Your dog is missing: what to do in the first hour

Start searching right away, close to home

Most lost dogs are found close to where they went missing, especially in the first hours. Act fast, but stay calm: a panicked search misses places a frightened dog would hide.

• Walk your street and the blocks around it. Check under porches, decks, parked cars, sheds and bushes.
• Bring treats and a squeaky toy, and call your dog in a normal, happy voice. Shouting can make a scared dog hide.
• If it is safe, leave water and something that smells like you, like a worn shirt, by your door or gate. Some dogs come back on their own.
• Ask one person to stay home in case your dog returns.

Tell people who can help

• Call nearby animal shelters and animal control, and visit in person if you can. Describe your dog and leave your contact details.
• Call local vets and emergency animal clinics. Finders often bring injured or friendly dogs there.
• If your dog is microchipped, call the microchip company and check that your phone number on file is current.
• Turn on Lost Mode in PawsGuardian. Your dog goes on the Lost pets list for your area, and you are alerted when someone nearby reports a similar dog.

Share safely: your pet, not your address

Posting your phone number and street on public flyers and social media invites scam calls and fake “I have your dog” messages. Share a clear photo, the area and the date your dog went missing, and let people reach you privately.

On PawsGuardian, finders never see your name, phone number or home address. You are asked first, and a private chat opens only if you say the found pet is yours. Only a roughly 300-foot area is shared, never your exact pin.

Keep going after the first hour

• Search again at dawn and dusk, when it is quieter and dogs are more likely to move.
• Check shelters in person every day or two. Descriptions over the phone are easy to miss.
• Keep Lost Mode on and update the last-seen spot if someone reports a sighting.
• Put up posters near where your pet was last seen. PawsGuardian makes a free LOST poster with a QR code, so your phone number stays off the pole.

Before it ever happens

Register your dog with clear photos from several angles while everything is calm. A collar tag with a QR code lets anyone with a phone reach you in seconds, even a stranger without a microchip scanner.