10 Tips to Avoid Losing Your Dogs

1. Pre-check fenced-in areas to make sure there are no holes or open doors before you let your dogs outside -it’s even possible sometimes trees fall on fences and break open sections of them.

2. Double-check leashes and harness connections to make sure equipment is not torn or about to break. You can also bring an extra leash for backup as needed, or for helping leash up stray dogs that you come across on walks to help reunite with their people.

3. Have a family discussion about closing doors and being really careful whenever going inside or outside - especially if you have younger children. It’s worth setting up a system with backup safety nets (see below).

4. Create a barrier using baby gates or dog fences around doorways. This will create a double-barrier to go through the first gate, then can close it, then open the front door, close it and leave.

5. If you have guests coming over, you can pre-put your dog in another room with the door closed, or a crate to ensure they aren’t overly excited and trying to break outside.

6. If your dog does get outside, try not to chase him, but instead get his attention, run a bit away from him to encourage him to chase or come to you.

7. Teach a really solid recall - coming when called behavior. See our blog on getting started.

8. In addition, if desired you can teach an automatic stay at the door or a back-up behavior for treat rewards (not punishment).

9. Be extra careful with new dogs, so you can form a bond with them, and they can learn over time to stay back and not try to rush through doorways.

10. Take care of your dog’s needs - for example, provide daily walks (and/or running off-leash) so that your dogs are not starved of exploring outside environments and sniffing new things, or meeting/playing with other dogs.

This isn’t necessarily a complete list of tasks, but hopefully it provides some strategies to keep your dogs safely inside your home.