I left to go down state to some shows and was almost there when my sitter called and said 2 dogs weren't in the yard. They went under the fence, which has never happened before.

They caught one within an hour, but the other one is still at large. She had gotten a pretty good zap from an electric cattle fence and it must have spooked her.

This morning, in several occasions they almost had her and a car would go speeding by and spook her. I came home this afternoon and have seen her 3 times, but she won't come to me. She is staying in the same area, about a mile from home. It's 2,300+ acres of game land This is not her behavior. I am totally baffled at the way she is acting.
This evening, I put a large vari kennel in a hunter's pull-off, with food in it.

Any suggestions? I have never had a dog do this, before.

Try getting one of your other dogs for her to follow. One that would not run away, but that would go to her to bring her back. Maybe with a long rope or leash. When dogs escape in pairs or groups, they stay together.
Sorry this is happening to you. I Hope you catch her soon.

Does your dog know the commands sit and stay? If yes, you can probably catch her. You'd be surprised how they obey those commands if they know them.

I took my male with me, but didn't see her while I had him. He will go any place with me without a lead. It's dark, now. It has been raining all day. I hope she can find a place to sleep. She must be exhausted.

She knows the sit, stay commands, but won't listen

Prayers that you round her up. Taking another dog with you should help. When you get her back let us know how you did it. Good luck.

dear, so sorry,(lovely that the dog is visible) but what i would do is take the other dog with me, a grill (small portable and disposable safely) or similar and grill some tasty what ever which leaves a good good smell....

i would kind of make a camp and play with the dog with me etc....making the loose one interested....also i would take a sausage or what ever leaves a good smell and tie it on a rope and pull on the ground in direction to the camp site...
where i would have the dogs blanket or something familiar. also don´t call by name of the dog if in shock or somtehing like that some other nickname or tempting call name might be good. we also leave small meatballs on the tracks/paths we kind of make in the area towards our camp area...

i can be contacted via my e-mail if i can help, any time if questions.

this is also that i have several times suggested it would be nice to have a part of wiscoy webpage just a click away to let people know immediately what to do when their dog/s get lost, not a minute to waist ok action would be best and lessen the worries for both parts. this is what i help with in finland, where we have one webpage with all instant infor and you can ad your dogs foto and info and get the posters to distribute check the pounds personally, as experience shows so many dogs are not identified by personnel. not meaning to be mean, but sad truth.


ritva in finland

Ritva is right, what has also worked for me is to take an article of clothing with my scent on it and leave it in the area where she is romping around with some food that she is used to, I did and overnight I came back and my guy was laying on my shirt. Good luck, at least you know she is there and not gone!

I am praying for her safe return, Gail.

I have had one or two do this one time.
The "pair" came back 2 days later, one limping.

My kennel manager's dog was gone 2 WEEKS before she came back. WE had given up and mourned and everything...

pray, pray

Any luck today, Gail! Sure hope so...

This is my third try at a reply.

We saw her around noon, with her head in the crate I left with the food. I will keep the food source coming. We aren't chasing her (can't anyhow because of the high weeds) and she doesn't seem quite as spooky, although I still don't understand her behavior. I'm her best friend.

I will probably try to trap her, tomorrow, since I have access to a box trap. I'm so afried she is going to get hit. We are in the boonies, but some of the drivers are terrible.

I will go back in a while.

I wish the storms would stop.

Thank you, all, for your concern. I will keep you posted.

It is not unusual for a house raised dog to go "feral" when they are lost. They are panicked and confused, mine was lost for 3 days and no one could catch him. He eventually came home on his own.

Gail ~ Hang in there! My thoughts and prayers are being sent your way for a successful recovery of your girl.

I suggest taking any of her buddies you can trust not to run away out there and waiting for her to show up again. The only time I had a dog run away (she was scared by a near miss with a car) she would not come to me but came to her canine buddies.

If you are her best friend, why she doesn't come to you?, something is wrong with her, I have never seen this, I have had similar situations but the minute she see me runs to me.
Try the thing with your clothes and stay around her with your other dogs and she might come to the gang.
Good luck.

JMO - she's likely been chased off by other people(?)or the storms have put a scare into her to make her flighty to anyone - nevermind everything is totally new & she's on her own! Keep up with the food, clothes that smell like you and if she's got a "buddy" dog, that may help if he/she is around too. I hope you get her home soon and all is well.

About 4:30 she was seen resting behind the kennel we put there. She left when she saw us, but not at a dead run and the food dish was empty. I feel better that she has some food in her stomach.

I have had several of her buddies over there to no availle.

The trap is set, with lots of good food and ice water. That thing is pretty neat. We'll get her.

Good luck Gail -- please keep us posted!

Johanne

Good luck Gail, We are pulling for your girl!

I would say leave a trail of some really tasty food that takes you to your home again. I hope you can catch her soon, best wishes.

Reply to:

"I would say leave a trail of some really tasty food that takes you to your home again. I hope you can catch her soon, best wishes."

I would love to, but it is so thick down there and the small streams are swollen, making it impossible. I am leaving a trail of food to the crate that has her food in it. That worked, today.

Good Luck Gail.
I hope she is home soon.

hello again. lovely that the dog still is the area. trap is good idea, and great that you have access to it.
as i remember as they got off it was said the dog mibght have gotten an electric shock? and what dogs think of that and if they somehow add a person to the thought of theirs...also very quickly they kind of forget their name etc...action accordingly.

any child friend of the dog...children have great skills to handle dog friends of theirs, with some goodies, no chasing just calm being around etc..

fingers/paws crossed here
ritva & labs
it will be ok.

I will say a prayer tonight that you get your girl home safely. I can only imagine how worried you are about her. I am glad she is eating. Keep us posted. Good thoughts.

We had a lab run off a few years ago and was gone for 6 weeks. He would not come to anyone; not even a bitch in season. This was in the middle of winter (-20) and in the city limits. He went into a backyard to play with another dog and the property owner was smart enough to sneak around and close the gate. When he got home he looked at everyone as if to say "Where the hell have you been". He had adopted survival instincts that I didn't think a pampered pet had in them. He has adjusted well and has since gone on to compete very successfully in the show ring.
I know you will get your dog back safely.

How bad of a jolt did she get from the electric fence? Maybe she is relating her yard to the fence which is why she won't come any closer.

i was checking out our special webpage for more info.

the adrenaline level gets very high in the dog and it makes it to be very careful and it doesn´t even know the owner.

the trapbox big enough is good if the dog stays in the are, and it should act fast...a food path should lead there and most foo in the rear of the box + something familiar from dog/owner.

also if visible and doesn´t pay attension to owner one should walk and have a familiar goodie bag in the hand which gives a noice when touched in hand.

also owner could throug oneself on the ground and give some distressed sounds but not use dogs name.

family car could be motor running and door open, it has been a good thing

(for males a bitch in heat)

runaways usually get active later when all is quieter, and also at home where the dog left there should be something familiar waiting with goodies/food

familys path from home to the hiding place should be done, as the do follow owners path from and to the house.

thumbs and paws up
ritva and labs

This morning the food dish was empty, the water dish was empty, but so was the trap. She obviously didn't step on the pad to trigger it. I'm sure it was her, because a preditor would have tripped it. We are going to change the food setup and hang the dish so she has to stretch for it.

The good thing is that she is not afraid of the trap.

She must have slept in the vari kennel, that we left, because there was mud in it.

The weather is not cooperating. It is starting to rain.

I just keep hoping that her attitude will change. This is not her normal disposition. All my dogs are very people oriented. It had to be the shock from the fencer. She did seem a little calmer, the last time I saw her, yesterday, and since she has eaten, she has to feel better.

haaaa what about "sedative from vet" which would be ok in the food hidden in liver patee or similar and voila
ritva

No sedative--there is too much water around from what owner said, I think. An oral sedative would take too long to work and might leave her very vulnerable to attack or to drowning. No need to have her swimming or wading when she passes out!

You have anchored her to the crate as home and safety, which is good, and maybe now with the trap, things will work. Keep leaving food and recently worn clothing, such as old shirts that have not been washed. Keep bringing the companion dog and pottying him there.

This feral behavior is more common than one thinks; it took 5 days to get my neighbor's Lab/bullmastiff mix back in suburbia. They put out the bedspread from the owner's bed on which he slept, and since it was not open country, they were able to walk him down and corner him in a partially fenced area near the highway. At that point he recognized the owner. A Lab in eastern PA escaped from a kennel, went feral all summer, eating groundhogs and workmen's scraps, then finally was trapped and instantly became a pet again.

I look forward to reading that she is home safe and sound soon.

thank you, wisw words.
ritva
ps just came to my mind.

One of my neighbors was taking a drive around about 9:30 AM and checked the trap and voila, guess who was in it.

She growled at him, but was sure glad to see me. She is fine, except maybe a "little" tired and acting her crazy self. Right now she is in a dead, sound sleep at my feet.

I will never know why she acted like she did, but it doesn't matter now. I really think is was the electric fence.

A BIG thank you to all of you for your ideas, encouragement, and prayers.

I'm exhausted. Nap time.

What a relief, I am so happy that she is home safe and sound! A nap indeed, for both of you!

I'm so glad she is back. Keep an eye on her for a few days, in case there is something else that made her act abnormally. Maybe a check up and some blood work would be a good idea.

Great news!!! It made my day. Enjoy your girl and get some rest.

Hurray! Enjoy your well deserved nap!

I'm glad to hear that she is home. As has been described by other posters, as soon as my gal got close to me, she became my best buddy again, and I'm sure Ticker's relationship with you will be the same. Celia was very afraid of cars and nervous in parking lots for quite a while after her adventure, but has now lost even that trace of her night out.

That is just the best news!! Tks for the update.

Great news!

Wonderful news Gail! Please update us in a couple of days after you are both rested and let us know how your girl is doing.

Johanne

So glad you got her back. And so happy she knows you again. You do get alot of support from this forum.

Gail,
I'm so glad you got your girl back.....holy-moley....what a nail biter wondering if you get her home safely! You had alot of folks thinking good thoughts for you and Ticker!

I am so glad and thankful that Ticker is home, safe and sound! You will both rest well tonight!

Great news indeed! I'm so happy for you - and Ticker!

All the best,
Sue

What an awful ordeal. I am so glad your girl is home safe.