Using a Pet Detective to Find Your Lost Pet

Using a Pet Detective to Find Your Lost Pet

Your pet is missing and you are looking into using a Pet Detective service to help find your lost pet. There are a wide variety of services offered, depending on cost and what your needs are. Some people offer tracking services with a trained tracking dog, and other services that pet detectives offer are flyer creation and distribution, shelter checks, creating posters and placing in appropriate areas, trapping assistance and profiling of the lost pet to determine where they might be.

Each person doing work as a Pet Detective will offer different work and training styles and will also offer different services. 

Some pet detectives  specialize in only specific types of animal like dogs, cats or small animals or livestock, and some only work to find deceased animals. For a person who does offer tracking dog services, there are two different types of scent work that could be offered: Tracking and Detection. 

Scent Specific Tracking is where the dog is shown an article that belongs to the missing animal like a bed, blanket, toy, carrier, clothing, collar, harness, etc. The dog is shown that article at the location where the animal was last seen or escaped from. Then the scent dog follows the scent track until the dog is told to stop. The dog follows only that specific scent and nothing else. 

There is a wide range of beliefs how long of a track a dog can follow and how old the track can be. Some believe that a dog can only follow a track a few hours old and others believe a dog can follow a track much longer and much older. I personally have seen and believe that a dog can follow any track they are trained to do. With previous training and experience and practice, I have seen a dog follow a track up to a month old. 

Detection is when the dog is looking only for a specific item like a cat or a human or an object, but it is not tracking. This is when the dog looks for any cat or any dog or any human, not a specific one. The dog can also be trained to look for deceased animals. Many dogs are skilled and trained in both detection, both live and deceased animals, and tracking. 

There is a wide range of backgrounds of the types of people who do work as pet detectives.  Some people come from human Search and Rescue (SAR) and remain in that field, doing both pet detective work and human search and rescue. Some people come from Police departments as K9 Handlers, working either live people cases or deceased bodies since their dogs will specialize in one or the other.  Many people who do this type of work have a background in dog training, both competition training, and/or pet dog training. This type of experience and skill is very handy since we all have to train our own dogs to do this work since no one person specializes in this training.  In addition, many people have experience and knowledge in animal shelters, both as a volunteer and working staff members. 

"What is the best type of dog for this type of work?

There are a wide variety of types of dogs used for pet detective work and for a variety of reasons. Some people have favorites in breeds and tend to stay with those types when they are looking for a working dog. Some people just start using the existing dog they have at the time they start their business. 

There are some common characteristics I have seen that are necessary for a good working pet detective tracking and detection dog. For size I would suggest a medium to larger size dog so that they are capable of covering long distances at a pretty good pace since most work is done on an hourly basis. And also that size become a good deterrent when the searches lead you through less than desirable areas that have possible safety issues. 

Another important characteristic is a dog that has a friendly and outgoing temperament and can handle every stressful and demanding situation that can and does occur. This includes walking in large crowds, loose dogs that are both friendly and unfriendly, unfriendly and scared people, high, low and wet temperatures. The dog should be friendly or accepting of all strangers since they will come in contact with a wide variety of people, all wanting to say hello and to pet them, especially children who see a cute dog and a jacket and harness and want to play with the dog. 

The dog should be ball or toy crazy so that can be a great motivator  or reward in the field, both in practice and real life. This also applies to food. The dog should be super eager for food of any type, even dry kibble. I want to see in a dog who says, “How high and when?” Make the work fun for the dog with rewards that they enjoy. Maybe have a type of reward that the dog only sees on searches. For example, I bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Gatorade drink on searches, and Dino never gets these any other time. Those are his special treat and reward for working on searches. 

I have found that there are two key things that will determine if a dog becomes a pet detective tracking dog. First: Does the dog have an athletic body and structure that can enable the dog to  literally cover 10 to 15 miles in a day with barely getting tired? An athletic build with the ability to work long hours over a variety of terrains is best for this type of work. That means that any mixes or purebreds from any of these groups can do the work with the proper training: Scentxounds, Retrievers, Herding, Terriers

However, any dogs from these groups would not be good candidates due to their lack of built-in athletic ability and low motivation due to their Sedate lifestyle. Companion dogs like Pugs, Pekinese, Poms and any dog with shortened nose which limits/restricts breathing, combined with short legs and dwarf bodies, would not have the sustainability to do long term tracking, despite their basic ability and desire to track. Dogs with heavy, thick coats like Australian Shepherds can do the work but they will need extra care in the heat with the use of cooling jackets.

All dogs can track!

All dogs have the capability to track, despite what many tracking enthusiasts think. The difference is in the dog’s individual motivation and athletic abilities. Generally any dog or mix from any of the above groups have the amount of drive and physical capability track.Many searches in a single day ca be several hours long and can cover 10 to 15 miles easily over a variety of terrains from urban sideways and streets to mountain trails and bushes.

“Are Bloodhounds as great at tracking as everyone is told.”

There are many myths in the tracking world. One of the most commonly held beliefs is that Bloodhounds have a different capability or skill than another dog, but that is not the case at all. Another myth is that dogs can’t track a scent more than 24 hours old, but that is also false.

The second reason that makes a successful tracking dog for lost pets is the person holding the leash and performing all the training. I believe all dogs are born blank slates and that behavior is not genetic. The success or failure of a dog depends on the person or people in the dog’s life. In order to be successful, a dog needs to have a skilled and knowledgable trainer/handler who knows where to look for information that they many not have at this time, and who isn’t afraid to step outside their comfort zone and do something different.