What factors affect where a roaming dog will wander?

While many dogs can be considered as almost completely trustworthy when it comes to not leaving the garden or pushing out past an open door, others seem to have an inherent drive to roam and wander, often going to great lengths to do so!

Some of this comes down to a simple desire for more exercise or boredom at being confined within the same area for a long time, but some breeds such as the Siberian husky and other spitz-type dogs like the Alaskan malamute, which were bred for endurance and distance running, often seem to exhibit a breed-specific disposition to roaming and wandering off!

If your dog is apt to disappear out of the garden when it suits them, run off when out walking or otherwise seek to explore on their own despite your frantic attempts to find and contain them, you should consider factors such as how much exercise your dog needs, if they are bored, and if all of their needs are being met. However, when your dog has taken themselves off exploring and you are left with the challenge of trying to find them, you have a much more immediate problem on your hands: Locating your dog to bring them home!

In this article, we will look at some of the factors that affect where a roaming dog is likely to go, how far they might go, and what they are seeking, which may help you to find them when you need to! Read on to learn more about the factors that affect where a roaming dog will wander.

Why do some dogs roam?

There are four main headers to explain roaming, and virtually all roaming dogs will fall into one of them when it comes to disappearing: Boredom, lack of exercise, a desire to mate, and fear.

Which category is driving your dog can often help you to narrow down where they may have gone to!

• A dog that is bored is much more likely to look for ways to try to escape, particularly if someone passing the garden pays them attention and they think that following them will earn more of it, or something interesting is going on nearby, which your dog may well head straight for.

• A dog that is full of beans and suffering from a lack of exercise won’t really have a clear destination in mind necessarily, they just want to stretch their legs, and so dogs of this type can be rather harder to pin down when it comes to working out where they have got to!

• Intact male dogs will often display a very strong roaming instinct, especially when there is a bitch in heat somewhere nearby. Male dogs can detect the pheromones of a bitch in heat even from several miles away, and will go to great lengths to join them, which can include things like chewing through a tether or burrowing out under a fence. Unspayed female dogs too are more likely to roam than spayed bitches, but to a lesser extent than male dogs.

• Fear roaming occurs if something has caused your dog to panic and see getting out as the best way of getting away. Fireworks night, storms and other external factors can often induce a panicked fear in dogs which makes them run off, and so this is also something to bear in mind.

Where is your dog going?

While it is not an exact science, working out why your dog has wandered off in the first place can help you to narrow down how far they are likely to have gone, and where they might have gone much more easily than simply hunting high and low without a plan can!

• If you suspect that your dog has disappeared because they were bored, factors to consider are if anything is going on nearby that might interest your dog, such as a barbecue or playing children, or how far they are likely to have gone in search of fun. Many dogs that roam out of boredom will follow routes that they are familiar with, so start by checking out the local park where you walk your dog, and along your usual paths.

• Dogs that have wandered off because they were not getting enough exercise are likely to be less picky about where they go, simply seeking to go for a run and stretch their legs. Dogs roaming for this reason will usually make their own way home in time, although of course this can be dangerous, and does not mean that you should stop looking for them! Again, start by following your usual exercise routes, and asking the people that you pass.

• A dog that is roaming due to a desire to mate will be heading for one place and one place only: a bitch in heat. If you know of any other dog owners who own intact female dogs or who may have a bitch in heat, head there first and see if your lovesick dog is hovering around, making a nuisance of themselves! If your dog is apt to roam regularly in search of a mate, getting them neutered is the best way to counter this.

• A dog that has run off in a panic because something has frightened them can be among the hardest dogs to find, as they will not be so likely to follow a set pattern when running off, and can easily run into trouble such as roads, as well as becoming disorientated and unable to find their way home. Panicked dogs can go for reasonable distances before they calm down and relax, which means that they are likely to have gone further than other roaming dogs, particularly if the source of their fear seems to follow them, as can happen with the sound of thunder or fireworks.

Following a concentric search pattern outwards from around your home is the best way to search for a panicked dog, and ensuring that their collar displays a contact number for you so that if someone finds your dog, they can let you know ASAP is vital, not just for panic roaming but for all other roaming dogs too.