01/21/2025
NOW is NOT the time to “do what you’ve always done” and expect your dogs to “always come back.” We’re heading into a FRIGID artic cold blast with DANGEROUS temperatures and wind chills. PLEASE, IF YOU LOVE THEM, don’t just let them out, close the door behind them, and leave them alone. Suit up, leash up, be ready to pick them up or warm their feet with your hands, stay out with them, and don’t let them out of your sight. Be a good guardian and keep ALL pets and livestock safe.
Every year, EVERY SINGLE YEAR, during the months of Jan, Feb, and March, we are contacted by frantic families whose dogs have gone missing in extremely cold temperatures. Why is that? Dogs rely heavily on scent to recognize their people and their home territory. When everything is frozen solid, the familiar smells of home are locked away in the snow and ice. Blinding snowstorms are blinding to your pets too. Nothing smells the same and that can be very frightening and disorientating to your beloved pooch. All too often, these dogs are very young, elderly, blind, deaf, and small breeds.
A few things to also keep in mind:
*If we had a nickel for every time we heard “my dog always comes back,” we could all retire. They always come back, until they don’t.
*Your dog’s pads can freeze up within minutes, leaving them unable to walk back to you. Boots, Vaseline (plain/non-mentholated, etc.), or pet safe skin balm on tender pads will help protect them if your pup needs that extra help.
*A visually impaired dog uses scent to find their way back to the house and can quickly become lost in their own yard and wander away to search for you and home!
*An older dog can suffer from a sudden onset of dementia, get lost in their own yard, and wander away to search for you and home!
* A young dog who is still learning cannot be counted on to “always come back.” Just because your puppy has stuck close to you, doesn’t mean they will as they get older.
*Snow and cold loving breeds as well as working livestock guardians still need special considerations, monitoring, supervision, and access to adequate shelter, dry bedding, and water.
*Dogs do what dogs do! They get curious, they chase critters, they follow their noses, and left to their own devices, they WILL wander off. An unexpected noise (loud truck, gunshots, fireworks, wind gusts) can cause them to bolt in a blind panic.
*Dogs run through electric, invisible fences all the time! Nothing can stop an animal or human from entering your yard. They are not safe without supervision.
*If your dog is a door darter or is newly adopted, make sure there are two doors or barriers between your pup and the outdoors at all times. Sturdy baby gates work well while you teach your pup to wait instead of bolting outdoors without you.
*Newly adopted or skittish dogs should ALWAYS have martingale collars along with non-slip harnesses, be double leashed, and be tethered to you by tying the leash around your waist to prevent backing out of collars and pulling leashes free from your hand.
*Check to make sure your doors are latched each and every time you use them! Put latches higher on doors to prevent young children from accidentally letting pets outside.
*Coyote mating season begins in Jan and concludes at the end of March. Your pup could just be making the rounds like they always do, but coyotes may have made a new den nearby or your pup could wander off to follow the new scent of a female coyote in heat. The confrontation, albeit not as common as many people believe, could prove fatal.
*With thaws, the scents are plentiful outdoors and it is when we typically see a surge in hounds following their noses away from home.
*With freeze/thaw cycles, dogs venture out onto thin ice in search of open water and fall through thinning ice.
*Dogs without collars, found by concerned citizens, are often assumed to have been dumped and are quickly rehomed without dog control being notified.
*It’s okay to put a collar with tags and contact information back on your dog after they “just had a bath” and before they go outside! In a pinch, use a sharpie to put your number on their collar!
*Dogs repeatedly allowed to roam in the road, to chase deer, or pester neighbors may end up secretly being rehomed by neighbors who get fed up and want to help your dog stay safe.
*LDOTFL volunteers have been tracking and trapping lost dogs since 2013. The requests for our humane trapping services have typically been highest during the months of Jan thru March when temps are extremely cold, then again during thaw cycles. Trackers and trappers across the nation are exhausted and burnt out from the never-ending stream of lost pets needing their help.
*Shelters are bursting at the seams, and the NYS mandatory hold time is only 5 days. If your dog goes missing, call your local shelter and Dog Control Officer immediately. The vast majority of lost dogs are found without a collar, without tags or current contact information, and without a registered microchip.
*Keep identification on your pooch with current contact information…..ALWAYS!!!
*Check to see if their microchip is registered and updated with your current contact information!
PLEASE, IF YOU LOVE THEM, don’t just let them out, close the door behind them, and leave them alone. Use martingale collars and non-slip harnesses to prevent backing out of collars. Stay out with them and don’t let them out of your sight even in fenced in yards. Be a good guardian and keep them safe.
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