Scent & Feeding Station

FEEDING STATION...

Establish a feeding and scent station close to the spot where your dog made its escape. We suggest placing one food bowl filled with ½ cup of dry dog food alongside something aromatic, like a small portion of wet dog food, tuna or sardines. Don’t forget to include a water bowl as well. 

Make sure to replenish the food bowl every morning and evening.This is so important that the food is fresh to give off the best scent. You can also take liquid smoke (found in the salad dressing aisle and sprinkle that as a trail to your bowl. DO NOT put liquid smoke in the food - dogs are not big fans of the taste. You are using this solely as a scent trail. 

If ants are a concern, especially during ant season, consider creating an ant moat. To create an ant moat, find a larger bowl that can hold some water, allowing your food bowl to float inside it. This setup will keep ants away from your dog's food. 

The goal is to get your pet to know that food and water are consistently provided at this location. 

SCENT STATION...

We recommend placing several unwashed clothing articles outside (socks, work shirts, workout clothes, sweatshirt), and placing them on the ground near the food station. Clothing articles like cotton, wool, synthetic athletic fabrics, worn shoes, beanie hats, and pajamas hold the best scents. This should be changed daily with freshly scented clothes. It should not be hidden and should be in plain sight for the dog to see. Having it in an open area also allows the scent to travel. 

If you have a Ring Camera or any security camera, it’s a good idea to position your scent and feeding station within its view. If you don’t own a camera, reach out to friends, family, or neighbors to see if someone can lend you theirs. The goal is to get your pet to know that food and water are consistently provided at this location. 

• Position a camera to monitor the station. 
• If you have a Ring, Nest, Trail Camera or similar camera, move it to ground level facing the feeding station.
• Ask friends/family to loan cameras if needed.

If you decide to buy a camera, we recommend the Tactacam Reveal 3.0 which is a cellular camera (Tactacam.com). There are also other cameras you can find on Amazon, but oftentimes they are not cellular so you’ll have to pull the camera daily to physically see the photos.