FIRST, IT’S IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT PANIC.

AND, IT SEEMS COUNTERINTUITIVE BUT IT’S IMPERATIVE THAT YOU DO NOT CALL OUT FOR YOUR DOG, CHASE, OR FOLLOW HER.

IF YOUR DOG IS SKITTISH, SHE IS LIKELY TO GO INTO PANIC MODE AND WILL SEE EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE AS A THREAT.

BEGIN WITH THE FOLLOWING: GIVE WESS A CALL AT 720-317-7550!

WE WILL DISCUSS IF IT IS SAFE TO DO A WAGON WHEEL SCENT STATION AND EXACTLY WHERE TO DO IT. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS UNLESS WE HAVE SPOKEN. WESS MAPS OUT EVERYTHING AND WILL DECIDE IF IT IS SAFE TO SET UP A WAGON WHEEL SCENT STATION OR TO SIMPLY PLACE ONE SCENT STATION IN A SAFE AREA.

PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT GUIDANCE AS YOU DO NOT WANT TO LEAD YOUR DOG INTO HARMS WAY SUCH AS INTO HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS OR WHERE PREDATORS ARE.

This is what you need to do and ASAP. The first 72 hours are absolutely critical. So, making sure everything is done asap will give you the best chance at a successful rescue. 

You need to set up a wagon wheel scent station. Do it where she was last seen. You need to keep her in that area. 

Do it ASAP with dirty laundry, her bed, favorite toys. 

The “spokes” of the wheel are scent trails leading to the hub (the main scent station.) If she has a backyard with a fence leave toys and owners dirty laundry and a scent trail into the yard. 

Cut up a dirty sheet, rub it in all your dirty parts, pee on it, yes, I said that, pee on it and rip it into three inch strips. Tie them onto small sticks and stick them into the ground. Place them every 75 feet or so to make your north south east and west scent trails leading to your home. 

If you have a fenced in yard, leave the gate open and create a scent trail leading into the yard. 

- Is she chipped? Notify the chip company and update the info.  

- Does she have a regular walking route or places you frequent together that he may naturally gravitate to? 

- Post on all social media lost pet sites. Post on 24petconnect and pawboost and Craigslist.

- Post in all lost sections at all shelter websites. 

- Put up fliers in the neighborhood

- place large neon signs at major intersections

- make postcards of the fliers and canvass the neighborhood, supermarkets, local shops and give one to your local mail carrier. 

- check to see if neighbors have ring cameras.

- Check under neighbor’s porches and window wells. 

- Tag your car! https://www.missinganimalresponse.com/tag-your-car/?fbclid=IwAR3beyOLoOVjeOM1fLjgsIQCDEbsL0JTaUYStu8X0cP1xZHBdb3LaOWQf7o_aem_ATGbQdMPnV0mjsITN5wt8nYCYfA3vYNUIKAya17ZXZSl2_Tp044AO8jzGEj1BnzO13M

Also, please view and share this short video in your post on calming signals for panicked dogs. All my volunteers use this technique in search and rescue.

https://youtu.be/cmiZzB643isl

Please watch this short video on calming signals for panicked dogs. He is in flight/fright mode and may not respond to you immediately. 

https://youtu.be/cmiZzB643isl

What To Do IF You Lose Your Dog.

Infographic about using wagon wheel patterns to help lost dogs find their way home, with an illustration of a wagon wheel divided into sections, a dog house in the center, and logos for Lost Pet Research and Helping Lost Pets.
A woman wearing a pink sweater and a black mask hugging a dog in a veterinary clinic or medical setting.
A woman in a pink sweater is hugging and comforting a large dog with a black and white face in a veterinary office or animal rescue facility. The text at the bottom says 'Dice and Mama Reunited'.
A smiling girl with long hair, wearing a blue jacket and pink sneakers, kneeling on pavement and hugging a white dog with a blue leash.
A woman sitting on the ground hugging a large dog, with a leash nearby and parked cars in the background.
Three people and a dog standing outside at night, smiling. The woman on the left is wearing a gray hoodie, maroon leggings, and a light blue baseball cap. The woman in the middle is wearing a blue sweatshirt and sunglasses on her head, holding a smartphone. The man on the right is wearing a black Under Armour cap, black jacket, gray shorts, and sneakers, holding a blue leash attached to the dog. The dog is light tan with pointy ears, looking up at the woman on the left.
A woman with long dark hair and a black tank top smiling while leaning into the back of a white SUV, hugging a large dog with gray and white fur and striking blue eyes, outside in a sunny area with trees and a house in the background.
Woman with long dark hair standing outside next to an open car trunk, hugging a large husky dog with blue eyes, in a sunny outdoor setting with trees and houses in the background.
A woman and two children inside a vehicle's trunk, petting a dog, with winter clothing and snow on the footwear.
A person is holding a gray and black dog with a blue collar inside the back of an SUV. The dog is leaning its head on the person's arm, looking at the camera. The SUV's interior and a city street are visible in the background.
A gray and black mixed-breed dog with light blue eyes standing on a patterned rug next to a blue food bowl with kibble in it, indoors with wood cabinetry in the background.