Find the gap, send one person out on foot, keep one at home, knock on nearby doors, then report it. Here is the first hour, minute by minute.
The first hour, in order
Spend the first five minutes finding how your dog got out, the next 10 walking the likely direction, the next 15 knocking on doors, and the rest of the hour filing reports and getting posters up. If two people are home, one stays at the yard and one goes out. Take a leash, strong-smelling treats and your phone. Close every other exit, so a second pet does not follow. Most yard escapes begin as an ordinary walk around the neighborhood, and the dog is often still within reach for a short while. This hour is when your dog is likely to be closest, so walk with a plan and do not drive around at random.
Minutes 1 to 5: find the way out
Walk the fence line fast. Look for an open or unlatched gate, a fresh hole, a loose board, a gap under the fence, or a pile of something the dog could climb. Note the time you last saw your dog, then check any doorbell or yard camera, yours or a neighbor’s, for the time and direction it left. Take a photo of the gap, because the facts fade quickly. Then block it, or the same dog may repeat the trip once it returns, and any other dog in the house may follow. If you have an invisible fence, check the collar and the system. Do not spend longer than five minutes here.
What the way out tells you
The gap is a clue. A handout for adopters from the Center for Shelter Dogs says dogs commonly learn to escape to reach people, other dogs, other animals, food and fun, and that some escape out of fear or separation anxiety. So a dog that dug out along the side where the neighbor’s dog lives probably went there first. A dog that left during a loud delivery or a storm may be frightened and moving fast. A gate left open by a visitor means your dog may have had hours, not minutes, and the search area is larger. A cut lock or a gate you are sure was shut is different. Check your cameras, and call the police non-emergency line if it looks like someone took the dog.
Minutes 5 to 15: walk the usual route
Dogs often follow what they know, so go first along your daily walk, toward the dog park, to the house with the friendly neighbor and to any place where your dog gets food. That is common sense and not a measured rule, but it costs nothing to try. Walk, do not drive, and stop at each corner to look down both sides. Shake a treat bag or call once or twice in a normal voice, then listen. If you do see your dog, do not run at it, even if it looks happy. Turn and walk the other way, crouch down, or open your car door. Many dogs treat being chased as a game, and the game can lead into traffic.
Minutes 15 to 30: knock on doors
Go to the houses on both sides, the houses behind you and the ones across the street. Humane World for Animals advises knocking on doors and telling everyone you meet, and asking people to call rather than chase. Ask for yard checks, garage checks and doorbell footage. Say something like this: My brown lab mix got out of our yard around 2:15. Can you check your yard and your camera for that time? If you see her, please call me and do not chase her. Then stop dog walkers, delivery drivers and anyone doing yard work. They have been outside, and you have not. In the ASPCA national survey, 49 percent of recovered dogs were found by searching the neighborhood.
Minutes 30 to 45: report it
Now make the calls. Animal control comes first, because a passerby may already have phoned in a loose dog, and an officer may even have it. Tell the nearest shelter and your vet, and report your dog to the microchip registry. Our post Lost dog: who to call, in the order that matters gives the full list and what to say. Post in your local Facebook and Nextdoor groups with one clear photo, the cross streets, the time and your number. Keep the first post short so people can share it from a phone. Do not put your full home address in a public post. Cross streets are enough.
Minutes 45 to 60: get paper up
A dog is usually easier to spot when strangers already know to look for it. Make a simple poster with a large photo, the words LOST DOG, the cross streets and a phone number. Print what you can, even on a home printer, and put the first copies at the nearest intersections, at driver eye level. Start with the streets around the gap and the direction your dog went. Keep helpers close by, and give each a set of streets, so two people do not cover the same block. If you have no printer yet, hand-write large signs on cardboard for the corners and replace them later.
When the hour is up
If your dog is still missing, shift to a longer search. Keep one person at home, since 20 percent of recovered dogs in the ASPCA survey came back on their own. Leave the gate your dog knows open only if the yard is otherwise safe, and put out water and a worn shirt. Widen to a half-mile radius, go back over the first streets at dusk and dawn, and visit the shelter in person. When your dog is home, fix the fence before the next time outdoors. The Center for Shelter Dogs recommends a conventional fence, not an invisible one, and being outside with a dog that has learned to escape.
Sources
Center for Shelter Dogs, Animal Rescue League of Boston, Escape Behavior handout: sites.tufts.edu/collaborativeforshelterdogs/files/2016/03/CSD-SA-Handout-ESCAPE-BEHAVIOR.pdf. Humane World for Animals: humaneworld.org/resources/how-find-lost-dog. Weiss et al., 2012: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4494319.