Flight Risk
One of the realities of working or living with shy and fearful dogs is the possibility that they panic and run… and keep running.
Backing out of a harness or collar, bolting out an open door, squeezing through an impossibly small opening in a fence or capitalizing on a dropped leash are just a few of the ways for fearful dogs to escape from the source of their fears.
Sometimes, though, despite our best preventative efforts, the possibility of flight becomes gut wrenchingly real. That’s exactly what happened to me yesterday, at a huge park, with a shy shelter dog and a potential adopter.
The person with me accidentally dropped the leash, and the dog quickly trotted away, up a hill to the edge of the forest. I asked the person to stop and stand still as the dog paused to survey her seemingly limitless options.
I knew that pursuing the dog would only push her to run further and faster, and my heart was pounding as I thought about all I had been taught about fearful dogs. I quieted my breathing, turned to the side to make myself smaller and squatted down. Then I did what we practiced over and over at the shelter: I opened my arms wide and called to her in a happy voice to come to me. She hesitated, then ran towards me, only to veer off down the hill at the last possible moment. She was in closer proximity, though, so I took a fistful of cut up hot dogs and gently tossed all of them in front of her.
My immediate goal was to get her to stay in one place, because if she took off again, there were acres and acres of fields and forest that she could slip into, and I wasn’t sure if we would ever see her again.
I then started throwing hotdogs closer and closer to me, and she tracked them just out of my reach. Still squatting down, I put a hand on the ground to steady myself as I prepared to grasp the leash, and my movement caused her to run away, back down the embankment.
With every failed attempt at bringing her closer, the odds of her running were rising exponentially. I threw another fistful of hot dogs at her feet and as she was eating, I shifted my position so I was on my hands and knees. I threw another trail of treats to bring her closer, and as she ate, I slowly stretched out my hand to connect with the end of the leash, without moving any closer to her. She knew exactly what was happening, and deliberately chose to stay still at the moment my shaking hand grasped the leash.
Grateful and humbled do not begin to express how I felt as I looked at the dog now safely beside me who, against all odds, trusted me enough to come back to me. To celebrate our “reunion” we extended our walk and to her credit, the shy shelter dog acted as if her adventure was nothing more than a walk in the park.
15 Tips For Recovering a Loose Shy and Fearful Dog
While there’s no guarantee that your dog will be able to come back to you, here are some tips to stack the odds in your favor:
- Equipment matters. A properly sized martingale collar and a well fitted harness make it harder for a fearful dog to back out in a panic.
- Use two points of contact. Use either a double clip leash and attach one end to the collar and the other end to the harness, or two leashes; one attached to the collar and one attached to the harness.
- Bring really, really good treats, and pack more than you think you’ll need. I had two different kinds of extra treats (by sheer luck) and they didn’t run out at a critical moment.
- Wear footwear and clothing appropriate for the weather and terrain. Slipping on the ice or tripping in a flip flop are easy ways to drop the leash, and easily preventable.
- Use an appropriate grip on the leash. It’s much harder for the leash to slip out of your grasp if you’re using two hands.
- Practice for the worst, and expect the best. We work on proximity (having our dogs choose to come and stay close to us), tracking for treats, and touch (the dog touches the handler’s hand for treats). I never imagined that my trail of treats would be put to such good use!
- If the dog bolts, don’t run after her, screaming her name. Keep her in your sight as best you can, as you slowly circle around to the side. Straight line pursuit almost guarantees that the dog will keep running, away from you.
- If your dog pauses, sit down where you are. Do not look directly at or sit facing the dog. Minimize your presence by sitting sideways and keeping your arms and legs close to your side.
- Regulate your breathing and your movements. If you are scared, your dog can smell it and see it, and that will scare her. Slow yourself down.
- Be prepared. If the dog runs out an open door or window, make note of the dog’s trajectory and quickly gather anything edible from your refrigerator for treats (meat, cheese and fish work best), put on sneakers, grab your cell phone and a leash and start tracking.
- Throw treats underhand, slowly and gently. Aim for them landing slightly in front or to the side of the dog.
- Think outside the leash. If you catch up to the dog and you can’t clip the leash onto the collar, make a slip lead by threading the clip end through the handle, and quietly and calmly slip the lasso over the dog’s head. The bigger the opening of the lasso, the easier it is to capture the dog. As soon as the dog is secure, clip the leash to the collar and disengage the slip lead (if the collar is secure and properly fitted).
- Enlist helpers from the people with whom the dog is most comfortable. Make sure that all helpers understand to keep the dog in sight at a distance that doesn’t cause the dog to keep running, without making excessive noise or movements.
- Use cell phones to coordinate and track progress.
- Be thankful. When your dog is back safely with you, celebrate, celebrate, celebrate! Quietly offer treats and praise, and use the walk back home to decompress. Getting angry or scolding the dog will guarantee that the next time there’s an escape, there won’t be a quick or easy resolution.
For more about how to recover a loose dog:
http://www.animalbehaviorcollege.com/blog/how-to-catch-a-stray-dog/
Photo Credit: Pixabay / Mikali
You must be logged in to post a comment.