If you have a Lost Dogs of America organization in your area contact them. http://lostdogsofamerica.org/ They are are a volunteer organization and there is no charge for their service. They have very helpful information on their website. Good luck

They should also contact all the local vets, the local pound etc in case he ends up there,not everyone uses social media. Good luck and I hope they can get him back

badgergal - that's a great idea and one I didn't know about, but unfortunately there is not one in Virginia. Thanks for trying !

trancegemini - I'm going to do a seach of these and send to them just in case they haven't had two seconds to do so. Appreciate your help.

So far the biggest issue has been his elusiveness. He is skittish and won't come to or near anyone. I wonder about setting a food trap, but who knows what else might get snared.

actually, the idea of using worn tshirts is good, use the whole item though, not pieces since it will smell stronger, anything that might smell like the owners will usually work well. I've seen this work first hand for a runaway dog (bolted out a gate and ran away from a kennel I was working at years ago), and the dog was found sitting by a jacket the owner volunteered to be left out. I think it's more likely to work than a food trap since a skittish dog will view the smell as familiar and safe. Honest to god, this dog found the jacket and just SAT THERE. It was amazing.

Many years ago we had a large Collie wander away after we brought him to his new home. I spent days driving the neighborhood, my wife called local radio stations. Fremont was gone for seven days. How did we get him? We went to the local schools and got support for offering a reward to the finder.

Fremont wandered into a yard the next day while a barbeque was going on. Kid called us. He was about a 1/2 miles from our home.

I realize school is not now in session, generally.

http://missingpetpartnership.org - a non profit organization with very informative website-

http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-tips/lost-dog-behavior/

Also trained volunteers who can talk to you by phone, help you analyze the situation and coach you on how to best go about getting him back - I cant speak highly enough about this group - they have a phenomenonal success rate and I credit them with giving me the knowledge and the reassurance to go about getting my cat back.

Sightings are good, but you also want to know how to effectively get him back.... DO NOT CHASE. If you are offering a reward make sure the posters state clearly not to chase. Will do no good and that will only increase his fear/panic and possibly drive him out of the area - you don't want that. Remember that your dog has in a sense reverted to being feral - in very much an instinctive. fight or flight mode. I know from the experience with my cat how difficult it is when your beloved animal wont come or respond to you but you simply CANNOT take it personally. He's not even sticking around to see who you are, and may not even recognize you out of the context of your warm loving home. You cant take it personally, and yes be sad and worried - but not devastated! You just need to have the knowledge and a plan and work through it as best you can. Good luck - keep us posted

Dog Trapping

For the best information available on humanely trapping a skittish lost or stray dog, check out the Feral Dog Blog. This blog is hosted by Dr. Mark Johnson, the founder of Global Wildlife Resources, and it includes access to a free training library

Wow ~ as usual, you all have come through and I appreciate all your information! Will post when we have more news and in the meantime, have shared all this with my niece. Thank you !

Keeping the dog in the area with a feeding station is your best chance of eventually recovering your dog. The info below is from the Lost Dogs Wisconsin website

Use a Feeding Station to Help Capture a Shy Lost Dog – Part 6 in a Series

Posted on July 10, 2012 by lostdogsofwisconsin

Feeding stations are an important tool in the toolbox of shy lost dog recovery. It is a fancy name for a blob of smelly food on the ground, a bowl of water and a way to monitor the two. You should also leave an article of your clothing at the feeding station. Remember, lost dogs are drawn by smell – not by sight or sound. This is why it doesn’t do any good to call or whistle to them, and may in fact drive them farther out of the area.

Shy lost dogs that have gone into survival mode are only concerned with three things:

finding food and water

finding hiding places or shelter in inclement weather

avoiding predators: humans. Yes, this means you, the owner. Don’t take it personally!

This is instinctive for dogs and it gives them the ability to live out indefinitely on their own. Never, ever underestimate your dog’s ability to survive.

The key to a successful recovery is to provide the dog with these three needs. Once these needs have been met, he will start to settle in to a predictable routine. He will start to return to a more domesticated state of mind. This can take a few hours or a few months. A feeding station is an integral part of this process.

Most owners make the mistake of not putting food out at a sighting location or if they do, they abandon it after a day or two. Big mistake! If a dog has been in an area once, it is very likely that he may return to that area, and your feeding station will help draw him there.

For a little humorous break in an otherwise serious topic, here are the top ten reasons people have given us why they won’t leave food out for their shy lost dog:

Raccoons will eat it

Cats will eat it

Other dogs will eat it

Skunks, possums, rats, aliens will eat it

Will attract coyotes and foxes

The lost dog will get loose stools or an upset stomach because it’s not his regular dog food

The lost dog will get some rare deficiency disorder from eating cat food

Food will get wet if it rains

Don’t have a dog food bowl handy

Too expensive to put out food for their dog

To which we say “So What? Your dog will be eating road kill soon.”

So, put your excuses aside and put the food out. The only place that you can’t legally put out food is a public park because that would be considered feeding wildlife. Almost everywhere else, if you politely ask permission and explain what you are trying to do, property owners are generally very eager to help. If you can’t get permission, set up your feeding station at the nearest point to the sighting where you can get permission, and use really smelly food.

We like to use small containers of canned cat food because it is cheap and can easily be stored in the car, but you can be creative. Rotisserie chicken pulled off the bone, canned tripe, grilled brats, bacon. Think about what would be smelly and delicious to a dog. If you have rushed out to a sighting and forgotten the food, stop at the nearest convenience store and pick up a hot dog that is cooking in one of those mini rotisseries. You don’t even need the bun. Try explaining that to the clerk!

If you are using a bowl, it is always a good idea to drizzle some of the drippings onto the ground as well. That way, if a cat or raccoon does eat all of the food, the dog will still be attracted by the smell on the ground. Don’t use dry dog food or raw meat. It doesn’t have enough odor. You want your offering to be more delicious and tempting than the restaurant dumpster or roadkill down the street.

Hope to hear good news soon.

Excellent ~ just passed this along. Fortunately they have one family member who is acting as the info-gatherer/message taker and allows them more time to utilize all the ideas passed along to them. Thanks again.

HE'S HOME ! Just heard that after following bits and pieces of everyone's great advice, Louie is now back home safe and sound. Thank you all so much. I can always count on my gardenweb family to get it right !

https://nodogaboutit.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/loose-dog-dont-chase-stop-drop-and-lie-down/

What to do if a dog gets loose:

• Stop, drop and lie down – It might sound silly, but dogs find the behavior odd. When you don’t give chase and instead lie down and lie still, a dog will get curious and will often come back to see if you are okay or to see what you are doing.

• Stop, drop, and curl into a ball – This is also a curious behavior for a dog. Because you are not moving and your hands are closely wrapped around your head, they see you as less of a threat and will come to check you out. This gives them a chance to sniff you and realize it’s you, their owner, or to allow you to pet them and grab their collar.

• Run in the opposite direction – What? Run away from the dog? That’s right. Some dogs love a good chase. Instead of you chasing them, let them chase you. Even if the dog is not up for a good chase, he may be curious about your odd behavior and follow along until you can get him into a building or car or someplace where it is easier to corral him.

• Sit down with your back or side to the dog and wait – Again, dogs are thrown off by this odd behavior and will become curious and approach. The other advantage is that by sitting down with your side or back to them, you appear less threatening and they are more likely to approach. If you have good treats, place a few around you to draw them near.

• Open a car door and ask the dog if she wants to go for a ride – It almost seems too simplistic and silly to be true, but many a dog has been fooled into hopping into a car because they were invited to go for a ride. It makes sense, especially if the dog has learned to associate the car with good things (e.g., the dog park).

Just learned this, while it will not help lost dog, some good ideas on what to do that first minute.

So glad he made it back lincann, that's great news!

oh this is just AWESOME news!!!!!!

Happy ending!

I wanted to add, MICROCHIP!! TAGS!!

Great dog-specific information - thanks all. I will add it to my knowledge base! This is the internet at its best.

How was the dog recovered? :-)

So glad this thread has a happy ending!
Everyone should keep in mind what mdln posted. I used to foster dogs and once was walking a nervous smaller dog, along with my two dogs, when the foster slipped out of her collar. She took off and I started to go after her when I remembered what I had read........go the other direction or sit down. She was still within view so I just sat down (we were in a park) and started playing with my dogs, making sure never to look directly at the foster and never saying anything to her. She stopped running, looked at me quizzically and eventually made her way back to us to join in the fun. I admit having the other dogs gave me an advantage but if the owner/walker of a loose dog has a favorite toy or bag of treats with them, the results are likely to be the same.

Thanks to everyone who posted such great info. on catching dogs.

You never know when it might happen.

Louie was spotted running through the woods. My niece was able to follow him by car on a road/trail. At some point, she got out, laid low with food and waited. He finally came around and in seeing her, got on the car. It went quicker than we thought ! I think we have all learned a lot about the negative attempts of call and chase. Funny that while everything that really works seems counter-intuitive to us, it reads-right to canines.

Very grateful to all of you.

Happy to hear that Louie is home.