Top 8 Lost Dog Prevention Tips

July is National Lost Pet Prevention Month! 
Here are a few tips to ensure your four-legged family member’s safety:

 

1. Make sure his IDs and microchips have the most up-to-date information. That way, when your dog is found, someone can contact you right away! Our dogs wear embroidered collars that say “REWARD’ + our phone number.  Orvis makes great ones!

2. Take an updated picture of him, print a few copies, and keep it somewhere safe! Just in case your dog gets loose, and you need to make flyers.

3. If you have a backyard, make sure to do a quick walkthrough and check your fence line to check for any areas they can sneak out through, and also check that gates are properly secured!

 4. If he’s scared of fireworks – try sound desensitization! (We also have CBD supplements available at the school to help them cope! Just text us!)

 5. Prevent him from bolting out the door or gates by practicing doorway protocols!  (If you need help with this, schedule a private lesson with us and we’ll show you how to teach doorway protocols!)

6. Practice your dog’s emergency recall with your friends, dog walker, neighbors, etc! That way if he does get out others will be able to call him back!

You do know our famous “What’s This? What’s This?” emergency recall, right? If not, you can watch our simple-to-teach video that explains how to teach this to your puppy (or dog!) by watching the video below.

 7. If you have a dog walker or pet sitter, leave a list of contacts in case of emergency. We recommend listing:

• Your direct contact info (and your significant other’s!)
• 2 additional family or friend’s contact info
• Your veterinarian’s contact info
• The local police department (non-emergency phone number)
• Local animal control phone number
• Any local animal shelter(s) phone number

 8. If you are going to drop-leash outside, use a longline!  This super awesome tool will give you plenty of leash to grab or step on, in case anything goes wrong and they start to run away. This is a *fantastic* tool to practice “What’s This, What’s This” or your formal recall (‘Come/Here’ command).

If you’re inside, you can follow the same idea, but use a drag line – usually a super light, 6ft dog leash that puppies and dogs can drag around – so you can still grab or step on the leash in a pinch! That way the extra length of the long line doesn’t get stuck on furniture or anything in your home.