Don’t chase the dog! If s/he is scared, you’ll make it worse. You could drive them into dangerous areas such as the road, disorientate them so they become truly lost or scare them to the point that they don’t trust you – and they’ll never approach you if they think you’re dangerous. If they’re having a ball, they’ll just think you’re in on the game, and no human can outrun or outmanoeuvre a dog in an unfenced area. But, if you know where they are and they keep running off, approach by closing the distance very slowly, almost as if by accident.

The best way to approach is to not approach at all. Set up their bowl with food and water in the place you were last with the dog and keep this area free anything that might scare them off if at all possible. This is the area they are most likely to return to, seeking shelter and, so keep a quiet eye out and be ready to coax back them to you.

Make where you are more interesting than where they are. Be disinterested in them because something MUCH better is going on where you are (perhaps having fun with another dog or looking intensely at something fascinating on the ground or eating something delicious!). Ideally the dog will come to you because their innate curiosity generally gets the better of them.

Keep the number of strangers in the area to a minimum, if necessary they can set up a perimeter so the dog cannot run into danger. Owners are the best people to draw the dog in – they are associated with love, shelter and food, whereas strangers are not.

Don’t allow the dog to lead you away (i.e. stay by the car or where you were whenthey ran off to establish a place for them to return to)

When you get close enough don’t snatch at them! Ideally create a loop with the leadand gently loop it over their head.