How to stop your dog escaping or running away

Loud noises like fireworks or storms, unfamiliar people, strange smells, and fast-moving things like cars or other animals might be frightening to some dogs.

When your dog feels scared, their instinct may be to run away and hide. Find out what worries them so you can plan ahead to avoid these things where possible.

Some dogs may try to run away if they’re bored and looking for something to do. They might be tempted to escape if they can hear, see or smell something interesting nearby like other dogs, animals, people or traffic.

Meeting your dog’s needs by making sure they get enough exercise for their age, health and size, as well as giving them plenty of fun activities throughout the day, will help stop them from feeling bored. This should include:

• regular walks
• toy play
• training
• scent games
• food puzzles
• social interactions, if your dog enjoys them
• things to chew or lick.

Wildlife, cats, runners, or moving objects may trigger your dog to chase.

Some dogs have a strong, natural instinct to chase things that move. They may learn that certain sights, sounds, or smells mean something is nearby to chase, like vehicles, wildlife, other dogs or cats.  

To stop your dog chasing:

• Make sure they get enough exercise, and ways to use chase behaviours safely, like throwing toys or treats in suitable places.
• Check that your garden, home, and walking equipment are secure and not damaged.
• Stay with them and keep them on a lead or long line when outside, including on walks or in the garden.
• Make sure doors and gates are secure before you take their lead off or let them into a new area.
• Keep a house line attached to them indoors and supervise them whilst they’re wearing it. This is a light lead they can wear at home, and you can pick up quickly if a door opens or something they want to chase appears. Always remove the houseline if you leave them alone.

Read our chasing advice for more tips.

Dogs often get excited when they see something they like, like another dog or a person, or something they want to chase, like a squirrel. They might also feel frustrated if they can’t get to whatever they’ve seen.

When you know what’s making them excited or frustrated, you can work on helping them feel calm around these things.

Some dogs may try to escape if they’re worried about being alone. This can happen when they’re left on their own or when they can see you getting ready to go out. Your dog might try to squeeze out with you or try to get out of the house through doors and windows.

It’s important to help your dog feel calm when they’re left to avoid them feeling worried, frustrated or bored. Otherwise, they’re likely to continue trying to escape. Check out our advice on separation anxiety, or get in touch with our friendly Behaviour Services team for support.

In the meantime, try to avoid leaving your dog on their own. Ask friends, family and dog sitters to help you.

If you do need to pop out, you can help by setting your dog up with a fun activity in a safe, secure place like a separate room, puppy pen or crate.

If you’re using a dog crate, you should train them to feel relaxed spending time in it. You should also make sure your doors and windows are secure and undamaged.

If your dog doesn’t always come back when called, you should keep them on a long line or a lead. If you feel they need off-lead exercise, you can do this in your garden or in a secure private hire field.  

You can also help your dog stay safe by practising their recall training.

Your dog might try to escape from your garden if they feel bored, worried or frustrated by something nearby, or if they’re trying to get to something exciting. They might:

• bang against fences
• try to jump over fences or walls
• dig at the bottom of fences or walls to make a hole
• bite or chew weak and damaged parts of fences or walls
• try to get out of gates or gaps.

To help stop your dog getting out of your garden:

• stay with them so you can guide them away from fences or walls
• keep them on a lead or long line
• check fences, walls, and gates to make sure everything is secure and undamaged before letting them outside
• practise recall training
• look for things in the garden that may make them feel stressed or worried, and try to avoid them
• make sure your dog gets enough exercise and activities, like toys, training, or food puzzles, to help them feel calm and avoid feeling bored.

Many dogs run, slip or squeeze out through doors or garden gates when they feel excited, frightened or want to follow family members.

Putting your dog in another room, in a puppy pen or behind a baby gate will let you move out of doors and garden gates safely. You should check that gates, doors and windows are properly shut and locked before letting your dog out.

If your dog is breaking through doors, gates or windows to escape, you may need some professional support to change their behaviour and keep everyone safe. If you need help to stop them from escaping or running away, our experts are just a click or call away. Contact our Behaviour Support Line, request a call back with an expert, or book a support package now.

Your dog might run away on walks if:

• they’re too distracted to listen when you call them back
• they’re chasing moving things like traffic, cats or wildlife
• they want to say hello or play with other people, dogs and animals
• they’re excited, so run to use up their energy
• they feel too frightened or frustrated to come back.

Here are some ways to stop your dog running away on walks.

• Keep your dog on a lead or long line if you're not confident they'll come back when called.
• Check your dog's collar, harness and lead fit correctly and are in good condition. A three-strap harness, used with a double-ended lead or safety strap attached to both the collar and harness, provides extra security if your dog slips out of one.
• Only let your dog off-lead in secure areas, such as your garden or a private hire field.
• Regularly practise saying your dog's name and reward them with a treat or toy when they look at you. This helps build a strong response to their name, even around distractions.

When dogs feel frightened by sounds, they often want to run away and hide. Your dog may even try to escape your home or garden if they hear something they find frightening like fireworks, storms, building work, or visitors they don’t know.  

Helping your dog feel safe can reduce the risk of them escaping. Here are some tips to help:

• keep them in a separate room or behind a baby gate, away from doors
• keep them on a lead or long line when you go outside, even into the garden
• check fences and walls to make sure they’re secure and have no gaps
• try to work out what is scaring them and avoiding it where possible
• follow our advice to support your dog through fireworks.

When you know what is frightening your dog, you may need professional support to help them feel better. If you need help to stop them from escaping or running away, get in touch with our behaviour experts.

Dogs are social animals and can feel worried when they’re left alone. Your dog may start getting anxious or stressed when you’re getting ready to leave. They may try to escape to avoid being left alone or to get back to you if they’ve been left.  

If your dog is worried about being left, you should try to leave them as little as you can. However, we know it’s not always possible to stay with them or take them with you.  

You can take these steps to reduce the risk of your dog escaping:

• keep your dog in a separate room or behind a baby gate, away from doors
• have a calm and predictable leaving routine
• ask a family member or friend to stay with your dog
• settle your dog in a crate or quiet safe space, if they’re comfortable and relaxed there
• check all windows and doors are secure and not damaged
• return as soon as you can if you must leave your dog
• leave them with a comfortable bed, water, toys and food puzzles to keep them busy and help them relax.  

The best way to stop your dog trying to escape is to help them feel more relaxed on their own. Check out our separation anxiety advice, or get in touch with our Behaviour Services team for more support.

There are lots of reasons your dog might be trying to escape your garden, including:

• feeling frightened or stressed by something they see, hear, or smell nearby
• worrying that you’ve left and trying to get back to you
• trying to reach people, dogs, or animals they can see or smell
• feeling bored and wanting to explore or find something fun to do.

When you’ve worked out why your dog is trying to escape the garden, you can put things in place to help them feel more relaxed.  

In the meantime, follow the advice on this page to keep your dog safe and secure.

There are several reasons dogs might run away when they are outside:

• a strong prey drive which makes them want to chase moving things
• not knowing they should come back when called or not having practised recall training for a while
• getting excited when they’re off-lead and running to use up some energy
• feeling frustrated or anxious about things around them and running to move away
• running over to people or dogs to say hello or play
• wanting to explore a large area which makes them move away from you
• feeling worried or stressed about coming back to you because they think something bad will happen, like being told off or put back on the lead.

If your dog often runs away outside, follow our how to help advice section and practise their recall training.

Once your dog has run away, it’s hard to know what will happen next.

Your dog’s sense of hearing and smell is much stronger than ours, so they might be able to find you again when they’ve calmed down. However, dogs can run large distances and may move too far away to find their way back.

It’s always best to stop your dog from running away if possible. This might mean keeping them on a lead or long line with a secure, well-fitting harness and collar, checking fences or walls for holes, weakness or damage, and practising their recall.

The best way to stop your dog running out of the door is to keep them in a separate room behind a closed door or baby gate before opening the door.

If this isn’t possible:

• put your dog on a lead before the door is opened
• settle your dog in a crate if they’re relaxed spending time there.

Make sure all doors and windows are shut securely before you let your dog out to explore. Ask any guests or family members to knock, call or text before opening the door so you can move your dog somewhere safe.

Your dog may not come back if they:

• haven't learned their name, or to come back when called
• feel scared by something they see, hear, or smell nearby
• feel worried about being told off or being put back on the lead when they come back
• feel too excited or frustrated
• want to chase moving things, like birds or squirrels
• feel bored and move away to explore or run.

You can help stop your dog from running away and refusing to come back by:

• Keeping them on a lead or longline to keep them close.
• Checking their collar and harness fit well and are undamaged. Using a three-strap harness to prevent them from escaping their harness.
• Practising your dog’s recall training regularly.

Most dogs enjoy their owner’s company and want to spend time with them. There are lots of reasons why your dog might run away from you:

• they’re new to the home and still building a relationship with you
• they’re worried about being told off or being put back on the lead when they return
• you’re near something they find frightening or stressful
• they’re distracted, excited or bored and are running away to do other things.

Training and playing with your dog can help build a good relationship. By practising recall, walking nicely on the lead and encouraging your dog to do fun things like sniffing you can help them relax and concentrate on you around distractions.

If you think your dog is finding it difficult to come back because they’re scared of the lead, your response or other things nearby, you may need some professional help.

Contact our free Behaviour Support Line, request a call back with an expert, or book a support package now.

The time it takes to improve recall is different for every dog. It depends on how often you practise and how much they enjoy the training.

Some dogs will always need to stay on a lead in some situations because they do not reliably come back when called. This might happen if:

• your dog has a strong prey drive and can’t resist chasing moving things
• there are frightening or frustrating things nearby that your dog is trying to run away from
• your dog struggles to concentrate when they’re excited or bored, making it difficult for them to come back to you in public places.  

In these situations, using a lead or long line may be safer.

Even if you don’t plan on letting your dog off-lead, it’s still helpful to practise recall regularly. This will make your dog more likely to come back if you call them back in an emergency.

GPS collars and trackers can be a helpful tool for locating a lost pet. However, you are legally responsible for your dog, even if they’re not with you. This means you could be held responsible for them causing damage or an injury while they’re out of sight.  

To prevent your dog from escaping or running away in the first place, follow the how to help advice on this page.