Do NOT Call a Loose / Stray Dog!

Instead, Learn How to Calm and Attract Them to Come to You

I am reposting this critical essay on July 4th because it is SO timely. The first week of July in North America is fireworks season. That means the chances that you will encounter a loose/stray dog (who has fled in fear due to fireworks) is greatly increased. Knowing what to do (and what NOT to do) can save a dog’s life! Please read and share this to your network!

I know. It sound’s crazy-stupid to say “Don’t Call a Stray Dog.” You’re probably thinking, “But dogs are trained to come when called,” or “I always call dogs when I see them” or “So HOW will I get the dog to come to me if I see him but I can’t call him?” The answer is BY CALMING HIM and ATTRACTING HIM to come to you and I will explain how to do that. But first, I need to explain that CALLING A DOG CAN CAUSE IT TO RUN FROM YOU.

Here’s what we know. Dogs that are scared off by fireworks, thunder, or other traumatic events and most dogs with “skittish” temperaments will be so terrified when they are loose and straying that they will run from everyone. Dogs with friendly temperaments will often readily approach people and those are not the dogs we are referring to here—those are easy to rescue off the streets because they will come to you. The problem is that when you first see a stray dog, YOU DON’T KNOW whether it is skittish (and will bolt and run) or friendly (and will come to you), so the best tactic when you encounter a loose dog is to immediately use the “calming signals” that we describe below.

Many dogs with fearful temperaments, like dogs that were not properly socialized, “puppy mill” dogs, and dogs that have been through a traumatic experience (i.e. escaped due to a car crash) are in the “fight or flight” mode with cortisol flowing through their brain. These dogs will be highly reactive to sounds and movement.

The reason why one of the worst things that you can do is call out to a loose, stray or panicked dog is that it’s likely that other people (who encountered the loose dog) have already tried to capture him and calling him has now become a “trigger” that causes him to automatically bolt in fear when anyone, including his guardian, calls him. In many cases, people have tried to call the dog as they looked directly at the dog and walked towards it, an action that is dominate and frightening to a dog that is in the fight or flight mode.

This dog is CLEARLY afraid! Rather than standing while facing him and putting your hand out, SIT DOWN, ignore the dog, “nummy, nummy, nummy!” as you smack your lips and drop treats! (Depositphotos: photo credit: Богдан Курило…common spelling)

As humans, we think and believe that we need to communicate with dogs with our voice. This is a mistake! While verbal communication is one of our primary forms of communication, that is NOT true for dogs. The primary “language” of dogs is body language. Neuroscience has shown that a dog’s brain is wired to communicate by what it sees and they are laser focused on our body movements, facial expressions, and even the stress in our voices. But, the great news is that what dogs see will trump what they hear. So this means that when you present the correct body language—taking a nonthreatening pose (sitting or laying flat on your back) and appearing as though you’re eating something very tasty and, oops, dropping food on the ground while appearing that you’re ignoring the dog—the chances that the dog will stop, watch you, and advance towards you eventually to come for the treats you’re tossing increase.

Since 1998, I’ve been training Lost Pet Recovery Specialists (“pet detectives”) in how to recovery lost pets. The primary technique that we use when recovering a skittish dog is to post giant neon posters to develop leads / sightings. Once we get sightings, we set up a “feeding station” with food, water, and a game camera (even spraying liquid smoke everywhere to keep the dog in that area). Once its confirmed the dog is coming back to that location, a humane dog trap is set and the dog captured and returned to his loving family.

Last week, one of the Lost Pet Recovery Specialists in my network posted in Facebook that she had been working for 50 days to set up a feeding station so she could trap a very skittish dog. Here is her heartbreaking post and its the reason I am posting this today:

For 50 plus days, 24/7, I've had the honor of working with one of the greatest families I've ever met. In late January their sweet pup slipped from his collar and took off for a harrowing run in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

For 50 plus days, 24/7, I have worked with this family closely and not only got to know them but I got to know their pup. He was handsome and smart and fearless.

For 50 plus days, 24/7, I stressed and worried and planned and over analyzed every single move to try to get him out safely.

For 50 plus days, 24/7, I met some of the most generous people who were willing to do anything to help return this pup to his family.

For 50 plus days, 24/7, I deployed numerous traps, planned for new traps and consulted with some of the best in the lost dog trapping world.

For 50 plus days, 24/7 I vowed to return him safely to his family.

For 50 plus days, 24/7 I watched as people continuously interfered with the efforts to rescue him. Chasing him, searching for him, feeding him, pushing us out of trapping locations and doing all of the wrong things while his owners so desperately did all of the right things.

For 50 plus days, 24/7, this pup was on my mind and in my heart.

Today, plus all the rest of my days 24/7, the spirit of this pup will have to live on in my memory and heart because he sadly will not be going home safely to his family.

To everyone out there who is criticizing and saying they would have done things differently or better, I ask you to instead show some compassion and sympathy for the family. They are going through a truly devastating time right now and need all of the love and support they can get.

Tragically, this dog was killed when he was chased into traffic. If only those people who tried to help this dog had been trained…

We had another case where a dog on an overpass was chased by would-be rescuers who ran after the dog. It jumped off the freeway overpass, landed on the freeway below, and was killed. If only those people who tried to help this dog had been trained…

Yet another case in Florida, a man saw a loose dog, saw the posters our pet detective had put up, called her and told her that he did her “a favor” by chasing the lost dog out of the roadway and into the woods. That dog was killed by an alligator in those woods. If only those people who had tried to help this dog had been trained…

On a much happier note, another Lost Pet Recovery Specialist from my network (who IS trained) just sent a message yesterday saying that the life of a dog was SAVED because she was able to coach the dog’s guardian in how to use our “calming signals” techniques to calm and attract her dog. Here’s the message the Recovery Specialist sent me:

I just thought you would like to know your calming signals video just saved a 4 pound Chihuahua from off the busy highways. Owner was very savvy, and very open to all suggestions made, sent her the calming signals video, told her with the next sighting she could get out there quickly to go and be calm and do the calming signals. We talked for quite a while and she asked a lot of questions and I was confident she could do it. She sent me this just now: (since it’s grainy, I typed what the guardian wrote in her text below):

“Someone cited her about 2 miles from here and I went and took the fragrant rotisserie chicken and a small paper bag when I saw her. I laid down on the ground like the video suggested and I threw the chicken down and crunched the bag and I couldn’t help it, I called her name. As soon as she got close enough to see it was me, she came straight to me, didn’t even run to the chicken LOL, but thank God she remembered me. And thank God especially for people like you, who care so much for others! I am literally crying in happiness. Thank you so much.”

PLEASE, take the time to read our blog DON’T CALL YOUR DOG and watch the three videos on our website. Or better yet, do yourself (and stray dogs that you see running loose) a favor by taking our self-paced 8-week online MAR Field course. Learn the proper methods that should be used to recover loose / stray, lost dogs (and cats, too!). You don’t have to become a fulltime “pet detective” to take our training as many dog walkers, dog trainers, pet sitters, veterinarians, and others in the pet industry have taken our course just to learn how to help lost dogs and cats. Otherwise, if you’re not willing to learn how to calm and attract a loose dog, we humbly request that if you see a loose / stray dog that you JUST KEEP DRIVING and leave the dog alone.

One more thing. Would-be rescuers often misinterpret dog behavior. They see the fearful, skittish, panicked dog and assume that the dog was “abused” by someone. But in reality, this fearful appearance is due to genetics (DNA) and their puppyhood experiences and not how the dog was treated by humans! So when you come across a fearful stray, don’t make the mistake of making a judgement about the guardian. Instead, work to find who lost this dog because in a majority of the cases, SOMEONE was taking care of / feeding and even LOVING that dog and it somehow escaped their care. So instead of working to “find it a forever home,” work backwards to find out who the guardian is who LOST this dog and try to get him back to his rightful home. BTW, we teach how to “work backwards” to find owners of “strays” in our MAR Field Course.

If I sound angry in this post it is because that I am! The dog that was killed last week COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED if the rescuers knew and understood how to properly calm and attract a loose dog. I can train people, but sadly I have zero time in my life for marketing my online course. With managing my very ill husband, trying to do all of the housework, run my business, build my Substack, and publish a new book, I am at the end of my rope. So PLEASE help me to get this message spread around, like a wildland fire (or Covid, but maybe we don’t want to go there again!). If you would, RESTACK THIS and SHARE the DON’T CALL YOUR DOG blog page in your social media networks.

This chasing problem has become an epidemic and I need your help in sharing this message! Thank you!