Lost pet yard signs and banners: when they are worth it
A yard sign is worth it once a search lasts over a week or a pet stays in one area. Keep it to a few big words and a phone number.
When a sign beats paper
A yard sign or banner is worth it when your search has gone on for more than about a week, when your pet keeps being seen in one area, or when you live on a rural road where paper will not last or be seen. Paper is faster and cheaper for the first days. A sign is more durable and can be read from further away. It is the next step after your posters are up, not a replacement for them. Keep the words few and big: LOST DOG, a large photo if it fits, and a phone number.
What to put on a yard sign
Treat it as a billboard. LOST DOG in the largest letters that fit, then a phone number nearly as big. Add a single word on the color if there is room: LOST BLACK DOG. A short phrase such as DO NOT CHASE is helpful if the dog is timid. Only include a photo if the sign is big enough for it to work, usually one you would read walking past rather than driving by. Do not print the last-seen date or anything that will go out of date, since you cannot update a printed sign the way you can a sheet of paper.
Where to get one and what to ask
Sign shops and many office supply and print stores make corrugated plastic signs, and they usually sell the wire stakes as well. Ask how fast they can make one, and get a price before you commit, since sizes and costs vary. Bring your photo and phone number as a PDF, or draw up something simple with the counter staff. You can also make a temporary one yourself from a real estate sign blank or a piece of plywood painted white, with bold black letters. Ugly and readable beats polished and late.
Where to place it
Ask the homeowner or business first. Corners of busy roads near sightings are the best, then the entrances to neighborhoods and rural crossroads with stop signs. Face the sign toward drivers who are slowing. Keep it out of the sight lines at junctions, and off medians, road shoulders and anywhere your city’s sign rules forbid. Many cities restrict signs in the public right of way, so stick to private land and ask for permission. A rural landowner with road frontage near a sighting may be happy to help and is worth a knock on the door.
When a banner makes sense
A banner suits a long stretch of fence at a sports field, a farm gate, a business with a big frontage, or a wide road where drivers pass at speed. A vinyl banner with grommets can be zip-tied to a fence, and a homemade one can be painted on a bedsheet for a few days of use. Keep the words even fewer than on a yard sign: LOST DOG and a phone number. Avoid hanging one over a road or anything that would need a permit. Ask the property owner, and be sure wind cannot tear it into the road.
Ask yourself what the sign should do
A sign has two jobs: to get a sighting reported, or to stop people chasing an animal that is already being seen. If your dog is regularly seen near one road, a sign that says LOST DOG, DO NOT CHASE, CALL with a number can calm down a situation in which well-meaning people are making things worse. In an earlier search phase, the job is just to spread the word. Pick the short wording that fits. A sign that tries to do both ends up too crowded.
Look after it
Check the signs when you check your posters. Straighten any that have been knocked down, wipe off mud and move them if the sightings move. Write down where each one is and who gave you permission, along with a phone number for the owner. Thank the homeowners as you go. When the search ends, whether well or badly, collect every sign within a day or two and let the property owners know. Reuse the blanks if your city has a lost pet group, since they may be glad to have them.
How this fits with the rest of your search
Signs do not replace flyers at doors, calls to shelters or your online posts. Use them to keep your pet’s description in front of the same drivers every day, which is hard to achieve with paper alone. If you are deciding where to spend limited money, pay for a good poster batch first, then a sign or two at the places where sightings have clustered. In a search that has become quiet, one or two signs on the main route can keep your phone number visible while you handle other work.