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What if your dog got lost

Discussion in 'Sheltie Chat' started by Caro, May 10, 2014.

  1. Caro

    Caro Moderator

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    What do you think your dog would do if it got lost?

    Tonight I lost Deska for 1/2 hr on a local campus. He had headed in the direction I thought he would (behind the cafes), but I called and whistled. I eventually found him stuck in a blackberry bush behind the cafes - he hadn't made a sound. It really surprised me Mr Bark-alot hadn't made a sound when I was calling.

    So this had me thinking, what would mine do if they were lost?

    I know when they've lost sight of me at places we know they either run towards home or the car, so I guess they would try to head home. Deska is such a food hound I'm pretty sure he'd end up hanging around rubbish bins and dumpsters. And he'd probably be enticed out by anyone with a steak. Tully I'm not so sure. She loves people but I reckon alone she'd be too scared to approach anyone.

    What do you guys think yours would do?
     
  2. Ann

    Ann Moderator

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    What a frightening experience, Caro! I'm so glad you found Deska quickly and he's OK.

    Years ago, my Sheltie Angel Ivy got out of the house when we had workmen there who left a door ajar. We have 40 acres of woods behind our house and live in a fairly rural area. She was also a barker but didn't make a sound. Neighbors and I searched for hours until it was nearly dark, calling and calling and listening for her bark. I finally went back to the house and noticed the dogs a few houses away who were tied in their yard barking at the woods. On a hunch I walked down and searched there and sure enough, there she was. Like Deska, she didn't bark at all. It was really a wake-up call for me.

    A few of mine would head for the road, like Lacey, who is a bolter. Pixie, Chex and Bark would stick close to home. Pixie and Barkley would head for the woods. I think Pixie and Barkley would go to a stranger but I don't think Checkers would. Ruffles still thinks the puppy game of chase is great fun and would go wherever her nose takes her.

    Extra pats to Deska today!
     
  3. EJHUNTL

    EJHUNTL Forums Enthusiast

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    Hanna would head over to Geoff & Ann's place first to see if she could mooch some cheese...they aren't always home, so after that she's go walking in the park and make a beeline for any people or dogs (or coyotes) she saw, she'd run up to say hello and try to play. I'm pretty sure she woudn't be barking - there are no vacuum cleaners in the woods, and she rarely barks at home with all the squirrels & wildlife. Finding her would be next to impossible. We are ever so careful and thank goodness she no longer tries to bolt out the front door whenever it's open. She is microchipped but her collar is generally only on if we go out for walks, I find the hair behind her ears gets impossibly tangled the longer we leave it on her.

    That must have been so scary - I panic even when she disappears inside the house and usually I find she's gone to the crate in the bedroom instead of the one in the livingroom for a nap.

    So happy you found her safe!
     
  4. Emmasmom

    Emmasmom Forums Sage

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    My Hamish was an escape artist, sometimes by chance, once when the gate was deliberately opened by a young neighbourhood girl. I had to search the neighbourhood for him - always found him.

    Noah - only once did he get out. We had to have him on a long lead until the fence was put up and he broke it. Our neighbour called to let us know he was over there.

    Natalie is my escape artist now - she has gotten out twice in the last couple of weeks. She doesn't hear me, just runs in circles. Very difficult to corral or catch. Made me realize I can't come in the front door until I get a gate at the top of the stairs.

    Liam is too attached to me. If he does get out, he comes right back when I call. Emma just stays in the house - she doesn't want Mom made at her.

    None do any barking when they get out. Having seen the Shelties lost in the last few weeks and one not returned to her owner, I have made sure microchip info is up to date on the two registered to me. The breeder's info is on Natalie's. Collars with tags can be pulled off and thrown away. Microchips are a little safer, providing they are read and the owner contacted.

    So glad it ended well for Deska and you. Extra hugs to you both.
     
  5. jomuir

    jomuir Forums Enthusiast

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    I'd have a heart attack! I can't imagine your mind & emotions as you searched for him.

    After my heart attack, I'd probably rush to a computer, put a posting on For the Love of Louie, a Mich. lost & found pet facebook site, and do a fast scan of a couple articles I've saved on finding a lost pet. (Might be a good idea to print them & put them in my pets vet/paperwork folders now). Then I'd grab my phone & start looking.

    I'm glad you found him, give the little rascal a pet from me.
     
  6. corbinam

    corbinam Moderator

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    How scary. So glad Deska is okay.

    If mine got lost...I think it would depend on the circumstance. Bentley would chase something (another dog, for example) for miles before realizing he wasn't near us. But, I think he would go right up to the first person he saw.

    Lexi was "lost" once for about one minute. It was so scary. She chased a goose down a golf course and we lost sight of her. However, she just followed a man walking down the road right back to us. If she were lost and we found her fairly quickly she would come to me. But, she is a scaredy cat and I think if she were in the middle of nowhere it wouldn't take long for her to become feral and hide from everyone.
     
  7. Bradt9881

    Bradt9881 Forums Enthusiast

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    Buddy and Fletcher got out of the fence once when the pest control man left it cracked and I didn't check it before letting them out at 5 am. The collie Buddy was found on the next block having a good time. Fletcher was waiting on the porch. He was ready for breakfast, he loves to eat.
     
  8. EJHUNTL

    EJHUNTL Forums Enthusiast

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    Thank goodness for shelties and their food obsession!
     
  9. Mom2Melli

    Mom2Melli Forums Enthusiast

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    Shay wouldn't get very far. Maybe if he flat out bolted and then realized. Then he would be found cowering under a bush or in a very small space. I don't believe he would leave our house or yard even if a gate were open.

    Melli, for a fact, would walk off (slowly), get picked up by animal control, get thrown in the slammer, only this time she is collared, licensed, and chipped so I would get her back instead of her getting adopted out. It's happened to her before.

    My first Aussie was never a bolter until we were almost hit by an r/c jet. He bolted right out of his collar and ran flat out for about 1/2 a mile down a road and into a field. He was just hopping through the field of foxtails. Thankfully he circled back to my calling and I was able to get out to him. WORST experience of my life. After that, he would bolt out our front door -- 2-3 times and would follow the route we walked every day. Our house now has a deck with a gate and a glass/screen door in addition to the front door and it really limits the bolting opportunity.

    SO glad you found your baby. A loved one missing is the absolute worst.
     
  10. Jess041

    Jess041 Forums Enthusiast

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    I've had a "close call" with Missy. I think it was about a year ago. My family is in the very long process of clearing out my grandparents house to sell. My grandparents' house is out in the country on 5 acres, on the corner of a small highway and a smaller street. I was out there with my aunt cleaning out the kitchen, taking things I wanted, and I brought Missy. We went out the porch door to look in the barn, I had Missy on a leash. We came back in through the garage, and I took Missy off the leash. I didn't realize the porch door was open. Probably 20 minutes passed and we noticed Missy wasn't by us. She had been underfoot most of the time we were inside.

    I walked over to the porch, realized the door was open. Ran outside looking for her. The first thing I noticed was a truck turning around on the highway. My heart sank. I thought for sure he was turning around because he had just hit my dog. But then I spotted her across the smaller street, in another pasture, just sniffing around. She had gone through a barbed wire fence to get there. I was able to call her over, but she didn't want to go through the fence and I couldn't fit through it. So I had to pull her through it, carried her back inside (didn't have the leash). I think she just put her nose to the ground and jut wandered off. She had never wandered off like that before. When we're outside off leash, she never goes far.

    It scared me so much. It was terrifying because we weren't "home", we were somewhere unfamiliar to Missy. I don't know if she would've known where to go once she wanted to come back to me. But luckily, it was a happy ending.
     

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