My friend has a dog who went missing 3 weeks ago. She is being sighted by people and the owners are getting calls every couple of days. She seems to be sticking to 2 areas which are close to each other. A couple of big main roads seperate them.
The problem arises is that she is very scared of humans and bolts when approached. She loves dogs and will say hello but won't get close enough to the other dog walker for them to get hands on her.
The owners have sighted her and called her, she runs away.
We all seem to be about 2-3 days away from her last sighting and never really close enough to contain her into an area. She is not food orientated either, so can't coax her in with this.

The last sighting was a couple of days ago, which was 15 mins after the owners had left the area, they went back and she had gone...

Anyone got any ideas on how to catch this dog or the very least contain her somehow into a barn or garden?
She has no set pattern as to where she goes and you can't predict her next movements.

Would appreciate any helpful advice on this.

Thanks

Have you contacted the RSPCA??? Or local rescues??? they may have dog traps if you have people willing to help with them, and as they are getting calls every other day then there may well be a few
Also Dog pages have had cases like this before where they have caught the dog
Where is it missing?????
Lea

The local rescue centres, RSPCA, dog wardens, dog kennels, Police, radio stations, free local newspapers, posters have all been done.Also the breed clubs and doglost and web pages like that are being updated.

The problem with traps is that it can surly trap another animal?? Its not knowing where she will be next is the problem in order to catch her. But then even with a sighting, how do go about getting close enough to her and getting her to come to you or getting hold of her.

She is missing in Sussex - added to the missing dog board on here.

Just looked at the dog traps online, it would be an idea, though leaving any bait in it, not sure she would go for that. Also i guess we would end up catching foxes and the like...

We have used the traps successfully.. BUT.. please if you ever decide to use these.. they MUST be manned 24/7.. or unset if left unmanned..

If you are able to hide yourself away.. a tent can be set up a little distance from the trap, so the volunteers can at least be comfortable..

can you safely have other dogs off lead and see if she will follow them into a secured area/location?

diane who got spanish water dog she should come along and say how she got her dog back in the the same situation as yours,
the dog ran off after the house was broken into,but she was return to diane in the end but forgot how it happen but it was a long time.

I've heard of people putting an old jumper, or some other piece of clothing, belonging to the owner in an area that the dog has been seen. The dog would recognise the scent and most likely sleep on the jumper. It will be familiar with the scent so will hopefully stay reasonably close to it. That way you might be able to catch the poor thing.

why must they be manned 24/7?? if they are set and checked every 4-6 hours that is perfectly acceptable practise and well within the law.

A friend of mine had a dog run off and was missing for three months. For the first 3/4 weeks she was seen regularly in the area, then disappeared. My friend then got a call from the RAF base several miles away that the dog was seen on their property, so after that she resorted to a dog trap, her dog was not approachable by people so she set the traps, one up near a hedge one by a building that had things piled beside it so it looked like a cosy den, and a few others with dog food in them on areas the dog had been spotted in. Eventually she was caught by the "dog den" trap.

Sam.. if you catch another animal.. it needs to be set free...

If you catch the dog, which apparently is scared witless.. then, do you really want it going nuts crated up for 4-6hours... sorry.. but thats senseless..

Law or no law.  common sense should come into play as well...

Getting the dog back with as little stress as possible should be priority..

Contact DogLost with details of the dog http://www.doglost.co.uk/page.aspx?pg=72 members on that site have contacts all over the country who can help out with supplying and manning traps and have an immense knowledge of how to catch dogs that have been out for a while. The one thing they always say not to do is to call to it or try and approach it. Sit down quietly without looking at the dog and the dog will be more likely to approach you. Some great advice and help is available on that site and good luck with catching the missing dog.

Oh god that is an awful situation, your friend must be frantic! What sort of dog is she?
Think Id be out there night and day, like you say, if she likes other dogs take a dog with you, and possibly a squeaky toy or something and of course some bait.

You need to rally up the troops and get everyone out looking for her, if you were up this end of the country I would come and help, maybe any champ doggers down in that area will assist?
Not sure about using traps, I agree with kay if you do, you need to have someone there, if this dog is timid anyway being stuck in a trap for hours is going to be pleasant for her, hate the thought of any animal stuck in a trap!

Has your friend listed her on Dogs Lost, the lady that runs that organisation is excellent and may have some good ideas to catch her.

Good luck and please keep us posted will be thinking about her now

Beth

We got a sighting of her today. She is liking somones back garden, though the garden has an open front to a busy main road and also the back fence has a few holes in which is how she is getting in and out.
We were by the playing fields next to the garden when he heard a bark, myself and another Bernese owner went to see what it was and there she was. The owner came over and he saw her too and called her name, she just ran off in the opposite direction. She did just the same thing earlier in the day.

I have contacted a local RSPCA inspector and they don't have dog traps, they suggested my local council do. The one local to where she is missing they don't have any..Left a msg with the council seeing if they can assist.

I have also enquired about a marksman who is licensed to sedate dogs by means of darts and the RSPCA don't have them either. That would have to be a zoo vet or someone private, but at this time no contacts for a private person. You just don't know when she is going to show her face again.

Hi Sue

we had a little stray visiting our garden regularly a couple of years back now - he always managed to leg it when we opened the back door and when I contacted the RSPCA they had been trying to catch him for a couple of weeks already.

I put food and water out for him twice a day and he made a habit of coming back and forth, eventually I started putting it into a covered crate in the hope of trapping him.  We were never quick or discreet enough to get the door closed in time but the RSPCA did end up catching him using a similar method elsewhere.

HTH, it must be very traumatic for the dog and owners
best wishes, Teri

Just found out that she doesn't like big dogs, toys and of course humans. So this proves a problem for all of us with Bernese who are out looking for her. She is partial to small dogs. But with the way she is and that she is now 'wild' not sure how she would take even a little dog.
I know we are going to have to sit and wait to see if she become curious about us humans in order to catch her if we can't get the traps up and running.

She's obviously getting food somehow/somewhere - perhaps locals could ask around in case anyone is feeding her already and that would help   Of her known haunts/sightings, perhaps someone could set up a shelter for her with food and water inside and then over time she may rest in there. 

The little dog I referrred to was using a snoopy-type kennel in a corner of my garden as shelter - we'd never used it and I only became aware of his presence when my own dogs darted in there and started 'encouraging' him out to play (fortunately they were being neighbourly ).  It was after that I began leaving food and water for him and a fleece to curl up on but he was so timid that we couldn't get near him.  Then we tried setting up a crate that just fitted inside the kennel but it took several nights before he was brave enough to try it out   It was so frustrating but it worked out OK in the end, albeit elsewhere he was secured, and fingers crossed something similar will work for this girl too.

Teri

In the past when I had a "runner" I found the easiest way to get her back was to drive where I thought she might be and call for her.  When I spotted her I'd stop, reach over to the passenger door and open it, call her and she'd jump in with no problem.  No way would she come near me if I was outside the car. 

The owners of the dog are leaving food out and also the owner of the house has been too. She found the dog in her garden when she was looking out at the birds to find the dog was eating the bread and seeds she had left out. We know there is a barn and other sheltered areas in the garden(very big garden).
We would like a few traps if possible to put into different parts of the garden. I'm thinking placing a dead rabbit in them as i guess this is what she is eating, as in road kill.

She looks very healthy and that can only be a good thing, just wish she wasn't enjoying herself so much out there on her own.

Cairn this sounds a great idea, but she just won't go anywhere near any human at all, if someone calls her she bolts off into a different direction. She has got that wild its quite scary.

I've been reading this thread with interest, traps seem the most effective answer, but was also just wandering whether in your community you had a Sam (Bloodhound owner) or anyone with trained tracking dogs, if you could get those dogs out on her scent with quite a few people following and a good fishing net or even a tennis net to trap the dog with when you find her. Just another option to think about.

It is an option which has been explored and there are many tracking dogs, problem is that we didn't know where she was and also with the rain it removes the scent away and tracking becomes almost worthless. If the rain stops and she moves from the area then yes its a fab idea and something which the owners will take up if it comes to it.

The owners have found that within this huge mansion garden there is a part of it which is totally enclosed when they close a gate. They are going to help lure her into this area with food over a couple of days and when we know that she is going in to get the food, they are then going to put some sedatives into the food in the hope that they can get her to 'zone' out and collect her.

In March 2007, we rehomed Tickle, a small and timid 10-mth-old collie x to a home in Somerset. Had warned her new family that she was a bit of an escape artist but they had been so lulled by her sitting on their laps on the drive home that they didn't have hold of her when they opened the car door. She legged it. They alerted the whole town, had everyone out calling her name, put up posters etc. She was spotted a few times, but no one could get near her. I drove down there twice myself as she had been with us for 10 days and was pretty bonded to both me and one of my permanent dogs, Boz. Spent several hours walking the streets, but no joy. It was just before the weekend of Crufts 2007, where we were due to film, so I then had to go up to the NEC. But on the Sunday afternoon we got a phone call to say that Tickle had been sighted back where she had legged it from (having been spotted up to 4 miles away). That night, after BIS and we'd finished filming, I drove back down from Birmingham to Somerset and, on the advice from a professional dog-catcher, did the following (and with apologies for the unavoidably graphic description):  I sprinkled my pee all around the area where she'd last been seen and then set up camp in my estate car with a large duvet (it was freezing...) with Boz for extra warmth, company and a bit of security (it was 1am). Boot open. It took just 10 minutes. I had barely settled down when a little shadow appeared... then, round the back of the car, a very tentative Tickle. I whispered "hello Ticks" but didn't move so not to alarm her. It took her a couple of seconds to realise who it was and then she leapt, ecstatic, into the back of the car and rolled, sqealing, all over me and a rather put-out Boz.  It was a real highlight of my life. I really thought I'd lost her as she was in a busy town with some heavy traffic thundering through it.

So that's my advice: get whoever she is most bonded with to do the same where she was last spotted. Oh, and advise everyone to stop calling her by name. It's now been charged as something scary.

Jemima
(with Black Retriever X Rescue hat on)

PS: Tickle came home with me that night and has been with us ever since. Her story is here:

http://www.blackretrieverx.co.uk/Tickle.html

I looked at the link and it was a really lovely story, but i was most captivated to see that your Tickle looks absolutely exactly like my Dylan in the face and overall colouring (she is slighter of body than him though very similar all over). He is (we were told) a labxcollie x GSD.
Although nervous of some things, he loves to play and is a bit of a monkey as he is so intelligent, so similar temperament too i think.

Hoooorray!!!

She is back with her owners. She was sighted by the male owner and he lay down on the ground and made wimpering noises in the hope she would go over and investigate. She didn't she bolted off in the opposite direction.
Luckily a dog walker was coming through that way and spooked her again.
She turned round looked at her owner and went bounding over to him and said hello. She was was so pleased to see him and couldn't stop saying hello.

Something in her brain clicked and she went to him.
He took her back home in the car and she was so excited all the way home.
The female part of the couple called me at work with the news, she was so excited, her husband hadn't even got home at that point.

Hope the vet check comes back all clear.

Will call her shortly to see how she is settling back in to domestic life.
3 weeks on the run, wild in the brain and then this.

The local dog warden called me and i explained she had come home and she did mention that they would find dog traps if needs be if it ever happened again. The dog warden was so lovely and she had only just heard of the trials(coming from a different council area) and seemed to choke up when i told her.

So very glad she is now home, can't wait to see her at her home.

FANTASTIC NEWS SUE

Thank goodness this worrying tale has such a happy ending and I don't doubt her owners will be watching her like a hawk from now on (when they eventually stop cuddling her that is )

Oh I'm so glad! That's excellent news!

This really is wonderful news..

glad to hear this!

WHOOPPEE!!!

This is fantastic news - love the vision of 'dad' on floor - bless that she seemed to click who he was in the end though.

This is just wonderful and I am so pleased for your friend.

I am so very pleased for them and its amazing what the local Bernese community have done by digging in deep and helping them.

Don't think they'll ever be leaving her with a dog sitter ever again. Can you imagine, leaving your dog with a sitter while you go off to your daughters wedding, in the middle of it you get a call to say your dogs run off. Have to keep a huge smile all the way through the wedding until the end when in the middle of the night she was able to drive back home which is about 4 hrs away...God i would of been a mess.

She didn't know where to start and i passed on so many contacts for her which got the ball rolling... All i can say is that being home has put a smile on so many people's faces...

So glad she's safe and home

My bitch (many years ago) ran off on the morning I got married I still think to this day that she was trying to tell me something An elderly couple had found her and were trying to decide whether or not to keep her when they heard about it on the local radio and gave us a call. The dog didn't wear a collar as she was a working gundog, and wasn't chipped either. The relief you feel is out of this world. It takes days before you start to trust yourself to let them off lead again.

Thats great news she is home!

Yay!  I'm so pleased that she is back with her family   Don't you just love a happy ending?

Wonderful news and what a relief for her owners and all those helping to find her

Thank goodness for the Happy Ending.  So pleased for the owners, they may be able to relax and get some sleep now.

I have been reading this post with great interest but was unable to help/advice as never experienced this before but can only imagine how upsetting and worrying this must have been for them.  Would be absolutely devastated if this happened with one of mine.

Great news, and a lovely thing to wake up to!

Fantasic news

I can't imagine how elated the owners must be.

Really good news,so glad there was a happy outcome.

I have been following the thead on the other site (not sure I can mention the name) and am so delighted for all parties, they obviously think the world of her. Equally touching is how the BMD fraternity rallied together to help.

he lay down on the ground and made wimpering noises in the hope she would go over and investigate. She didn't she bolted off in the opposite direction



I am so, so, glad that they at last have her back, what a relief to one and all. She had a real little adventure there.

I was told a really lovely story by an eldery lady. Her farmer husband lost his dog on strange ground.  he kept going back to look for it but no luck, he was worried that it had had a scare and would never see it again. So....one day he drove his car to the last point his dog had been seen by locals, he got his wife to follow in their other car.  The farmer left his car (with the door left open and had the dogs blanket on the from seat.  When the farmer returned the next day..you've quessed it, the collie was curled up in the passengers seat on his beloved blanket. Aw! I think that is such a lovely (true) story.

Really pleased she is back safe and sound!

That is such good news. I cant inagine the joy the oweners must feel. What a great "pre christmas" christmas prezzie

Yay!  Fantastic news.