Dog Theft

[DTrain]

A couple of weeks ago I left my dogs in my truck to go into a store. I left the windows down about one inch. I was only gone for a couple of minutes and I could see the dogs. I noticed a guy approach my truck and stick his fingers in the window. My dogs are very friendly but something told me this did not look right. I left the store to go back to my truck and as I approached the guy ran away. I quickly checked the dogs and inside the truck. I saw a poster in my post office a couple of days later of two beautiful huskies who had been lost. I asked the post master about the dogs and he told me that they were not lost but rather stolen. He told me that there had been a number of dog thefts in the area. Yesterday I again had the dogs in my truck and went into a store. I was careful to park where I could see them. A police officer approached my truck and began looking in and around. I left the store fast to ask him what he was doing. He explained that he had noticed the dogs and wanted to look at them. He thought it was odd that I had a truck full of border collies and wanted to know if they were all mine. To make a long story short and get to the point. We talked about the recent dog thefts and he told me that it appears to be two guys and they are targeting pure bred dogs but did not know the reason. The dogs are being stolen from yards and vehicles usually with the owner fairly close by. I will take every precaution I can but I would like to know if anyone has suggestions for keeping the dogs safe. What do you do to keep your dogs safe. Thanks.

[Shetlander]

If I were you, I would not leave my dogs unattended for any length of time unless they were somewhere that was relatively secure (inside the house). I will leave my dogs in my car when I run errands, but that is a calculated risk I take, knowing that they are more vulnerable than if I left them home. In the situation you describe -- where there is a rash of dog thefts, I wouldn't step further away than the gas pump if my dogs were with me in the car.

[Rockstar]

I know this might seem silly and simple, but do you have tinted windows? The tint on my truck is pretty dark and you can't even see the dogs inside unless you know they are there and look for them. I like it that way.

[bc4ever]

I noticed a guy approach my truck and stick his fingers in the window... and as I approached the guy ran away. Yesterday I again had the dogs in my truck and went into a store. I was careful to park where I could see them. A police officer approached my truck and began looking in and around. He explained that he had noticed the dogs and wanted to look at them. He thought it was odd that I had a truck full of border collies and wanted to know if they were all mine.

 

Did you get a good look at the first guy? I know this is going to sound paranoid, and I'll probably get booed for this, but...there's something about the police officer's actions and explanations that just don't set right, at least from your description of the encounter. I don't know...just continue to be cautious and keep your eyes open. These days, you can't be too careful. Dogs are trustworthy--humans, on the other hand, can and will always surprise us.

[DTrain]

I did get a look at the first guy and I think I would remember him if I saw him again. The situation with the cop was odd and I had a feeling he was not telling me the whole story. What I thought was odd is that he probably knew who I was before speaking with me. My dogs are registered with our community and they have off leash privilages to do their goose work. We live in a small community and very few people don't know about the dogs. However, I have seen this cop before. That is not to say that I trust him or anyone else for that matter but he appears to be well liked. Something that does bother me is that the dogs are well known and if anyone wanted to steal them I and the dogs would not be hard to find anytime. I need to be very careful. I am going to check into dog theft insurance. If I lost my best dog I would be out of business and, we all know how long it takes and how much it costs to bring a dog up to the stage where they are fully trained, working and doing trials. I will not be leaving the dogs home alone and they will be with me in my sight at all times. This will require a couple of lifestyle adjustments but well worth it. I also plan to visit all of the police stations in my area to make sure they are aware of the dogs and what they do.

[1sheepdoggal]

I DID have a collie stolen from out of the inside of my truck once at a grocery store. It is a horrible thing to open the door thinking your dog is laying in the floor board but then you open the door, only to find your dog gone! I too had only steped in for a mineut, and had windows up, and I lived in a very small town, where you would never think such a thing could/would happen. He was found by a friend before the day was out, ( Harry had a large fan club, and when the alert was put out, the whole town was out looking) tied in some ones yard, with numerous sundry other dogs, (probably stolen as well) My method to deter thiefs now a days.....we call him Head of Security. He is a 110lb GSD with a very loud voice, and he really loves me and my stuff, and my truck, and in the 8 yrs he has had the job, no one has ever even looked at my truck, nor anything in it.

[Lenajo]

One of my fosters pups was stolen from it's yard last year and through police reports/lots of stink/AVID microchipping we recovered him 3 weeks later. The culprit was never caught - I know who it was but couldn't prove it.

 

Friends of ours had not one, but 3 puppies consecutively stolen over a year from their backyard kennel in a large city suburb. The thief would cut locks and even take off the collar and hang it up.

 

 

People are desperate for money right now, and to the unscrupulous and stupid, popular purebred dogs spell cash. I would leave my dogs home if I could not keep my eye on them. It's just not worth it.

 

If you must take them with you I would consider adding more barriers between the dogs and the public. Locking crates that are bolted into the inside of the truck for example.

[Lenajo]

Darci that's what my Aussie's for More than a biter I want a hellish noise maker who deters them before it gets to that point.

[Tranquilis]

I have a dog coming - Yay! - and she's reputed to be very vehicle-defensive. I was a bit concerned about that, then I saw this thread, and realized that if Suka does a good Cujo impression in the car, she's not likely to be swiped from it, either. Hmmm.

 

Now, I wonder, do I *really* want to train her out of that behavior..? Decisions, decisions...

[1sheepdoggal]

Thats what Cain does. I have tinted windows, so he gets a kick out of waiting till some one gets close enough to the truck to be in his mind, "too close" and then he explodes. He is generally very quiet until that point. But he puts up such a fuss, he sets a one ton truck to rockin!

[Tranquilis]

...he puts up such a fuss, he sets a one ton truck to rockin!

110lbm of GSD? I should think so! That's a LOT of dog, and they'll make it bounce and rock, if they want to!

 

BTW, I love the informal title - Head of Security, indeed!

[Shetlander]

Thats what Cain does. I have tinted windows, so he gets a kick out of waiting till some one gets close enough to the truck to be in his mind, "too close" and then he explodes.

 

My Lhasa (awful little dog) enjoys that game too. Once a woman mistook my car for hers and Chili waited until she was trying to unlock the door before bursting towards the window at her. The poor woman jumped a couple of feet. I came up behind her and apologized and she said "That dog about gave me a heart attack." I told her she should try living with him.

 

I put up with Chili's bad behavior, probably more than I should, definitely more than I tend to with that sort of thing precisely because of jerks who might want to steal a dog. A number of friends and family have asked if I worried about leaving him alone in the car, especially because he is so cute and I said, "Nah. Not too many people would be stupid enough to reach in for the little buzz saw when he gets going."

[DTrain]

I almost feel like I have done the wrong thing. I have gone to some length to socialize my dogs as they work in public. I take them to hospitals and seniors homes. They love people and they are extremely well behaved. I would expect that if someone wanted to steal them they would have no trouble. Strange, my best dog ran away three days after we bought him. I guess he thought he was going home. My wife and I, our vet and a couple of friends spent all night looking for him. I lost my voice for three weeks from calling all night. We put up posters, we called the police and did everything we could. We found him several hours later. I was told a few days later that people who lived on the next property to us had him in their garage. I spoke with these people and they of course claimed they did not. I have no idea how he got out but it is strange that we found him on their property. I suspect they let him out as we drove down their lane several times in the middle of the night. They might have suspected I was not going to give up.

[Shetlander]

I almost feel like I have done the wrong thing. I have gone to some length to socialize my dogs as they work in public. I take them to hospitals and seniors homes. They love people and they are extremely well behaved.

 

My choice would be for a well socialized dog every time. Some dogs have good sense about how to guard and will posture convincingly. Other dogs don't discriminate well and are a big liability risk if they should bite someone. For dogs like yours where you are out in public and around strangers all the time, I think friendly, balanced dogs are the best way to go. To me, an unfriendly dog biting is much more likely to happen than a friendly dog being stolen.

 

Quinn and my Sheltie would be sitting ducks for a thief if they couldn't evade the person. But I don't need to watch them like a hawk the way I do with my Lhasa -- and he's just a little guy who goes after shins and couldn't cause the damage Quinn could with that big gaping maw of his.

 

There is a lot to be said for sweet dogs.

[Tranquilis]

I almost feel like I have done the wrong thing. I have gone to some length to socialize my dogs as they work in public.

No, you've done the right thing. But sometimes, doing the right thing takes courage - In this case, courage to face the possiblity that you might lose a beloved dog.

 

As I understand (having not yet met her face-to-face), Suka is only reactive when in the car. Elsewise, she's reported as being normally well-behaved, if submissive. I guess I'll see - But I'm going to be paying careful attention to the reactivity in cars business. If it's not too annoying/disruptive, I may just leave that be.

[DTrain]

Some dogs have a sense was mentioned. I would love to know what that is. My oldest dog did not like one person we knew. Several days ago I was walking three dogs and a lady stopped to great the dogs and meet them. She seemed like a nice lady. My best dog growled and barked at her and I have no idea why but he certainly did not like her. I have never seen this in him before and he has been approached by hundreds of people. If he would do this in the truck perhaps that would be a good thing.

[mbc1963]

My dog is territory-defensive, and I've worked as much as I can on it. Strangers coming into my house or near my car are an issue. It's a tough thing to train out of Buddy - finding strangers to come to the front door so they can desensitize the dog isn't easy! Ditto with the car.

 

However, I do recognize that sometimes it's a GOOD thing that Buddy is known to all who pass to be inside my house or car, ready to do a German Shepherd imitation at a momen't notice. Ain't no one entering my house or car without my permission and a few minutes of careful introduction to The Dog.

 

Mary

[1sheepdoggal]

Some dogs have good sense about how/when to guard

 

This would be my Cain. Just for the record, he is duel trained, personal protection, and Certified Therapy dog. He works with physically and mentally handicapped adults and children, and recently, before we moved, had upped his certification to the highest level and had started working with burn patient victums. When you can get a GSD that is bred properly, ( IE has the correct mind) you couldnt ask for a better dog in any situation. I use to love to take him to the high schools to do demos, most of the kids thought he was a police dog going through doing a drug search, you should have seen the teenagers flee!

 

Cain, Head of Security, and best puppy secret keeper. "He" knows who chewed the toliet paper, but aint sayin'.

[1sheepdoggal]

Some dogs have a sense was mentioned. I would love to know what that is. My oldest dog did not like one person we knew. Several days ago I was walking three dogs and a lady stopped to great the dogs and meet them. She seemed like a nice lady. My best dog growled and barked at her and I have no idea why but he certainly did not like her. I have never seen this in him before and he has been approached by hundreds of people. If he would do this in the truck perhaps that would be a good thing.

 

Mostly it is all about pheramones, and how a person smells while you are interacting with them. I wouldnt trust a dog that jumped back and barked, not to be simply playing into the fact that a person may be a bit fearful, pick up that scent, and try to intimadate because of it. ( or become fearful itself because of it) I will trust a dog that sences a situation and puts himself physically between me and any percieved danger and calmly waits to see if a situation escalates to the point of needing intervention.

[Lenajo]

A truly aggressive dog is a liability and a nightmare I would not want.

 

A well socialized and trained dog with a natural sense of property (almost all shepherds, and some collies) will guard a car and be no danger to anyone but a thief. Its not been said, but you do need to lock the car, and make sure that the only people who get in are those that chose to break in.

 

I was at the Bluegrass the year all the thefts occured in the cars parked next to the field. As far as I know, us and one other handler, were the only 2 who didn't lose money or purses. Neither of us have aggressive dogs - heck kids could tackle the dogs I was with and nobody get anything but licks. But they do *guard their car*. As did the other handler's dogs. The sheer noise these crated dogs make if anyone actually touchs the car was enough deterrant.

[Laurae]

When I leave my dogs in my truck, I put them in the bed, which is locked with security mesh screens in the windows that open. It is still a little insecure, as the glass windows on the tailgate and on the non-opening windows can be broken to gain entry to the truck, but that's at least a little less likely. The windows are also tinted, so it's not easy to see what is inside the truck unless your face is pressed up against it.

 

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

Mostly it is all about pheramones, and how a person smells while you are interacting with them. I wouldnt trust a dog that jumped back and barked, not to be simply playing into the fact that a person may be a bit fearful, pick up that scent, and try to intimadate because of it.

 

Daisy will play up to that 9 times out of 10. If she knows someone it nervous, she will act super tough. When you have a reactive dog, it's really hard to deal with nervous people because the second you tell them they are this way, and they should no make direct eye contact or what have you, they tend to get a little freaky. It does however make me feel better about having her in my car or home alone, I know no one will try to break into either since she sounds like she's a 300lb terror. Reality is, she would just hide under the table and bark from there, but no one needs to know that. I also have a car alarm and nosey neighbours.

[Debbie Meier]

Just had a thought, if the guy that was sticking his fingers in your window was one of the theives I would be crating my dogs in the truck or the car in a location where they can't be tested for aggression or lack of. We have three dog we travel with, if I leave one loose in the front seat it will be Jake, he won't approach a stranger and rolls his eyes up at them with that, don't come closer look, if Riley was in the front seat she would be rolling her belly up saying pet me...pet me, rather steal me steal me... We have also taken one of our heelers with, cowboy security system, many time the heelers don't have to even move, just their presence is enough to deter a would be thief.

 

Deb

[afrancis]

When I had my truck and the rear latch didn't lock, if I had something worth anything in the back, I'd park backwards up against a wall or a fence or something to ensure that no one could open up the back. Granted, my dog Riley always sat in the front with me, so she would not have been protected from someone jimmying the passenger door to get her out. It's actually something I've never thought of -- that is, stealing from inside a car. Here, many people tie their dogs outside stores or coffee-shops when they go in and I've always been uneasy about that!

Ailsa

[painted_ponies]

You know, this is the reason I decided to keep Scot, my BC/LGD cross - so he could watch over me, the BC girls, and the truck while we're travelling. He's protective without being aggressive, which I believe is typical of some breeds of LGD (Scottie's more than likely part maremmma - I would think a BC/pyr cross might also have this sort of temperament). If you've got room for one more, you could always add a security guard!

 

Darci - What a sweet pic of Cain and the pup. I love GSDs, too.