How to Avoid Losing Your Dog

Any dog can be startled or tempted to run off on a walk, even one that usually comes back when called. Trained recall and a collar that can’t slip off cut the odds, and a chip record in your name is what brings your dog home if things go wrong anyway.

Where walks go wrong

A newly adopted dog’s recall is fragile until it’s settled with you and knows the area, so if you’ve just brought a rescue home, treat every walk as on-lead for now.

Fireworks nights are another one. Walk your dog earlier in the day on Bonfire Night and keep it indoors when displays are on. There’s more on the home and garden side of this in our guide to stopping your pet going missing.

Recall, and knowing when to keep the lead on

Train recall from the start, and use a long line if you’re not sure of it yet. A long line lets your dog explore while you can still stop it. Keep an off-lead dog in sight.

Near roads, livestock and anywhere you’d struggle to follow, keep the lead on. Sometimes that’s the law. In England, Wales and Scotland, on any road the council has designated by order, your dog must be held on a lead, with a fine of up to £200. Councils in England and Wales can also set lead rules in parks and other public spaces through Public Spaces Protection Orders, and the rules differ by council, so check yours. Recall should be reliable in busier places before you let your dog off the lead there.

Kit that stays on

In England, Wales and Scotland, a dog in a public place must wear a collar and tag showing the owner’s name and address, even if it’s microchipped. Anyone can read the tag; the chip needs a scanner. Put your surname and contact details on the tag rather than the dog’s name.

Our Smart Pet Tag carries a QR code that opens your dog’s Pet Database record, so if your details change, update them online and the tag follows. It costs £14.99 plus postage and packing, but note it has no GPS, so it can’t track your dog. Check now and then that the collar fits and the tag is still attached, since tags can come off and collars can slip.

If they run anyway

If your dog does run, the first moves matter:

1. Don’t chase — chasing can make the dog run further away. Turn side-on, lower your gaze so you seem less of a threat, and let the dog come to you.
2. Go back to your car. Dogs often find their way back there. Then retrace your usual route.
3. Cover your usual walking places first; dogs tend to stick to familiar spots.
4. Work through our first-hour steps for a lost dog: report the chip missing, ring local vets and rescues. Pet Database runs a public lost and found locator with DogLost that anyone can search by postcode.
5. If you think your dog has been stolen, report it to the police as well.

Before you set off: the chip, the record and a recent photo

The chip is a permanent implant that a vet or warden can scan. It holds only a 15-digit number, not your contact details, and it isn’t a tracker. Your name, phone number and address sit on a database linked to that number: it’s the record that goes out of date, never the chip.

Microchipping has been compulsory for every dog older than eight weeks in England, Wales and Scotland since April 2016. In Northern Ireland, every dog needs a council dog licence, which the council will only issue if the dog is microchipped.

If you don’t know which database holds your record, our chip checker runs the number against the UK databases, and a vet, dog warden or rescue centre can scan the chip for the number if you don’t have it to hand.

Take a recent photo on your phone this week: a full body shot and a face shot, in daylight. If your dog goes missing, that’s the picture every poster and post will use.

Before the next walk, check the record behind your dog’s chip is current. If a walk ever ends with an empty lead, log it with Pet Database so its free lost pet service can start work.