Things to do when your Schip GOES MISSING

1. Call all your friends and family, anyone you can count on for help.  The first few hours are critical as it is far easier to find the dog while it is still closer to home.  Have someone stay by the phone while others look, make and distribute posters and flyers, and notify all agencies. 

2. Notify the following institutions:
   a.  Your local shelters, ASPCA, Humane Leagues, or other animal-related organizations - all of them
   b.  Your local police and/or highway patrol
   c.  Your local post office

3. Create a flyer to distribute with the following information:  (sample flyer)
   a.  the dog's name, including all nicknames to which it responds.
   b.  a recent, good photograph,
   c.  size information including weight, height, and length
   d.  complete description including behavioral characteristics with strangers
   e.  collar or harness color and tag information
   f.  whether or not to approach the dog (in cases of shy,fearful, or skittish dogs, advise NO approach - just report precise location)
   g.  offer a reward
   h.  indicate precisely where last seen and direction where headed
   i.  Your contact information (all phone numbers including cell, work, and alternates, AND email)
   j.  medication needs
   k.  DO NOT INCLUDE:
       1) Your name
       2) Your address
       3) Specific reward amount
   l.  WITHHOLD one item of description information (e.g. hairy toes or small grey streak above right eye) so that unsavory people can't try to scam you.

4. Distribute flyers to all above institutions in your area as well as all veterinary clinics and offices, shops (especially Petco, Petsmart, and other pet supply stores), restaurants (dogs may go foraging for food), mall parking lots, supermarket bulletin boards, and any other public bulletin board in the vicinity. 

5. Create a small version of your standard flyer (easy to do by inserting additional pages of the same flyer into your word processing program file and printing it 4-up - most printers allow you to do this).  Cut these apart and provide small stacks to your central Post Office, UPS, trash hauling companies, dry cleaners, utilities, etc., i.e. any company that has regular delivery routes and drivers who might be willing to keep a lookout.  Also ask coffee shops, book stores, and other locations where locals shop if they would allow a small stack on their counter or be willing to give them out with receipts.  Hand these out to passersby, shoppers, and bicyclists, etc.   They are easier to fold and keep in a pocket or purse.

6. Attach larger posters (visible from vehicles) on poles, posts, and other visible display places within at least a 5-mile radius, especially on major intersections.  Use large (22"x 28") florescent orange poster board and black permanent markers.  Mount your flyer with all information in center.  Cover flyer with clear sheet protectors to protect from the weather.  Attach to posts and poles with strong duct tape.  (sample poster).

7. Tape a smaller version of your large poster on each side and the back of your car or van (not on windows).

8. Be ready to update all flyers and posters with newest sighting information and expand your distribution aread to coincide with the most recent sighting.

9. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9AmberAlert/ and join the group.  This is an email list for lost or missing animals similar to the human Amber Alert system.  Post all critical information and your clearest picture of your Schip.

10. Search the Internet for all "lost dog" and rescue organizations in your area including dog clubs in any and every breed.  Check their sites and list your missing dog with all particulars on each and every site.  This is where digital pictures can also really come in handy.  Here are a couple of lost pet networks to start:

            

11. If you are on any dog breed or pet lists, post the flyer information there and ask them to cross-post to other lists.

12. If you are in or near a major city, contact any and every dog club for any breed.  They will often announce or let you provide flyers at their meetings.

13. If you have a CB or a friend who does, ask them to broadcast the missing dog notice to all truckers passing through the area.  

14. Check these websites for special services to help recover lost pets.  These companies specialize in locating lost pets using some of the same techniques used in locating lost people.

               
      
     

Things to do when your Schip has been sighted

1. Get precise information about the sighting - intersection, name of neighborhood, name of mall, etc., whether the dog has been seen there before, what direction he was heading, his/her manner and condition.

2. Keep in mind that a dog on the loose becomes frightened and skittish and may not come to you when you call - no matter how much they would like to.  You may have to do some intense searching, especially in old buildings, culverts, or sheds.

3. Take some of that special treat and drive VERY slowly around the area where sighted, calling the dogs name and the word he/she most associates with that special car treat (see BEFORE section below).

4. Take the dogs crate, bedding and favorite toys to the location of the sighting and place them along with dishes of food and water.  Also take a loop of some sort (you can often form one with a leash) to lower gently over the dogs head.  Don't count on being able to grab the dog.  Be prepared to let the loop do the initial work for you.

5. Once you place the crate, move away from the location and just watch. 
   a.  If the dog appears, DO NOT shout or try to catch the dog.  It will be very frightened.  Just be patient and let him/her approach the crate and food. 
   b.  If the dog goes in the crate and settles down, you may approach slowly and carefully. 
   c.  If not, hang back until the dog seems to recognize the smells associated with the crate, bedding, and toys, and, maybe takes some of the food. 
   d.  Then move toward the dog VERY slowly being extra careful not to startle or spook the dog.  If possible let him/her move towards you.
   e.  Offer the dog the special treat as you gently lower the loop over his/her head.  This loop is far easier and less threatening to the dog than trying to grab the collar or harness.

6. If you are searching rural areas or abandoned buildings, be sure you are VERY quiet and LISTEN closely for the slightest sound.  If a dog is trapped or very frightened you may hear slight noises that guide you where to look.

7. If your dog has a canine friend or playmate, be sure to take him/her with you as you search.  Familiar barks may do more to ease the missing dog's fear than almost anything.  Just be sure to keep the companion in a crate, on a very short leash, or otherwise under control.

8. Here are some special tracking suggestions from Pat Boggs, the real expert in Search and Rescue:
   a.  Tear one of your tee shirts from the dirty laundry (not a clean one) into strips.
   b.  Lay little treats on the strips along trails to the crate.  Make sure the crate has chewies, food, toys, and other items as indicated above.
   c.  Never try to sneak up on the dog, it spooks them even more.
   d.  DON'T hunch over or crouch.  The best way to catch a dog is to get down on THEIR level or even lie on the ground. 
   e.  Be STILL.  Talk softly, and wait.
   f.   Make strange sounds to keep their interest: clucks, pops, clicks, for example.
   g.  Try not to make too much eye contact ... look just to the side.  This is non-threatening in nature; direct is a challenge.
   h.  If they run, slowly follow their direction.  Usually, they have not gone far, just into hiding.
   i.   NEVER RUN after a dog ... it makes them run faster.

9. If you cannot quickly get to the place where your dog has been sighted, then using your tee shirt strips, treats, and walking to create a sort of bicycle wheel or flower of your scent in a wide radius around the crate - 50 to 100 yard radius.

10.   Check back periodically to see if the crate or scent path has been disturbed.  What you are trying to do is create a comfort zone for your dog so that he/she will use the crate as home base.  You should know when your dog's usual nap time is and return to the crate at those times.

Things to do to BEFORE your Schip is lost

1. Teach your Schip to LOVE your car.  Take him/her for rides just for fun - not just to the vet.  Every time he/she gets into the car, give him/her a special treat.  Save that treat for the car and make sure it is something unique and special, e.g. grilled chicken from one of the fast food places.

2. Make sure your dog wears a collar at all times and the collar is properly fitted. 

3. Be sure to put all critical information on an ID tag.  Here at SRN we recommend the on-collar, stainless steel tags from www.boomerangtags.com.  With these, you can use several to get all essential information.  (They also don't make noise and can't be chewed.)  Here is the information we recommend:
   a.  Your name
   b.  Your address
   c.  All phone numbers:  home, work, & cell
   d.  The word "REWARD"
   e.  If you ever travel with the dog, your car license plate number and state abbreviation.
   f.   If your Schip is especially shy, fearful, skittish,or hesitant around people be sure, as recommended by C-A-R-E, to put "AFRAID, NOT ABUSED" or "FEARFUL - NOT FERAL" on a tag.  People who find a dog might interpret your dog's natural behavior as abuse and not contact you.
   g.  If applicable, add "NEEDS MEDICATIONS" or "NEEDS MEDS" to the tag.  Actually, it doesn't hurt to put that on the tag whether the dog needs medications or not.  It might prod an otherwise reluctant finder to contact you to find out what meds the dog needs.

4. Get your dog microchipped and/or tatooed and be sure to register both numbers with the appropriate database.  If there is a question about which type to get, check with your local shelter, animal control, and several vets to see which type of microchip is most used in your area and most likely to be found.  Have that chip checked yearly to be sure it is active and the database up-to-date.

5. Although more expensive, if you have a dog that is likely dash through your legs or likes to escape and explore, consider a GPS for your dog.  GlobalPetFinder.com is one possible source.

6. Take pictures of your dog at least once a year.  Always have a good close-up of the face and one of the body standing or moving.

7. Take your dog to an Obedience class and learn how to reinforce the training.  Practice with your dog regularly throughout his/her lifetime.  Learning never stops and lessons can be forgotten, so keep practicing, especially the basics of Sit, Stay, Come, and Down.

8. If your dog lunges for the door every time someone arrives or leaves, create a barrier to the area where the door is.  If you have a foyer, use gates to keep the dog in another room.  If you can't segregate the area, create a baffle with an exercise pen (available from pet supply stores) that provides an area where, if the dog gets between it and the door, you can pick him/her up and put her back over the barrier.  X-pens consist of 8 two-foot wide panels in a variety of heights.  With Schips 30" or 36" is usually a safe height.

9. If you cannot use such a baffle, then keep a short length of cording attached to the collar so that you have something to grab as he/she tries to lunge past you.

10. Crate-train your dog.  Although as humans, we may think crates are punishment, for dogs they are not (unless you teach them they are).  Dogs, like foxes, are what are called "den animals."  This means that they like a protected place where they can feel safe.  Have you noticed that your dog occasionally lies under a table or other piece of furniture?  That's part of the same drive for a safe place.  A crate, especially an enclosed one, can be that safe place.  If you don't use it for punishment, a dog won't think of it as punishment.

11. Make sure your dog has bedding or toys that are his/hers alone.  Find out what are the favorites and keep them in the crate.  Do not wash all the dogs things at once.  Be sure that there is always something with familiar scents on it available.

12. Consider