Clever wash bag trick to find your missing dog faster

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Dog trainer Jack Fenton shares eight clever ways to track your lost dog after it’s gone – including an ingenious trick that involves worn clothes and scent work to bring it home

Losing your dog is every owner’s worst nightmare and it can leave you feeling instantly panicky and stressed.

But there are many steps you can take to get your pet home safe and sound.

Trained dog trainer Jack Fenton has six years experience working with dogs and specializes in nose work disciplines including mantrailing, tracking and scent work.

Jack shares his eight top tips for tracking down your beloved lost dog – with one genius idea involving getting your worn clothes out of your closet and wash bag.

Jack told The Mirror: “You can use your dog’s nose to guide him home by placing objects that smell like you in the area where your dog went missing.”

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1. Use worn clothing

A lost dog will be scared and will look for things to comfort him.

It’s important that you and anyone else you’re searching with have worn clothes that smell like you.

Your scent needs to be diffused everywhere so your dog can seek it out and return home.

Make sure you leave a bundle of clothes or towels at the last known destination.

2. Lure them with food

Bringing something tasty will also help with the search.

Chopped sardines, liver and sausages can lure them out of hiding. The stinkier the food, the better it is.

Depending on how long your dog has been missing, he could be starving.

The delicious smells allow them to refocus on you or your search party.

3. Do you have current details

There is a high probability that a missing dog will be found by a member of the public.

In this case, it is absolutely essential that your dog’s microchip data is up to date.

Microchip details leading to previous owners and wrong addresses can be devastating.

Your dog may be alive and well, but you will be none the wiser.

Have your microchip scanned at least once a year so you know where it is in your dog’s body as it sometimes moves and can be difficult to find.

4. Return to their location

A lost dog often returns to the place where it was originally lost.

They will most likely be confused and frightened, but their nose will return them to their previous position.

It is important that you have someone in this area looking out for them.

This can massively reduce the time and money spent on searching.

5. Enter trailing dogs

There are now specialized “Pet Trailing” dogs to help find lost pets.

They do this by sniffing something that smells fresh of your dog and using their scent on the item to locate the pet in the area.

A glass jar kept up to date with saliva swabs, sweat-stained cotton pads, and freshly groomed fur can be a lifesaver.

6. Share on social media

Facebook is full of Lost Dog groups dedicated to helping you find your furry friend.

Make sure you join them and follow their various rules before posting.

Putting together a poster with your dog’s information and last seen location is excellent.

If possible, use Google Maps and what3words to determine the exact area your dog was last seen.

This will spread quickly, and if someone comes across your dog, they will be more likely to know who it belongs to.

7. Send out drones

Drones are a fantastic way to cover a lot of ground and uncover areas that we may not be able to examine thoroughly.

There are a number of drone operators that only search for missing dogs and they can be found through various Facebook groups.

Certain drones are equipped with specialized tracking devices, such as thermal imaging scopes, to locate dogs in difficult-to-search areas such as dense forests.

For more handy tips and tricks, you can follow Jack Facebook or visit him website.

Do you have a dog story for sale? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.