Having your dog wear a tag is a good idea, so that ownership can be traced. Remember to alter the tag appropriately if you are on vacation. More and more dog owners are having electronic identity chip implanted in the neck or at the back of their dog and having tattooed so that their pets can more readily be identified. Microchips are the state of the art method of permanent dog identification.
If your dog get lost on a walk, turn around and retrace the route by which you came, all the way back to your starting
point. The dog thus has two opportunities to pick up scent and can also follow its own tracks. A dog will often return to the place where you parked your car. Many dogs tend to remain quite close to the place at which they get lost, especially when in the woods.
Action: Visit the place at which the dog was last seen early in the morning or at dusk each day and wait quietly for some time. Walk about slowly, as dogs see moving figures more easily than those that are standing still. Call your dog’s name repeatedly. It may help to take a familiar canine companion to the scene – a female dog in season can work wonders for attracting a male dog.
Report the loss separately to every police station or animal rescue center over a wide area, to local veterinarians, in case the dog has been found injured, and to shelters and breed rescue societies. Alert a selection of people to look out for the dog, but beware of having too many over enthusiastic searchers, especially children, who may frighten the dog even further away. In that way you will have better chances of finding your dog safe and sound.