Dog Theft in Bedford - 8 Tips to Stop your Dog from Being Stolen
It’s a widely talked about and unfortunate fact that with along with the actually rather pleasant rise in dog ownership since the pandemic hit, the number of dog thefts has risen too (up 170% since lockdown began according to charity DogLost). The desire to bring a puppy into the family after we were granted enforced time at home has not only seen a huge rise in the cost of puppies but also a huge rise in demand. Many of the places you would typically buy a puppy online are incredibly easy to get listed on, and whilst us dog trainers hope that you would be able to find a responsible breeder, that simply isn’t reality. Responsible breeders home their puppies responsibly. Rescue centres have strict requirements and checks for where they rehome dogs. Dog thieves are eager to sell, and don’t care about where a dog goes.
A dog thief ideally wants to sell, or breed from a stolen dog, then sell the puppies. As such, there are some dogs that will look a lot more interesting than others. Cockapoos, French Bulldogs, Dachshunds, Cocker Spaniels, Jack Russells and Labradors are on the list of most popular dog breeds in the UK for 2021. This means they’re in high demand and a resale should be straightforward. Young dogs will be attractive as they may yet not have been neutered, and puppies are a gold mine. It’s not a limited list, however. One could argue that opportunity is the biggest attraction of them all.
This is where we come in. We want to discuss what these opportunities are and how to minimise risk and maximise your dog’s safety.
One.
Opportunity: your dog approaches them
Your dog loves people or other dogs. You let them off lead at the park and they run up to a person to say hi. Let’s imagine that person has treats on them. As they feed them the treat, they pick your dog up or clip a lead on and off they go. Similarly, it’s entirely possible that they could use a decoy dog to lure your dog over.
Solution: train a solid recall
If your dog doesn’t recall perfectly each and every time, don’t let them off the lead. Use a long line. You can buy a waterproof one here: Rock It Dog Design Long Line or here: Viper Long Line.
Once you have your long line, you need to practise, practise, practise, and use the line to make sure you succeed. Your dog should be able to recall immediately away from other dogs, other people, and anything else that they may find distracting or exciting. If you’re not there yet, you’ve still got work to do.
Two.
Opportunity: they’re alone
The thief is hanging around the quieter parts of a popular dog walking spot. Your dog is off lead and you’re taking your usual route with them. You don’t always keep your dog in sight – they know the way, sometimes they run ahead, sometimes they lag behind. That’s ok, it’s their walk anyway right? This is the perfect opportunity for a dognapper to take your dog and not get caught in the act. They’re going to think of this moment as the opportunity falling in their lap.
Solution: focus on your dog more
Your dog shouldn’t be out of your sight when outside. If you want to make the walk more fun for the dog, consider playing with a toy or scattering some treats and playing search games with them. If you can’t see them, it’s simply not safe.
Side note – you wouldn’t believe the amount of dogs I’ve seen toilet unbeknownst to their owners because they were entirely out of sight.
Three.
Opportunity: they cut your lead
Your personal preference is the flexi lead. You like the freedom it gives your dog on a walk and it means you don’t have to let them off lead – which is a good solution if you’re worried about your dog not recalling. Your dog still does its own thing though and likes to wander up to people to give them a sniff. They wander up to a friendly looking dognapper who says “hello puppy!” and out come a pair of scissors that cut through your flexi lead as they pick your dog up and leave.
Solution: limit the range of the lead
We don’t hate flexi leads here at Fetch Club. We feel they have a place if long lines aren’t your thing, and in some ways offer opportunities that a normal long line doesn’t. We do think they should come with user guidelines though as 1) they can be awkward to operate which can easily lead to injury and 2) the wire ones are impossible to see and therefore a major trip hazard to other people/bikes. Use your lead appropriately and hit that button when your dog looks like they’re going to wander up to someone you don’t know. Keep your dog close in pedestrianised areas and don’t give them the full length of the lead to walk way up ahead of you along a path.
Four.
Opportunity: you let them say hi to your puppy
Having a puppy is like having a people magnet. Everyone loves puppies, and everyone wants to say hi. You think it’s nice for the puppy and an important part of their socialisation so you always say yes when people ask and can’t wait to tell them all about the new addition to your family. A dog thief might target you as you have hold of what they see as a gold mine. All that’s left to do is get the puppy away from you, and if you’ve already granted them permission to say hi and cuddle your puppy, it’s now a lot easier.
Solution: limit your puppy’s interaction with strangers
Good and proper socialisation for a puppy means A LOT of positive exposure, yet very little direct interaction is needed. This means it’s absolutely not necessary for your puppy to meet every total stranger who fawns over it, it adds little to nothing to their life. Better to have your puppy around lots of different types of people and give it plenty of food so that it can create positive associations with the sight and presence of people with far less confrontation for them. If someone you don’t know asks to say hi, “no, thank you” is a perfectly polite and reasonable answer.
Five.
Opportunity: your dog is left unsupervised in your garden
You want the dog to get a bit of exercise, they’re under your feet so you put them out in the garden to have some fun. Even worse, they’re barking at something out there which attracts attention to them. The opportunistic thief goes through your garden gate, steals your dog and leaves. It might even take you a while to realise your dog has gone.
Solution: don’t leave your dog outside unsupervised
23% of dogs that get stolen are stolen from their garden, as compared to 11% stolen whilst out walking. If they have excess energy, play some enrichment games indoors, do some training or take them out for a walk. Ensure that your garden is secure.
Six.
Opportunity: your dog is outside while you’re in a shop
You need to nip to the corner shop and take the dog for a walk. You kill 2 birds with 1 stone by combining both of those tasks, but they don’t allow dogs in the shop, so you tie your dog up outside. While you’re inside, a thief spots your dog tied up and alone, and seizes the moment to take them.
Solution: don’t tie your dog up outside
I’m afraid you’re going to have to separately exercise your dog and nip to the shops, or you can take someone else with you to wait outside with the dog. But essentially, tying your dog up outside a shop is a big, big risk.
Seven.
Opportunity: the thief knows where you are
You love your dog so much you created an Instagram account for them. (If this is you, make sure you’re following us @fetchclubbedford). You post stories and grid posts and you geotag their location to show what they’ve been up to and where they’ve been. You proclaim that Bedford Park is their favourite spot to walk, and you post on your stories every day at 3pm when you walk there. Perhaps you post pictures that include the identifying information on your dog’s ID tag attached to their collar. The thief could either show up at the park at 3pm looking for your dog, or they could show up to your address – the one listed on the dog’s collar.
Solution: use socials sensibly
Don’t geotag your favourite spots, or perhaps geotag much wider areas, like ‘Bedford’ instead of ‘Russell Park’. Don’t post in a way that would demonstrate you have a routine of where your dog will be; a good way to get around this is to post content a day later. Blur out your dog’s ID tag info using the facetune app or some other app, and maybe try to consider the ID tag when you’re taking the photo if fiddling about with photoshop-style apps isn’t your thing.
Eight.
Final tip: check where your new dog or puppy is from
If you buy a puppy or a dog, get their microchip scanned at the vet. By law, all dogs in England and Wales must have a microchip installed by 8 weeks old. The chip should either be in your breeder’s name, proprietor’s name, rescue’s name or yours, because they’ve given you the associated paperwork to transfer ownership. If the name doesn’t match up, there’s a sign that your new dog may have in fact been stolen.
I desperately hope that dog theft statistics start moving in a downward trend, and hopefully with harsher sentences coming into place for the disgusting crime we may see that, but in the meantime, with the world still in a state of upheaval and many of us still bringing home new dogs, I hope these tips help you in keeping your furry friend where they should be: right next to you. These aren’t in particular ‘training’ tips, but rather tips that I hope will spark a thought or two about habits you might have that may seem innocuous to you but actually could be posing a bit of a risk to your dog.
Written by Jen, Head Walker and Dog Trainer at Fetch Club.
