Found a phone in my garden - isolated property - shit scared

Ooh I’m intrigued
I will need to find out for the day I have my home in the middle of nowhere!

*nasty, not mast

I have just caught up on everything and I think a GSD is never a bad idea. (I was raised by one who taught me to walk when everyone thought I had brain damage and thought it was never going to happen. Turned out it was a genetic joint problem and wouldn’t have been diagnosed without that gorgeous, soppy dog! Also protected me from my mum who had post-natal psychosis.) I now have a Shiloh Shepherd who is bigger, and completely silly. (Not guard dog material. Not recommended for this situation.) Just make sure dog has passed Penn hip vet test, and has no heart murmur (especially if under two years old.) Sheps are lovely people but you don’t want any mast medical surprises.

Hi @ScarredBunny, been reading since the start. Anyone with an ounce of empathy would understand why you were so unsettled. Ignore the heartless gits, most of whom clearly need to RTFT! Hope you're feeling less freaked out and that you've seen and heard the last of the rogue iPhone.

@ScarredBunny vegetables have been safe so far (too lazy to do the picking/digging to get the vegetables) it's the tools they go for.

Depending on your home situation the intruder may have been scouting around to see if you had machinery in the shed or a car worth stealing. But yes, I can imagine them wanting a closed gate between themselves and a dog.

If they do the forensics they will find my fingerprints all over it!

that and the remnants of your last casserole that spilled over 🍲

Btw your house sounds amazing and I love GSDs can I come and house sit for you?

Of course it’s scary. Anyone who’s had intruders knows how horrible it is.

Yes it could be a fox there’s more than one video on the internet easily found of it happening.

Alternatively it could have been a person but it’s extremely unlikely they’d come back after being barked at. Especially knowing you had the phone which they will wonder if you’ve given to the police.

Most burglars are looking for an easy opportunity and no hassle and will stay well away now.

OP totally get why you have been rattled by this.

We used to live semi-rurally, backing onto extensive farmland, about a mile from the nearest main road.

One time we had a police helicopter above, and officers on the ground, tracking what turned out to be a drug dealer who’d abandoned his car on the main road and ran away across the fields towards our house.

Point of this story! We had a gorgeous soppy GSD at the time and a feisty cheekyJack Russell. People would cross the road on seeing the huge GSD.

Guess which one went potty when the police were scouting around and was the best guard dog?
The JRT.

Sadly, our dogs are no longer with us but both had long lives and died at good ages. Our GSD was 14 and our JRT was 17.

Very glad you are hoping to rehome a GSD, especially as you have already owned one and know about the breed. They are not for the faint-hearted!

Wishing you solace and peaceful nights in future.

@LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow
I work in rescue and I always say to people who are missing pets that they’ve lost, please adopt/foster and give another dog the love your dog had 🐶🥰

“ Burglars don't read - they leave shelves of books behind.)”

When I was in my 20s, a mate had her houseshare broken into.

They took all the CDs including dance, trance, 80s - but left the Duran Duran.

right..now i am mad!!!

who put that GSD link up??....I want another pupper so much but annoyingly am still not over my last two boys who died at 9 and 7 in the same year and COMPLETELY devastated me, so weeping and cooing over basically all of them and pondering....

that white one is gorgeous!

I really miss having a dogface about, and having to remember to lock doors and all that. 2x 50kgGSD is a fair intruder deterrant, esp as one was super fluffy and looked twice that size.

very jealous that you might have a new dog to coo at.

Please tell - which John Le Carre book is the trick in? I have been trying to remember - and failing. (Burglars don't read - they leave shelves of books behind.)

“ I've put in place a nifty little trick (thank you John Le Carré) that will let us know if someone has come round again or not.”

I’m going to have to try and figure this out.

Glad you’re feeling better OP.

Dog news exciting ! I did a little google on the huge guarding breed they also have, Caucasian Shepherd dogs, (as we are house hunting more remotely) but they sound very difficult to own, and possibly extremely dangerous. I will stick to terriers I think !
OP this was very likely to be a one off reccy, as your dog came out, I think it unlikely that the same person will return. They were probably checking to see if the house was unoccupied.

I live in a little estate but at the very top so no properties backing onto mine. If I found a phone in my garden I'd be scared too, so those of you judging "what are you so scared of" need to give your heads a wobble.
OP I hope the mystery is solved, but in the mean time make sure to check all your locks at night and, if it makes you feel better, get some cheap cctv xxx

I feel that some people really don’t understand how remote some properties can be.

I grew up rurally but we were in a very small village with neighbours.
One of my friends lived in a very remote house. His house was up a 1/2 mile long drive from a main road. His family owned all the land around it. There were no foot paths, roads within about 5 miles except the main one, no other houses for a couple of miles.
No one would be anywhere near that house unless they were going to the house.

We used to have wind chimes just inside our back & front door, I used to quite enjoy the reaction as visitors were almost bought to their knees by the sound of them as I opened the door. The problem was they did the same to us as we often forgot about them, so I removed them to save our nerves.

Hope you can get some sleep op.
To those people who are getting offended should look at the times op is posting the replies - she has not slept properly in days - give her a break!
Op I definitely understand why you would be concerned about this whole incident.

Good luck with your application for a new dog!