Tracking dogs for lost pets: how they work and when they help
A tracking dog may show which way your pet went, but it rarely catches it. It can also push a scared dog out of a safe spot, so hire with care.
What a tracking dog can do
A tracking dog can sometimes confirm that your pet was in an area and show which way it went. That is the realistic best case. It does not bring your pet back. Lost Dogs of Wisconsin, a volunteer group, says a find during the search itself is rare, and that you still need flyers, sightings, a feeding routine and usually a trap. We found no independent study of how often tracking dogs lead to lost pets, so we give no success rate here, and you should distrust anyone who gives you one as fact. Nearly everything below is practitioner advice rather than research. It comes from people who do this work, some of whom charge for it and some of whom warn against it.
How the dogs work
Search dogs work from scent, and handlers use two broad terms. A tracking dog follows disturbed ground with its nose down. A trailing dog can pick up the target’s scent from the ground or the air, starting at the last-seen spot after smelling a scent article. The international search dog group IRO says weather, wind and road traffic can scatter scent. Most of the formal training described by groups like that is for finding people, not pets. Lost Dogs of Wisconsin says search and rescue dogs are generally certified for human scent only, that neighborhoods are full of other dog scent, and that legitimate rescue teams rarely go out for pets. The handler matters as much as the dog, because the dog works on a long line and can go only as fast as the person holding it.
When it may be worth it
Practitioners name a short list of good uses. One is confirming a doubtful sighting: was that really your dog at the gas station? Another is finding out which direction your pet travelled when you have nothing else to go on. Lost Dogs of Wisconsin also says tracking suits lost cats better than dogs, because scared cats tend to hide while dogs tend to run. That fits the research on cats staying close. In the study by Huang and colleagues, the median cat found alive was about 165 feet from its escape point. It also means that you can search those places yourself first, and a cat that close may be found with a flashlight and a neighbor’s permission. Time matters too. The group says the longer a pet has been missing, the less likely it is that a scent can be picked up.
When to say no
Lost Dogs of Wisconsin says not to use a tracking dog in three situations. The first is when you have two or three sightings within about a mile of each other, which suggests the dog has found a safe place. The second is a dog that runs from everyone, which is common with newly adopted and skittish dogs. The third is a dog in survival mode, meaning it flees even from its owner after a fright or days on the run. In these cases, a team walking in can scare the dog from the spot where it is eating and sleeping, and you are back to making flyers in a new area. The group also warns about flushing: walking through cover, or using a loose dog, to drive a lost dog out. It calls this dangerous, since a fleeing dog can run into a road.
Questions to ask a tracking service
Ask before you agree to anything. Where did this dog train on lost pets, and who outside your business evaluated it? The FBI’s El Paso office advises checking references and verifying the source of a handler’s training. Lost Dogs of Wisconsin says no accredited school trains dogs for this, and that no recognized US certification exists for dogs finding dogs, so treat the word certified with care and call the certifier. Can I speak to five or six past clients? Call them yourself. May I walk with you? The group is suspicious of any service that refuses. Is the dog ever let off the line? What will you do if you think you have found the trail, and how many return visits do you expect? Repeat visits add cost and pressure.
Paperwork and red flags
Get the total cost in writing before anyone comes out. Lost Dogs of Wisconsin says reputable services use a written contract and accept credit cards, and that you should never send cash or wire money. It adds that any service guaranteeing success is a scam. Watch for pressure, too, such as a warning that your pet will die unless you hire them today. Other signs are large upfront payments, a refusal to show verifiable credentials, and fast trail finds on streets already full of dog scent. Be wary of a service that contacts you first after seeing your flyer. Check any company on BBB.org and BBB Scam Tracker. Legitimate volunteer search and rescue groups do not charge families, the Wisconsin group says, so someone charging a large fee and calling it search and rescue deserves a hard look.
Save a scent item now
If you might ever use a search dog, set this up today, as it costs nothing and only gets harder later. The Lost Dog Tracking Network, a UK network, gives this method. Choose something only the missing dog used, such as a harness, bedding or a brush with fur. Shared items do not work in a home with other pets. Do not wash it. Turn a zip bag inside out, pick up the item through the bag without touching it, turn the bag back and seal it. Keep two or three items in separate bags if you can. This is practitioner advice, not tested science, though it is simple to do.
Sources
Lost Dogs of Wisconsin, ten things before hiring a tracking dog service: lostdogsofwisconsin.org/post/ten-things-you-need-to-know-before-hiring-a-tracking-dog-service. Lost Dogs of Wisconsin, when not to use a tracking dog: lostdogsofwisconsin.org/post/when-not-to-use-a-tracking-dog-to-find-a-lost-dog. Lost Dogs of Wisconsin, human search dogs: lostdogsofwisconsin.org/post/why-using-human-search-and-rescue-dogs-to-find-lost-pet-dogs-usually-doesn-t-work. IRO, follow the nose: iro-dogs.org/en/follow-the-nose. Lost Dog Tracking Network, scent items: northk9.co.uk/LDTN/?p=283. KFOX, FBI El Paso warning, November 2023: kfoxtv.com/news/local/fbi-el-paso-field-office-issues-warning-about-lost-pet-scams. BBB lost pet scam alert: bbb.org/article/scams/8612-lost-pet-watch-out-for-this-scam-text-message. Huang et al., Animals, 2018: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5789300.