wooÐs

Talk about when your pets have taken off and when/if/how you were able to get them back!

My dog has gotten out maybe a total of 15 times over the past 4 years. And my god, I turn into an overprotective and overdramatic mother who's lost her baby. He's not an easy catch. He's a beagle. When loose, beagles will not listen. Their noses are their guide, as they're rabbit hunters. Anyways, with my heart pumping a mile a minute, I've learned the best way to catch the bastard is to just walk calmly down the street instead of run around the neighbors' houses calling out his name like a fool (calling out a people name, Michael, would make someone stop and wonder wtf was going on.) I'll eventually hear his tags or see him sniffing in someone's landscaping. Must approach him peacefully and calmly otherwise he'll be gone again. So I just slowly follow him and eventually sneak up on him and snatch his fat ass - he's so into whatever he's sniffing that he won't even notice me. Then l lug him home, cuz I always forget to bring a leash. One time, he ran into a neighbor's fenced backyard because they left their gate open. Easiest catch ever.

Had an indoor cat get out on me once too. Declawed and all pretty fluffy white. I put up signs and got a ton of calls from some awesome people, but they led to nothing. He was missing for 2 days until I'm outside with my dog one afternoon and I see him trotting along the wet grass, heading over like he was all excited and stuff. Snatched is scrawny ass in my arms and kissed him all ovuh, glad he was just safe, even though I didn't like him that much. Just had to know he was safe.

Ur turns

YellowBird

Our dog gets out all the time. we comes running back most of the time.


my mum was taking the cat to the vet this arvo and she didnt do up the cage properly and dropped him, he got out and only got about 3meters, he's an old cat, he can't go too far.

Glory's Sun

The GSDs never get out. They know their boundaries when they are off leash, but we had a lab once that would get out every chance he could. At first he would run around like a crazy dog and then he'd go about seeking his girlfriend for the day. I found that putting a leash around my neck and taking one of the other dogs on leash down the street would have him coming back in no time. He figured he was going on a walk as well. When I'd leash him up, I'd walk him down the streets for a while and then come home. Just bringing them back to "captivity" straight after "capturing" them only reinforces the negative thoughts that coming back means no fun. The lab eventually learned that if he'd just chill out he'd get his normal walks anyway and could do his girl watching that way..and wouldn't get yelled at

Fly

dealing with it right now.........the 2 bitches got out late last night,busted through one of the back gates......both Labs too........they do get out from time to time and go run the river,eat all the dead salmon,have a swim then home soon..........not this time.........been out calling them down all the farm roads all fucking night.......they should have come back a long time ago.

not a happy guy right now.........


c'mon home girls.....

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BadNick

I don't have a doggie right now...planning another one real soon. But when I had my black lab he managed to get out pretty often. He was a really good dog, but if he felt like it and you left a crack in the door he'd scoot out. Once in a while I would run out and throw a firm command at him and he'd stop in his tracks, act disappointed, and then I'd get him back in. But usually he'd just run off for a while. I knew he'd come back so I generally didn't get overly concerned...he was pretty smart about avoiding the occasional car.

Being a lab, of course he knew where the local watering holes are. A little creek flows a few hundred yards away and goes on for a couple miles before it disappears under a road. When I walked him there he'd run up and down the creek and bark at and bite the rapids...it was fun just watching him and egging him on. During some of his escapes I'd get a phone call, since his tags had my name and phone number on it, as well as his name. One old guy who lives a couple miles away called me a few times saying "he's a real nice friendly dog and not bothering us, but I just want you to know he's here" so usually he would just let him go but if I was going to be away from home for a while I'd go there to get him.

He was a very friendly, lovable dog...my daughter and her friends would dress him up with funny little dresses and hats and he'd never object although the look on his face was priceless. However, if you approached our front door and he didn't immediately recognize you, he'd bark and growl like he was ready to eat you! So the mail man, UPS man, and other such "officials" usually heard the ferocious side of him until I went to the door or let them in, and then he'd wag his tail and be all friendly again.

One of the funniest escapes happened one summer as the mail man was coming up our driveway. I was in the front room so I see him coming toward the house with a huge stack of sorted mail in his arms, his bag on his back...and as he got about half way up our driveway my doggie jumped right through the screen door and was running down the driveway toward the mail man, the mail man panics and throws all his sorted mail up in the air and gets ready to run, just as my dog runs past him like he wasn't even there and heads off on another one of his adventures.

lagoonguy

interesting. I've got a blue healer and he never gets out. right now i live in a 1 bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor so it's practically impossible for him to get out. prior to that i lived in a house with a fenced in back yard, with 2 dogs. they'd play and roam around there but not once got out. Only once or twice when bringing in groceries or something, they'd go outside but usually just roamed around in the yard until we could herd them back in.

Plan9

It's easy. Door opens, cat thinks he's clever and goes outside... then realizes its cold / wet / full of creepy noises... and immediately meows at me and runs back indoors. He's "escaped" numerous times, but always hangs out just outside the door and meows for me to come rescue his panther-like ass.

He's such a pussy.

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dlish

sorry i couldnt resist

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Glory's Sun

you're late D'lish.

Fly already posted that in the "Dedicate a song to a member" thread

snowy

My family has a greyhound-lab mix. His name is Jack. When he was a puppy, we called him Houdini-dog; he had a knack for figuring his way out of his dog run. Once, he figured out that if he jumped onto the trash can he could jump onto the yard debris bin, and then up and over the fence. Sometimes, he would escape without us even figuring out how he had done it. Being part greyhound, he enjoys leading people on a merry chase; the only effective way to get him to come home was to tempt him with a ride in the car.

The scariest escape: my mom put him in his dog run before she left for work. On her way to work, she realized that she had forgotten something, turned around, and went home to pick up the forgotten thing. As she opened the garage door, she spotted Jack wrestling with something on the garage floor, escaped from his dog run. So she parked the car, got out, and went to separate Jack from the object, only to find his wrestling partner was the spray end of a bottle of Round-Up weed killer. He had separated the sprayer from the bottle, and Round-Up had spilled all over the floor. In a panic, my mom threw the dog into the car and rushed him to the vet. The vet examined him, and said that despite the mess he had made, Jack hadn't consumed any of the Round-Up. Ten years later, he's still kicking around, but he isn't as prone to escaping as he once was.

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wooÐs

Ugh.
I fought with myself on making that the title of the thread. But I just couldn't allow it.
Yep - this has worked a few times. He knows the words and tone of 'wanna go for a car ride?' He'll bolt to the garage door and start scratching. He's smart. Just stupid because of his nose.

FuglyStick

I had a golden retriever mix, who went to live with my folks when I moved to Florida and couldn't take him. If he wasn't chained up, he would bolt and be found miles away sometimes. My folks didn't like the idea of him being chained up, so they borrowed one of those shock collars. Two attempts to run off was all it took to keep him in the yard. He was much happier being in the yard and off the chain.

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PonyPotato

My golden retriever used to run away during thunderstorms when she got older. The static bothered her (or something, she was nearly deaf), and since we live on a farm the outside door to the mud room is almost always open. She got lost for a few DAYS once, but was finally picked up by animal control and we got her back. That was terrifying. It was running away during a storm that got her hit and killed on the road, though.

I had another jack russell/hound/dalmation mix (we think!) who ran away ALL the time and wouldn't listen to a word you yelled at him. He was a hunter, and had to be tied to go out all the time. The moment you let him off leash or off the tie? GONE. For at least 24 hours. We tried obedience training, but in the presence of an interesting scent his obedience training was ALL gone. He also got hit and killed on the road.

Then, Pepper. She also got hit on the road because she'd run away to "play" and my sister didn't have any interest in obedience training with her. She was under a year old when she was killed.

My current dog, Dexter, is a Jack Assell Terror. This means he tries to kill everything he can get his jaws around. Luckily, he is afraid of the road (yay!) and respects fence boundaries. He used to get into the neighbors' yard to chase the geese on their pond, but once they got a Great Dane and she bit him (yay abcess), he stayed the hell away. He comes ZOOOOMING when I call him, although he'll often get distracted halfway to the house by a bird or a shiny object. Call him again and he'll remember where he was going. He's a pretty good dog.

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JStrider

my dog has gotten out three times... twice when he was really little... both times he dug out under the corner of the gate and I found him crying at the front door.

the third time was when he was bigger. I got home from work and my neighbor says my dog was out, and that he tried to catch him, but couldnt get close enough. I walk around to the back gate to figure out how he got out and its open. I walk in the back yard and he is just sitting there chilling out near the dog house.

it doesnt suprise me that he doesnt wander off... he always sticks pretty close off leash...

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Fly

you wouldn't believe how true that is right now..........can't find 'em anywhere.......

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StanT

Molly (avatar) can successfully unlatch the gate to our fenced in yard. She's damn proud of herself and walks around to the front door to tell us about it. She's more interested in the challenge, than actually escaping.

Lasereth

My dog has got loose twice since we got him in March. The first time, I opened the door for my wife to come in from work and he bolted out the front. He thought we were going on a walk!!! I started walking after him because I heard if you run, they panic. Well he didn't stop. He went even faster. So then I started running after him at a nice jog, calling his name and telling him to sit. He wasn't sitting, he just kept running faster.

Eventually after I chased him down the road for approximately a quarter mile, he stopped to take a crap ha ha ha ha ha. I ran up to him and caught him then. It scared the crap out of me; I tend to love dogs more than most things in life.

The second time he got loose, he was tethered to a tree outside when we were washing our cars. He saw a dog walk by who was being walked by our neighbor. He took off after the dog, broke his leash in two, and tore down the road at amazing speeds. Then he started going apeshit barking at the neighbor and their dog so I was able to catch him.

Man the adrenaline really pumps when they get out!!!!!!!!!

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flstf

Our dog a retreiver/chow mix runs free all the time and only leaves the yard to chase deer into the woods sometimes. She prefers to sleep inside the house every night which is a good thing with all the coyotes around here.

We have a cat door for our cat and she comes and goes as she pleases. The only time she leaves the yard is to hunt in the woods. I worry about her at night sometimes but she is pretty stealthy in order to avoid the coyotes. Our dog is so friendly, she will try to play with the coyotes.

wooÐs

Have you put up signs?
My stomach is sick for you. It's such a horrible feeling when they're mia. :/

amonkie

Fly I really really hope shadow et al. get themselves home quick.. that sucks


Mine is a cocker... all it takes is one bird and he's 150% focused. Worked on off leash training and he was good if I had absolutely no distractions. Its just too much of a safety concern living right next to a busy intersection. There is not one second of hesitation about going after things that move, regardless of whether that'll lead him in the path of an oncoming vehicle.

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BeckaBoo

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Fotzlid

I hope they come home soon.

Mine knows his boundaries pretty well. I can let him out at night and he wont wander out of the yard (which is fenced but the driveway is open). When we are walking in the woods and he is off his leash, he always keeps me in sight.

He only took off on me twice.

First time was while walking along the beach. Let him off the leash and he immediately spotted a big flock of gulls. Whoosh...off he went. All I saw was a little black dot about 1/2 mile away chasing every bird on the beach. Fortunately there were enough birds that I was able to catch up with him. By the time I did, there wasn't a bird to be seen. He was rather proud of himself.

Second time we were walking in a local wooded area we always went to. He spotted something, probably a squirrel and took off over the rise. The trail forked just over the rise and I had no idea which way he went. Searched the woods for a about a half hour calling and whistling for him and knocked on a couple of doors of nearby houses. Got a call from my sister-in-law/neighbor about 45 minutes later. He found his own way home.

Salem

My elementary school was less than a KM away from my house, and my dog and I were pretty closesly bonded, so a lot of times Id get out of school and find him waiting for me. But the best time was when I was sitting in 7th grade, paying attention to the bord when I get hit on the arm, and I look over thinking it's the person behind/beside me, but nope. There's Duke. Wagging his tail, sitting beside me. I just laughed and asked teh teacher if I could walk him home.

I've never been in a PANIC thinking my dog was missing or had to chase him down. He's usually the one following us.

IdeoFunk

Really hope they come back sometime soon for you man.

My one dog (German Shepard/Lab) is fairly well behaved and we usually walk her around our farm property without a leash. My other dog however (Male German Shepard/Husky) is stupid to the point you can't let him off a leash. If he does get off he's usually long gone and catching him is quite the arduous and delicate process. Thankfully he doesn't break free much anymore -- maybe once or twice a year tops.

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