How to Catch a Feral Dog

A "feral dog" is a wild dog that lives wherever there is a food source and a habitat in which it can survive. Many animal humane societies use a program of catching or trapping a "feral dog" to spay or neuter, evaluate their health and then release the healthy dogs back into a safe area. As many of these dogs dwell in packs, this helps stop the increasing population of wild or "feral dogs," which spread diseases.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Steel leg hold traps
• Food to draw dog to the trap (meat)

1. Pick an area where feral dogs have been sighted or reported to set up your traps. The best time to attempt a trapping is at night.

2. Place some sort of food, preferably meat, in the area of the trap and make the trap area very inviting to a feral dog.

3. Wait, have patience, be quiet and check the trap often, as once a dog is trapped they may hurt themselves trying to break free

4. Release the feral dog cautiously from the trap and transfer into a carrier to take it to the vet for a health check. Additional help should be arranged for this step.

Tips & Warnings

• Adoption of a feral dog, that has been caught and medically checked out is rare, as these dogs are not social animals like most domestic dogs.
• Use caution when handling a "feral dog." If you are bitten or attacked, be sure to seek medical attention. Feral dogs are considered dangerous and have been known to attack domestic dogs, small animals and livestock.

[HSPC]

on 7/20/2008 HELP! A 91 yr old lady lost her 9 yr old dog on July 4th because of the fireworks. We (Humane Society) have been searching for him.....spotted him many times. The problem is when we call his name.....he runs away. We are getting frustrated. Can anybody suggest something that might help us return him to his owner?

[HSPC]

on 7/20/2008 HELP! A 91 yr old lady lost her dog on July 4th..fireworks scared him. We have been searching and have spotted him several times. Problem, when we call him he runs away. We (Humane Society) are getting frustrated. Any suggestions on how to bring this to a happy ending?

[amyfou]

on 8/15/2007 Having recently trapped and adopted two feral dogs, and working on catching the third - I think I can safely say that a leghold trap isn't necessary. Humane cage traps do the trick quite nicely!