Pet Loss Prevention - How To Make Your Home Escape Proof

Follow these 9 simple pet loss prevention tips to help keep your pet safe and to effectively escape-proof your home! And if you do lose your pet, we've provided 7 steps to help reunite with your furry friend.

No one should live through the fear and suffering if his or her dog goes missing. Whether your dog escapes through an open door, bolts through a screen window, gets out of a fenced-in yard or gets stolen, pet parents need to do all that they can to make their home escape proof and keep their beloved dogs and cats safe.

As July is Pet Loss Prevention Month, an awareness campaign spearheaded by PetHub, we want to provide you with tips to keep your dog and cat safe, make your home escape proof and how to find a lost pet.

9 Tips To Keep Your Pet Safe And Escape Proof Your Home

1. Microchip your dog or cat.
2. Collar your pets and make certain their collars feature a tag with your contact information on it.
3. Teach them to stay away from open doors. This training needs to start when the pet is young so prevent their bolting out an open door.
4. If your dog is in a fenced-in yard, inspect it regularly for any areas from which your dog could get loose.
5. Close windows when you leave your dog or cat home alone so they don’t fall out or jump out a screened window to get to something that catches their attention out the window.
6. Turn on the television or radio or tune to DOGTV to entertain your dog when you’re away. This is especially helpful if your dog gets anxious or nervous when left home alone.
7. Give them food puzzle or other toys to play with to keep them busy while you’re gone.
8. Take a long walk before you leave. Tiring them out may make them sleep the day away and make them less likely to be scratching to get out while you’re gone. Play with your cats to tire them out, too.
9. If you’re having a party, put your pets in their crates or put them in a room where they can’t escape when guests are in and out of the house. Not everyone will pay as much attention to your dogs and cats as you will and they may not know your pets are not allowed out-of-doors.

How To Find A Pet Who Has Escaped Or Has Been Taken

1. Call local shelters and animal control agencies to let them know your dog or cat is missing.
2. Put up fliers in your neighborhood.
3. Put notices on Facebook and ask your friends and family to share.
4. Put a notice in the local newspaper.
5. Go searching where you last saw your dog or cat. Search in the early morning or early evening hours when it’s quiet and your pet might not be as afraid.
6. If your cat is missing, leave his litter box outside the door -- they can smell it and it may lure them home.
7. Call local veterinarian’s offices and report your dog missing.

Protect your pet! Keep them safe from harm by applying these simple pet loss prevention tips and by doing all you can to bring him back home if he manages to get out of your house or yard.

Clawguard builds shields that protect homes from damage caused by dogs and cats. Products include door shields, couch guards, and universal protective tapes that protect commonly scratched areas like window sills, furniture, banisters, weatherstripping and more. Our products relieve pet owner anxiety! Look for us in the pet hardware section of your local retail store.