Our little rescue, Lucas, ran away the day after we got him (slipped his collar) and came back that night. He’s definitely spooky and scared, but sweet and gentle. That was 6 weeks ago. Christmas eve morning he bolted when my wife opened the door to walk him and pulled the retractable leash out of her hand. Last seen being chased by the leash up the highway towards the ski area. Put the word out on all channels, drove the highway, checked neighbors’ barns, nothing. Figured he was either dead or holed up somewhere. Luckily the -40 weather is behind us. Got up to pee at 3 am and heard a whine this morning, there he is. We had food and bedding out for him and he definitely ate and then settled in bed. Now we’ve got to figure this little guy out, get him to not be so scared!
Excellent news.
Great news!
I transport rescue dogs and with the skittish ones they always have two leashes on, neither retractable. One is a slip leash and the other attached to a harness they can’t back out of. You might try that until he’s adjusted.
StG
We never really know/often tend to wonder what the rescues experienced before they became ours.
Now, you have that same thing … twice. When I saw your subject line, I just thought about the recent weather. 
I hope all is well, and that you can all find the rhythm you were looking for before he decided to explore his options 
Little skinnier now after his adventure.
Is it possible he’s Amish?
He seems to have that in him for sure. One of the presents USPS has lost is a FI GPS collar…
Glad he got home and looking good! But, what of the retractable leash? Was his collar still on when he got back?
No leash, no collar. My greatest fear was that he was caught in a fence or something, dying slowly. He’s a survivor (he was feral on the Flathead reservation for who knows how long). Now we just have to figure out if we can keep him. He seems to REALLY need other dogs around.
Some Amish are heavily into the puppy mill business. Depending where their rescue originated, it may very well be an Amish dog.
Could be a another dog in heat somewhere in the area.
My mom had almost a dozen dogs show up in the yard when the Yorkie was in heat. It was a odd few days escorting her out to pee without being mounted.
Attack of the unclear antecedent.
LOL the Yorkie was the object of affection.
It’s amazing how many dogs randomly show up in the backyard.
He’s been snipped, but who knows. Heading to Petsmart for de-wormer and new tags!
This is really good advice. Make sure you use the hand loop also. A retractable is fine if you have a five pound ankle biter, but I would never use it on anything larger. Even a well trained dog can be startled into a run.
Cool dog, but I see plotting going on behind those eyes. Probably trying to figure out a way to take food along on the next escape.
Just him or is he taking you along this time? 
I got pretty good with a retractable with one of my dogs. He liked to roam into bushes and trees after squirrels, and I didn’t want to hold him back too much. But it was kind of scary at first. You really need to pay attention with those things. I haven’t used them at all since that dog passed.
He’s got his Fi collar on now, although him and collars are so-so. He’s slippery. Talking to the head of the rescue where we got him tonight.
Oh, you can keep him. He’s already come back twice after escaping. Clearly, he recognizes your place as ‘home’. And the longer he’s there, the more this will be true.
And for that last statement, the solution is obvious – animal rescue operations nearly everywhere are overflowing with pets. So if you have room in your house (and your heart) for another rescue dog …
When we were living in Carson City we were on the edge of civilization – the next lot up was BLM land. Two hounds bolted when they were about 10 weeks old and we couldn’t find them after searching all afternoon. We left the door open and about 1am the next morning when I was pecking on the computer I felt a presence, turned around, and the girl was standing there, looking at me. After a lot of water she curled up and slept about 12 hours.
The boy was gone for four days and we thought he was a goner, then he showed up like his sister but earlier, about 8pm. He had some pitch on his side, apparently from curling up under pinyon. We demanded to know where he’d been but he never did answer.
They got it from their mother. She was an escape artist who got loose several times but she never strayed far. She had a warped sense of humor. We’d spot her about 75 yards away and call her. She’d perk up and come running towards us – and on by about an inch further than our fingertips to wind up 75 yards away in the other direction. Rinse repeat until she tired of the game.
We have the space, both ways. But he needs a well-socialized dog buddy. Our trainer is coming over Saturday with one of her dogs to model behavior. We’ll see how that goes. Bozeman is a very doggy town–there actually aren’t that many rescues available and they go quickly.