserving home. I was so relieved when I saw her in that woman's car that I cried. I didn't think I'd ever see her again. It may sound silly, but I sent her "mental messages." I told her to get to someone that would take her to the shelter so that she'd be found. That's exactly what happened. Maybe it was coincidence, but maybe if you try hard enough it can work. At risk of sounding like a loon, if I were you I'd sit and concentrate on your dog and send her specific instructions. (i.e. Go back to the woman near the trap and stay there, or whatever) It can't hurt, maybe it'll help. (No, I'm not crazy, really...but I do believe there are things that can happen that defy reason) GOOD LUCK finding your dog. I wish you the best!!

Thank you Tara. Hearing positive stories is definitely a help. You don't sound like a loon. I have done some things I would not normally do to find this dog. How long was the dog missing in action before you found her?

Amanda,, this is something else you can do ..not sure if you live in a rural area or in a city, or a town?? But if you check with the police department and the animal control officer in your area to see if anyone own or keeps alot of dogs...maybe since your dog couldnt find his way home he might of packed up with another group of dogs...he have here in our county and place that has i would say at least a dozen dogs all running loose, and many time that is were the strays end up alot of the times...it might be worth the try...good luck

Don't forget to contact the local mail carriers! They see EVERYTHING! When our AmStaff was stolen, we gave flyers to the local post office - the main branch where the carriers actually pick up the mail for their routes. They were kind enough to hand them out and post them in their employee lounge.

And we DID get Gypsy back. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Don't give up!

Amanda, I’ve experience in trying to find or trap lost or stray dogs. These are some of the things I’ve found consistent: - There’s what’s called “psychology of the lost dog” and some of them, after escaping for a few days, will ignore you calling them and hideout and even run away from the owner when sighted. So you need to look for a hiding place rather than relying on sighting the dog when you go looking. If he’s hiding (and it sounds like he is), making a lot of noise and bringing a lot of people, even yourself, into the area where the dog is sighted is not always a good idea, if he’s gone into lost (escaped) dog mentality. We’ve successfully tracked a hiding dog with a trained tracker belonging to a local police SAR handler – do you have that resource?.. We then hid a proper dog trap (from animal control) under branches and leaves and used cheap smelly cat food . Don’t put his blankets or anything smelling of home in the trap. He’s probably too smart to let you bait him to coming into the open and I’ve found that leaving trails of hot dogs, toys, blankets or whatever, makes them move on. Dogs in escaped (lost) dog mentality often will move onto another food/water source after a few days anyway, not too far away, even though the last one is still there. They will often hide where other animals sleep or feed. Remember this is just from my personal experiences and I live in a rural area. The good news is that most dogs seem to turn up, even months later, and go back to family life as if they never left it. So don’t give up looking, and once on the move, they can travel enormous distances. Sometimes people take them in and don’t think to report it – and then kick them out when the novelty has worn off. So be prepared for a wait of several weeks if this has happened.
Keep asking local vets if they have microchipped any dogs of your dog's breed and description recently. We found one black Lab that way seven weeks after he disappeared; a couple who thought he was a stray. Don’t ignore putting up notices in those little local shops and don't forget pet shops, boarding kennels and your local community online webpage and radio. The bad news is that brutally cold is not good. Surviving at night in the winter depends much on temperature, your dog’s body fat/coat thickness and how good he is at finding water and a hiding place. The good news is that most dogs are surprisingly good at it (surviving). Mental vibes can’t do any harm. Some people say they work or help. I feel for you. I’m sure all will end well. They often turn up when they feel like it! I wish you all the good luck there is.

Anna thanks for the info. So do you think I should remove the blankets and clothing from the area and just put food in the trap? What about the smell of my other dog who he loves? I thought that might bring him around. Do you think he will not return to this woman's house now that we put our scent there?
There are no SAR dogs trained to track other animals in my area.

Amanda,
Although I've never lost any of my dogs, I can only begin to feel what you are going through.

Don't forget to ask the big guy upstairs for his help.....Dogs, breeding, and anything else can't happen without His help.

Good Luck finding Riot
Jerry

Thank you everyone. Roger that was some very good information and website. My heart goes out to Rumble's owner. I did most of the things you suggested. I am feeling good today. I went by Gail's house (the woman with the stray cats) and spoke with her. The cat food was gobbled up again and the bowl was taken again. We found the bowl across the street in the neighbor's yard right in the path he takes through the yard.
I put some of his dog kibble in the trap just one foot into it to see if he would eat it. It was gone this evening. It could have been the cats but not likely since it was a larger amount than they usually eat. Tonight we put the kibble further into the trap and the hot dogs are all the way in. My husband is going to park the truck there and wait with our GSD. Riot is getting so savvy now, coming out when no one is around to see. It's just a matter of time now before we get him. I really hope the food lures him into the trap. I continued my Pennysaver ads and made up new flyers just incase he travels to a new area. I think he may have been there all along though. I'll keep everyone posted.