Last year several millions dogs were separated from their homes, and only 15% of these dogs were returned to their homes. With statistics like these, you need to take every precaution to prevent your dog from getting lost. Here are some loss prevention tips.

Always ensure that you are guarding against situations and environments in which your dog can get separated for you. First, you would be amazed at how many dogs get lost because doors leading to outside have been left open – even for just a second. You need to be very careful, especially if you have lots of visitors or children coming in and out of the house, that your dog does not find an opportunity to run out. If you can, invest in a door with a springing hinge so it closes automatically each time it is opened. Also, you can put a sign on the door reminding people to keep the door shut for your dog’s safety. Second, if you have a backyard, make sure that it is securely fenced-in to prevent your dog from escaping. Even the most well-behaved dog can be lured off-property by an enticing sight, scent or sound. Third, when walking your dog on a leash, make sure the collar and leash are in good condition so neither will fray or break. Similarly, make sure that your dog’s collar is tight enough not to slip over his head while remaining loose enough to be comfortable. Fourth, if you do exercise your dog occasionally off-leash – for example, in a county park or along the beach – first make sure you dog has a reliable recall. Fifth, do not tie your dog outside stores or restaurants. Dogs can be very skilled at slipping leashes, and there are many cases of people stealing dogs or feeding them poison when left unattended outside. Finally, and as an extra precaution, make sure you always have an up-to-date photo of your dog available. This will be needed for posting lost dog signs in the event that your dog does get lost.

It is also essential that your dog always have proper identification. Your dog’s collar should have his rabies tag and license tag on it, but it should also have some form of identification with your name and phone number on it. By having your name and number immediately available rather than just the rabies tag and the license tag, there is one less step for someone who finds your dog to take before your dog is returned to you. It also wise to display more than one contact number so, in the event that you are not reachable or your dog has been lost after an accident in which you were also hurt, there is someone else you trust who can be reached 24/7 to retrieve your dog. There are many ways that you can display your name and number on your dog from putting it on a tag dangling from your dog’s neck to tags that slide on and affix to the collar like a belt buckle to having your information embroidered directly on the collar. Remember, however, if you choose to use tags, dangling tags can fall and both dangling tags and slide-off tags can wear with time making contact information unreadable.

More than a collar, however, arguably the most important and permanent form of identification is a microchip. A microchip is a tiny chip, the size of a rice-grain, that is implanted between your dog’s shoulder blades. The microchip contains your emergency contact information. Implantation takes about a minute, is almost painless and is done via an injection – just as if your dog were having a shot. Vets and shelters have handheld scanners, and the first thing they do when a lost dog is brought in is wave the scanner over the dog to look for a microchip. Even if your dog has a collar with proper identification on it, because collars or tags can fall off, microchipping your dog is essential. If cost is an issue, you can check with your local shelter as most shelters run free or low cost microchipping clinics. It is that important.

Thank you to Betsy Rosenfeld, author of The Complete Single's Guide to Being a Dog Owner, who helped DoggedHealth's vet in the creation of this article. Check out Betsy's blog at lovethydog.com.    

To donate to Betsy's charity of choice, Infinite Love Animal Sanctuary, click here. 

To donate to Betsy's charity of choice, Infinite Love Animal Sanctuary, click here.