Tales and Tips about Lost Pets from a Pet Detective (Part II)

Kat Albrecht is the founder of Missing Pet Partnership, a national non-profit that specializes in community-based lost pet services and a police officer turned pet detective. She also trains people in the the science of finding missing pets. The Missing Animal Response (pet detective) training course is offered online and is available to anyone residing anywhere. For Lost Pet Prevention Month (hosted by PetHub), she shared stories and advice from her work as a pet detective. You can read part I here. 

• Why did you start your business?

I first started moonlighting as a pet detective in 1997 after my police bloodhound, A.J., went missing in the woods in Santa Cruz, California. I used another search-and-rescue dog to track A.J. down and find him and that gave me the idea to see whether dogs could be trained to find lost pets. 

As an experiment, I took my retired cadaver dog, Rachel, and trained her to find lost pets. In her first four searches she found two missing cats and one missing dog. Since that day, my passion has been to make these services available in all communities. I formed Missing Pet Partnership, a national nonprofit in 2001, launched the first-ever pet detective academy in 2005, and have been training volunteer and professional pet detectives ever since.


You can read about my early pet detective work that include many of Rachel’s pet searches in my book Pet Tracker: The Amazing Story of Rachel the K-9 Pet Detective (available as an ebook, softcover, and audiobook) at http://tinyurl.com/PetTrackerBook.

MAR Cat Detection Dog Susie greets Target Cat Cheeto with a kiss.

• What is your most memorable pet detective experience?

I’ve been doing this work since 1997 and have had so many “memorable” experiences! I guess I would say the time I was flown to New York City by the Today Show to search an apartment for a loose snake was memorable. A violinist who lived alone opened a cabinet to find a giant shed snake skin in her pantry! She did not own a snake and was too afraid to sleep or stay in her apartment. I was flown out on a red-eye flight with Rachel my search dog and an infrared camera. 

It was a surreal experience to be in San Francisco one day and in NYC the next with camera crews following our every move. We searched very inch of that tiny apartment and did not find the snake, but we did locate the hole in the floor where the snake had entered and then exited after depositing his skin. The violinist was grateful for our help.

• How do you train your dogs to find missing pets?

We select dogs that love to play with other dogs and that become excited when another dog runs away and hides from them. We progressively train the dog to follow a scent trail after having them sniff the scent from that “target dog” which has run from them and is hiding. It takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months to properly train a dog in MAR Trailing work. 

The second type of dog we train are MAR Cat Detection dogs. We select dogs that love cats and that become hyper excited when they smell the scent of a cat. We train these dogs to detect the airborne scent of concealed cats and utilize the dog as a search tool when we conduct a slow, methodical search of a missing cat’s territory. It only takes around 3 to 4 months to train a cat detection dog because we are basically shaping their existing behavior of excitement towards cats. 

If anyone wants to learn more about how to train a dog in MAR work you can check out my book Dog Detectives: Train Your Dog to Find Lost Pets https://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DGT250

Trainer Kat Albrecht introduces MAR Cat Detection Dog in training to Target Cat Myron.

• Can you search for any type of pet? Does the process differ?

The pet detectives that I train occasionally are asked to search for different species like turtles, ferrets, birds and iguanas. Many of the principles that we use to recover missing dogs and cats are also used to search for other species. One of the most common techniques that we use for nearly every species is switching from using small, white, 8 ½ X 11 pieces of papers used as “flyers” to instead creating giant, neon, REWARD LOST DOG posters that utilize what we call the 5+5+55 MPH Rule. 

You want to use five words that drivers passing by can read in five seconds when traveling fifty five MPH. We have used signs like these to help recover countless numbers of missing dogs and cats but also for other lost species. It is critical to capture the attention of people driving through an area that a companion animal is missing, and these types of signs are able to do that. 

Many people falsely believe that a “bloodhound” or a “tracking dog” is the answer to finding their missing pet and yet the majority of lost pets that we’ve been able to help recover have been due to using the big, neon posters.

Giant neon lost dog posters.

• Under what circumstances would you turn down a job (weather, time etc)?

I would turn down a request for a search if I felt for any reason that I was not able to help. Past reasons where I have turned down cases have been because the weather was terrible (too windy, too hot, etc.), the pet had been missing for over a week or the scent trail was impossible to follow, or the terrain was just too steep or dangerous for me to work in.

*All photos are the property of Kat Albrecht. 

** We are participating in PetHub's 2nd Lost Pet Prevention Month. This post was sponsored by PetHub. They are not responsible for the contents of this article.

Tales and Tips about Lost Pets from a Pet Detective (Part I)

Kat Albrecht is the founder of Missing Pet Partnership, a national non-profit that specializes in community-based lost pet services and a police officer turned pet detective. She also trains people in the the science of finding missing pets. The Missing Animal Response (pet detective) training course is offered online and is available to anyone residing anywhere. For Lost Pet Prevention Month (hosted by PetHub), she shared stories and advice from her work as a pet detective. You can read part II here.

• What should pet owners do in terms of missing pet prevention?

There is not much that can be done to prevent a pet from becoming lost, because they become lost in so many ways. The majority of people who lose a pet never expected it to happen to them. Incidents range from animals being involved in roll-over car crashes where the dog or cat is ejected from the vehicle and runs away in fear, to escaping out an open gate or door, escaping from a pet sitter, digging out or jumping over a fence, or jumping off a balcony.

 What is critical is that all pet owners protect their pets so that if their pet goes missing they can increase the chances that it will be recovered. The two primary methods are microchipping your pet and having it wear a collar with ID tags. And if your pet is microchipped it is critical that you make certain that it is also registered. 

Owning a microchipped pet is like owning a vehicle with a license plate—the only way that the license plate of that car will be connected to you is after you register it with the department of motor vehicles. If you are not sure whether your pet’s microchip is registered, ask your veterinarian’s office to help you find out. They can scan your pet’s microchip, contact that microchip company, and verify that the chip is registered with all of your contact information.

• What tips do you have to offer people who are missing a pet?

First and foremost, don’t panic—there are people and information out there that can help you. There are plenty of lost and found websites where you can post your lost pet’s information, including http://www.helpinglostpets.com/ which offers many features for pet owners. There are many states that have community-based lost and found Facebook pages like those created byhttp://lostdogsofamerica.org/. 

There are free-behavior based tips along with videos on Missing Pet Partnership’s website at www.missingpetpartnership.org. MPP also maintains a pet detective directory where you can find a listing of training professionals and volunteers willing to assist you. 

Dogs and cats are like apples and oranges—they behave differently when lost. The methods that we suggest that you use to search for a missing dog are very different from the ones we suggest that you use for a missing outdoor-access cat and a “displaced” indoor-only cat that has escaped outside. 

The most important tip that I can give is that you should not lose hope and that you should not give up the search for your missing pet. We’ve been able to help recover missing dogs and cats weeks, months, and in a few cases, years after it went missing. The moment that an owner stops searching for their missing dog or cat, the chances that it will be reunited with that owner plummet.

Only cats with bold, gregarious temperaments that are fearless around dogs and that are trained to crate quietly are used for Target Cat work.

•     What are misconceptions that people have about the pet finding process?

One major misconception is that hanging out small, white flyers is the best way to find a missing pet. Most pet owners try that and then give up when no one calls with a sighting of the pet. In some cases, that is because the person who found the missing pet has simply not noticed the small white flyers.

 In other cases like when an indoor-only cat escapes outside, the cat is actually hiding in silence near the escape point and no one will ever see the cat because it will only sneak out of hiding in the middle of the night. 

Another misconception is that most cats that go missing in an area where there are coyotes were likely eaten by a coyote. While this certainly does happen on occasion, more cats are actually killed in animal shelters (where they are euthanized because no owner came to search for them) than are ever killed by coyotes. That is because cat owners who believe that their cat was killed by a coyote won’t even bother driving down to the shelter to look for their cat—why would they if in their mind their cat is already dead? 

A misconception about lost dogs is that they will come running to their owner when called. While this is certainly true of many dogs with friendly temperaments, many dogs that are timid or shy will become panicked with the process of escaping and they will run from anyone who calls them, looks at them, walks towards them, or pays any attention to them, including their owner.

Attention getting lost dog flyer.

• Why should people consider hiring a pet detective? 

Pet owners should definitely consider hiring a pet detective if they are not physically able to put in the amount of work (and time) that needs to be done to recover a lost pets. The people who fail to do all of the work that is required have a reduced chance of recovering their missing pet. There are only so many hours in the day and if you work a full-time job, the chances are that you need someone to help you in your search efforts. 

There are many things that have to be done to properly search for a missing dog or cat, including creating effective lost pet posters, notifying all of your neighbors, conducting a physical search of the neighborhood, checking the shelter cages, posting your pet on lost and found pages, placing ads on Craigslist, and following up on all leads. 

If you have the time and you are physically able to do all of this work on your own, you still should ask for help from friends, family, or even from volunteers from a lost and found Facebook page in your community. Many of these groups offer to put up posters for you, follow up on leads, and even help with setting up feeding stations, wildlife cameras, and humane dog traps if your dog is skittish and running from people. 

Although many of these groups are all-volunteer, these people work hard to help get dogs back home and many don’t even ask for donations. Whether you hire a paid professional or utilize the services of a volunteer group, you really would benefit from receiving advice from someone who has been trained in lost pet recovery work.

• If people want to hire a pet detective, how can they tell if they are reputable? 

The number of “pet detectives” out there who’re offering lost pet recovery services across North America is growing rapidly. While there are several pet detectives who are very good and quite reputable, there are also a few bad apples out there who really should not be in business.

Currently there is no governing body within the pet detective industry and anyone can hang out their “shingle” without any previous training for either themselves or for their search dog. However, Missing Pet Partnership is working to change this. We’re preparing to launch a membership program that will include MAR (missing animal response) training and certification for both volunteer and professional pet detectives, strict training and impartial certification requirements for MAR (missing animal response) search dogs, advanced training courses, a code of conduct, a code of ethics, monthly training webinars, regional seminars, and regional dog training “boot camps” across the US and Canada. 

Our National Pet Detective Directory currently only lists people who’ve taken between forty to sixty hours of classroom training and who’re in good standing. To determine whether someone is reputable, you can check Missing Pet Partnership’s Testimonials “Praise for Our Pet Detectives” page to see whether people have posted a good word about the pet detective in questions http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/testimonials/praise-for-our-pet-detectives/. 

Another way to check whether or not someone is reputable is to ask them for references and be sure to contact those references. You can also check that person’s business name under Yelp to see whether there is a pattern of complaints.

One other test is to ask them how long they believe that scent survives. Missing Pet Partnership has a page “How Long Can Scent Survive?” http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/lost-pet-help/find-a-pet-detective/how-long-can-scent-survive/ that explains that some so-called pet detectives are claiming their search dogs can track a scent trail that is several months old (one even claims his dogs can track a scent that is one year old!) and yet the oldest documented scent trail that police bloodhounds tracked was just 13 days old. 

Search dogs are a great tool if they are available in your area, however, there are limitations on their use. Pet detectives who make claims about their professionalism while bashing other pet detectives (especially all volunteer pet detectives) and who try to convince you that their search dog is THE answer to finding your lost pet should be treated with suspicion.

Trainer Kat Albrecht explains that this bloodhound failed his evaluation for Cat Detection work due to a lack of excitement towards the crated target cat (that was in the black bag).

• How is finding missing pets different from finding missing people? 

Finding missing pets is very different from finding missing people in two major ways: the level of community support and the search tactics that are used. When a child or an Alzehimer’s patient is lost, a highly trained search-and-rescue team is dispatched to conduct a high profile search of the area. This team typically includes a few paid staff (law enforcement officers) members and many volunteers.

There are often volunteers who specialize in conducting ground searches where they look for physical clues, searchers who use air scenting search dogs and attempt to pick up the airborne scent of the missing person, searchers with trailing dogs that attempt to track the scent trail of the missing person, horse “posse” team members who use horses to quickly search trails for the missing person, and other teams like fixed wing aircraft and helicopter crews. Most of these missing person searches end up in the news because they just don’t happen all that often. 

In addition, only trained searchers, who are managed by a team using the Incident Command System, are authorized to participate in these searches. The tactics and techniques that are used in these searches come from years of research into the analysis of lost person behavior and best industry practices for search-and-rescue teams. Search managers don’t send searchers out into the woods to wander aimlessly—there is an organized, structured search plan and everyone involved knows how to operate under this much needed coordination and authority.

In contrast, the search for missing pets is like the wild, wild west! Community support is limited to those who post on social media pages like Lost and Found Facebook pages. Most other people in the community are unaware of or ambivalent towards a missing dog or cat. And if the dog or cat owner fails to use proper marketing techniques to get the word out that their pet is missing, most people within the immediate search area just never get the message that the pet is missing. 

A growing trend with lost and found Facebook pages is to post information about lost dogs and then to post sightings and ask for people to “help.” The problem is that the majority of the people offering to help have not been trained in how to lure a panicked dog. In spite of posters and warnings that people should not call or chase the dog, many well-meaning people do just that—they call the dog’s name, slap their legs or clap their hands, causing the dog to bolt and run away! 

Sadly, this has resulted in many missing dogs that have been chased into traffic or chased out of a search area where a team was trying to calm the dog and lure it to enter a trap. Missing Pet Partnership has a page that details panicked pet behaviors and includes a YouTube video http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-tips/panicked-pets/ of how NOT to call a loose dog but instead how to use “calming signals” to attract a panicked dog.

MAR Cat Detection dog Sadie checks heavy brush for a missing cat.

*All photos are the property of Kat Albrecht. 

** We are participating in PetHub's 2nd Lost Pet Prevention Month. This post was sponsored by PetHub. They are not responsible for the contents of this article. 

Teaching Children Dog Safety and Dog Bite Prevention (National Dog Bite Prevention Week)

The majority of children who meet Mr. N have no idea whatsoever how to greet dogs properly. They run up to him yelling "puppy" at the top of their lungs or grab at his face or want to pick him up or hug him. All of these can be risky behaviors around dogs, especially strange ones. 

Children are the most common victims of dog bites and more likely to be severely injured. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, every year, more than 800,000 Americans receive medical attention for dog bites. And at least half of them are children. 

Dog safety for children is a big component of the work that Mr. N's therapy dog group does. When we do therapy visits at domestic violence shelters and schools, we also educate children on how to greet dogs properly, dog body language and bite prevention.

Mr. N in his therapy group uniform

We have the kids practice dog greetings on a stuffed animal before approaching the dogs. We teach them to:

• Always ask the owner for permission.
• Approach slowly and from a side angle.
• Don't lean/loom over the dog. The small dogs in Mr. N's therapy group greet the children on ottomans so they are more at a level with the kids.
• Pet gently in the direction of the fur growth.
• Don't pet dogs on the head.
• Do NOT hug the dogs. Hugging is a primate behavior, not a canine one!

Dogs who want attention have soft, relaxed body language and faces and will approach you and solicit petting. Mr. N will shove his head under your hand if he wants to be petted. If they don't, they may show signs like lip licking, turning their head away, yawning, scratching or the more obvious growling and snapping.

We talk about different dogs' tells. Mr. N has a very obvious one. His tail curls up over his back normally but when he's stressed, his tail goes straight down towards the floor (we call it "sad tail").

The dogs also get a designated "safe space" during therapy sessions in which to retreat if they need a breather. Mr. N has a fabric x-pen. We tell the children that when the dogs are in their special place, they need time to themselves and should be left alone.

We emphasize that dogs are not toys. They do not enjoy kisses, dress up, being ridden like a horse, or being picked up precariously. Unlike toys, they have feelings. They don't like when they're teased, yelled at or being bothered when they're eating.

77 percent of dog bites come from the family dog or a friend's dog. Mr. N was the demo dog for a dog safety class where one of the participants was a little boy who had been bitten by a dog at a friend's party. If he knew then what he knows now, he could have avoided that bite. If your children are aware of dog safety, it could save everyone a lot of pain and heartache!

Sources:
https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/preventing-dog-bites-by-learning-to-greet-dogs-properly/
http://eileenanddogs.com/2012/08/29/does-your-dog-really-want-to-be-petted/
http://stopthe77.com/
https://www.avma.org/public/Pages/Dog-Bite-Prevention.aspx

We're participating in a blogger collaboration for National Dog Bite Prevention Week. Check out these other blogs for our week-long series about dog (and cat) bites.
Fidose of Reality (Monday)
Random Felines (Tuesday)
Miss Molly Says (Thursday)
Savannah’s Paw Tracks (Friday)

Appropriate and Good Play Dog Behavior

Much like toddlers, dogs left to their own devices can turn things into a Lord of the Flies situation. I always supervise play especially with strange dogs. Does your dog play nicely? Or are they a bully? Dogs that play appropriately will take turns, have relaxed body language, self-handicap if need be, take little breaks and engage in consensual play.  

Taking Turns

Are the dogs taking turns playing different roles? Are they switching between chasing and being chased and pouncing and being pounced upon? Is it a give and take situation?

Relaxed Body Language

Dogs who are playing appropriately have relaxed body language. Lots of light, bouncy movements and posture. Relaxed faces and ears. Play bows. Big open grins. Or in Mr. N's case, blowing a raspberry!

Self-handicapping

Healthy play requires the stronger/faster/bigger dog to deliberately match the level of play of their play partner and tone down their speed and strength. Mr. N has a couple of big dog friends who will go into a down position and wrestle with him that way while he scrambles over them and plays bitey face. As odd as it may seem for Mr. N to be the "big dog," he is slightly bigger and stronger than the puppies he is playing with and he will let them win wrestling bouts.

Mini-Breaks

Are the dogs regulating themselves by taking frequent little breaks in between play? If the dogs are getting too excited and not stopping, you might have to impose a play break.

More, More!

Probably one of the best ways to distinguish if your dog is being a bully or not is calling your dog to you and restraining them and watching their playmate's reaction. Are they following your dog and eager for more play? Or are they ignoring your dog or moving away? If the latter, time to call it quits. Mr. N has been trampled and rolled over and he will still dash back into the fray to play. 

Stop Play Now

If one of the dogs is trying to end play by running away, hiding behind objects or people, yelping, or snapping or otherwise showing discomfort, the dogs should be separated. Stiff body language, slower and tense body movements, growling and staring are also indicators that play should stop and an interruption is called for.

Does your dog exhibit appropriate play behavior?