Every year, thousands of dog owners experience a runaway dog. It’s no surprise that some dogs are more adventurous than others. Some are very loyal and stick to you like glue, and others insist on taking themselves for a walk whenever they get the chance. But the question is, which dog breeds are most likely to run away?
8 dog breeds most likely to run away
#1 Australian Shepherd
Australian Shepherd owners typically lose this breed about 0.9 times a month.
#2 Labrador Retriever
Labrador Retriever owners typically lose their dog about 2.13 times a month.
#3 Treeing Walker Coonhound
Treeing Walker Coonhound owners typically lose this dog breed about 0.9 times a month.
#4 Jack Russell
Jack Russel owners typically lose their dog about 1.2 times a month.
#5 German Shepherd
German Shepherd owners lose this breed about 1.5 times a month.
#6 Spaniel Breeds (Cocker Spaniels, English Spring Spaniels, Cavalier King Charles)
Spaniel owners lose this breed about 0.9 times a month.
#7 Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Staffordshire Bull Terrier owners lose this breed about 1.2 times a month.
#8 Border Collie
Border Collie owners lose this breed about 1.2 times a month.
Why do they run away?
There can be many explanations to this behaviour. If your dog gets scared by a noise, he or she will probably run off as far away as possible (through an open door, or out of the garden). A dog who isn’t stimulated with sufficient activity, who is neglected by its owners, or left alone for long periods of time, may also run away to find distractions and/or new playmates. It could also be that your dog has never learnt what is forbidden (going out of the house or out of the garden). In this case, your dog will probably feel the need to elope at any occasion. But no matter what the reason is, or which kind of breed you have, if you have an escape artist in your family, you might want to consider investing in a GPS tracker.
NOTE: The list of runaway dogs is much longer and this is just a small part of the best escape artists.
I am missing the beagle ! Has to be on de 1 st place of running on oké they don’t run away just doing there own thing somewhere els…
Hi Paul,
The numbers are not ment as “who is the number 1, 2 or 3 runaway dog”, but just to mention those who are likely to take off. We know there are more runners (yes, the Beagle is definitely one of them) but we have chosen just to mention a few. But thank you for your comment – we are always happy when our readers give us a bit feedback.
Have a great day.
Best,
Sarah
“#2 Labrador Retriever
Labrador Retriever owners typically lose their dog about 2.13 times a month.”
How can you make these statements without any verification or proof? This is utterly made up. I understand that you are trying to sell your GPS product but this really put me off. My lab is 5 now and he has never been lost, never ran away. So that means he is “untypical”? Which data base are you referring to? Who counted? And how come then, that a labrador retriever would run away so often when a golden retriever wouldn’t? How about flat coated? No runners? I knew someone whose beagle liked to run off for a day or two. How’s that for statistics. I could write an article about beagles typically running off every time they get the chance to. Which would make it a 100 percent situation.
Really! If you have a good product, then serious PR should be serious articles. It doesn’t do your brand well to do otherwise.
Hi Nicole,
our statment is based on information from several sources (e.g. Pet Finder, Life with Dogs, Business Insider and, of course, our own data base) who all have research about lost dog breeds. We are not saying that you have lost your dog 2.13 times – we are well aware that some owners never lose their pet. It’s an average. Since some people apparently lose their dog more than 2.13 times, some people less, it ends up on a 2.13 average per registered owner. Again, we know some lose their pet more, some not at all.
We also know that there are more runaway breeds, but we have chosen not to mention all as we just want to give a little “taste of the numbers”.
If yo have more questions or comments, you are more than welcome to write me/us.
Have a great day.
Best,
Sarah