How to Make a Lost Dog Poster in Advance
Should the worst happen and your dog is lost, here’s what to include in your “just-in-case” dog poster.
Jolanta Benal, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA
In a recent episode I discussed how to find a lost dog. Here’s a quick tip that will make it much easier if your dog goes missing: make a lost dog poster in advance.
How to make a lost dog poster: use a couple of good color photos of your dog—one of her face, another of her whole body—for a basic lost-dog poster. Opinions are mixed on whether to offer a reward, but if you do, you should probably not specify an amount. A large reward may attract extortionists and scammers.
Store the poster not only on your hard drive but also on a flash drive and in the cloud, so you can modify it, email it, and print it no matter where you are. With it, store contact info for local shelters, vet’s offices, and pet suppliers. If your dog does get lost, you will be calling all these places and putting up posters at many of them. Poster at supermarkets, gas stations, libraries, and everyplace else with a bulletin board. Hand out copies at dog parks and dog runs. Many communities ban posters on telephone poles. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t let that stop me.
Want to raise a happy dog who loves to play and cuddle — but still comes when called and doesn’t chew up your favorite shoes?
Then check out The Dog Trainer’s Complete Guide to a Happy, Well-Behaved Pet!
About the Author
Jolanta holds professional certifications in both training and behavior counseling and belongs to the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She also volunteered with Pet Help Partners, a program of the Humane Society of the United States that works to prevent pet relinquishment. Her approach is generally behaviorist (Pavlovian, Skinnerian and post-Skinnerian learning theory) with a big helping of ethology (animal behavior as observed in non-experimental settings).