If you see a stray dog in your yard, do you call the authorities immediately?

i would just wait for the dog to leave and go back to where it lives

Personally I wouldn't call the authorities unless there was a problem (i.e. I saw the dog terrorizing children or livestock).....

I live so far out in the boonies, by the time the cops (here, the police respond to most animal-control issues) drove all the way out to my place just to check on a non-threatening stray dog (way WAY down on their priority list I'm sure) it'd be long gone.

I'd be more likely to go out with a few treats & try and coax the dog over, read it's tag, or keep him in my yard or something until I could find the owner. I know enough about dog body language to tell whether or not the dog is a threat, or feels threatened by me touching or approaching him. Chances are in this area it's just some neighbor's dog who got loose & needs to go back home....and I'd hope any of MY neighbors would do the same.

I personally never approach an unknown stray. I always stand back and let them come to me if they appear friendly, then check for ID. I always try to find the owners first myself by posting ads and calling the local vets and the SPCA. If the dog is aggressive then I definitely leave it alone and call the police or animal control.

Unfortunately where I live many times the SPCA or animal control will not even come out unless the dog is injured and then they rarely come out after hours. (I live in town.) Usually they just say to bring the dog in or leave it alone.

In our area dogs are dumped regularly. Since we have few neighbors, we know the regular dogs that live in the area and can spot a stray immediately. We usually end up rescuing the dogs, vet them, and find them forever homes. Also we have a neighbor who shoots any strays that come around. We have been lucky that the strays we have rescued have all been healthy.

I will watch for ads for lost dogs but usually can tell which ones are strays who are dumped. We have no animal control in our county, no one who will come pick up the strays.

You did the right thing. I would have stepped outside (not too close to the dog, but close enough) and made a noise to get it's attention. Then, I would have seen how it responded. If it was a nice dog I would have called the owners first because it's better to let the owners know than the authorities because they care more. Hope this helps you!

We had a stray one time and I called the local SPCA to report that we had the dog, but did not request for them to pick him up. I kept him at my home. I personally have been to the SPCA looking for my dog and it was a very sad place. We also put an add in the paper, and you wouldn't believe how grateful people were (even though it wasn't their dog).

If they have a collar I try to be friendly with them to get a number to call, but only if they have the right demeanor, it's not worth it to deal with an aggressive dog. If they seem aggressive I call animal control, children aren't as cautious when presented with a "cute puppy" and I don't want anyone to get hurt because I couldn't be inconvenienced to call a number. Most people who really love their animals will check at the pound when they go missing.

If it has a collar, I'd just try and stay in or ignore it but if it tries to bite me I'd call the authorities if I hadn't already kicked it in self defense. If it was a confirmed stray dog with no collar, no leash, and looking aggressive I'd call 911 immediately.

At my last house, we often found dogs in our fenced back yard. We tended to call our vet. She worked with animal control, and she would take the dog, and not put it to sleep. Also she had most of the dog business in the area, so she might know who owned it, and she had a gift for finding animals new homes. I would want someone to call if they found one of my dogs lost. I used to have vets call my house every time someone found a stray sheltie. I had three shelties, but one was a tri color, so every time someone found a lost dog, every vet would call my house. I never lost one of my dogs, but it was nice to know if I lost one, every vet knew I had shelties, even the vets I didn't use.

I hate irresponsible dog owners who know their dogs are violent but let them run around wild anyway. I would've called animal control to get them to take it to a pound. Then I would've hit the dog over the head with a rake or broom or pitchfork or something, and ran inside with the kids as fast as I could!

I wouldn't. But I would probably have gone out to see if I could check its collar and call the owner. In most cases, it's probably just a dog that wandered a few blocks from home, whose owners are out looking for it anyways.