Chalk marks on our garden wall now I’m on edge

[billybagpuss]

There has been a spate of dog thefts in our area most of them have been preceded by some marker on the property, most commonly chalk marks. This morning on our walk I noticed a big one on the side of our garden wall. Obviously I’ve washed it off, but now I’m on edge with every van that drives around here.

Usually she sleeps in her crate in the kitchen and unless she went ballistic at them I’m unlikely to hear anything. I don’t know whether to try and move her. I’m really on edge.

Any suggestions, I have logged with the police.

Thank goodness you noticed!

The most important thing is never to leave her in the garden unattended. And do not leave kitchen windows or back door open or unlocked.

If you feel uneasy about where her crate is, move it nearer to you. Dogs like being near their humans, so she shouldn't mind. Moving her back might be a bit of an issue though!

Keep her close to you, it’s the only way to avoid it if someone is planning to steal her. I’d not take the chance, I’d have her with me/us at all Times.

Do you have cctv or a camera doorbell or anything? I'd get it if not, and security lights for out front and back just in case.

Make sure your dog's chip details are up to date and you have clear, recent photos of them just in case.

@AintOverUntilTheCatLadySings

Do you have cctv or a camera doorbell or anything? I'd get it if not, and security lights for out front and back just in case.

Make sure your dog's chip details are up to date and you have clear, recent photos of them just in case.

I had to renew it quickly this morning, the subscription ran out as we hadn’t updated card details 😩🙄

How worrying! What breed of dog do you have if you don't mind me asking? @billybagpuss

Two friends-of-friends have had their working dogs stolen in the last few months, both of them fairly local to me. I'm normally pretty chill but that's made me edgy, so I can imagine how you must feel.

I think a motion-sensitive security light would be a good investment.

Hi OP,

Oh no how worrying! Well that’s putting it lightly - I’d be panic stricken

As others have said, update your dog’s micro chip details and take lots of photos of your dog as well as you with your dog.

Install cctv and sensor lights if you don’t already have them. Keep your doors and windows locked at all times.

Don’t leave your dog outside unsupervised whatsoever, not even out in the garden.

Let the police know of your findings re the chalk marking by reporting to your local police force online.

Have you got a particularly valuable breed? This terrifies me. Outside lockdown our pup would be considered a mutt but it still terrifies me someone could take him

Leave lights on in your house all night. This makes it tricky for people to creep around your property, plus they won't know if you're asleep or not.

Don't leave your dog home alone for the time being, take them everywhere with you or get someone to house and dog sit if you must go out.

@polkadotpjs

Have you got a particularly valuable breed? This terrifies me. Outside lockdown our pup would be considered a mutt but it still terrifies me someone could take him

No, all the others who have made headlines have been pedigree. She’s a cross, working stock.

God that’s terrifying for you. To know that your house has been marked. It’s so creepy.

I worry about this. Some idiot actually asked me if he could take a pic of my dogs recently. There's good advice online about measures we can take. The best one I heard was, in the awful event your dog is taken, send pics to all the local vets.

Is she neutered? If not, definitely get her done as it means she can't be used by puppy farmers.

But yes - it's so scary never leave them unattended and if you have to leave them home alone, make sure there's CCTV or an alarm system. Make sure her chip is upto date and that she has an ID tag on her collar.

Yes she has been done, thank goodness.

You know, the chalk mark theory has been pretty much debunked. If you think about it, why? Why would a dog thief mark your wall? Why wouldn't they just take a pic? If they were working with someone else, they'd just text them the address. Please don't worry. Leave a light on and try not to fret.

@LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett

You know, the chalk mark theory has been pretty much debunked. If you think about it, why? Why would a dog thief mark your wall? Why wouldn't they just take a pic? If they were working with someone else, they'd just text them the address. Please don't worry. Leave a light on and try not to fret.

This is true. There have also been some pranksters caught making markings on house walls because they've seen the thing going round on Facebook.

Take sensible precautions, don't let your dog out without you, and be aware of any dodgy-looking characters, but try not to stress yourself out about it.

And don’t forget that many dogs are stolen when off lead and easily enticed away. To me that’s more worrying.

The single most targeted breed/group by the dog thieves during this shitstorm have been working cockers very closely followed by their crosses with the Poodles and the labradors and their crosses.

I agree with PP, it is probably someone messing around, but with the spate of dog thefts that has been going on, I would keep a closer eye on your dog than usual, just in case. I have native ponies with long, thick manes and every windy day they get a witch's plait, which some people rather hysterically claim is them being marked out by horse thieves. Not once has anyone tried to steal the little feckers! But I also have a pair of rare breed working dogs (both done) and I keep a closer eye on them these days. We have big gates on our driveway and high fencing and the gates are now shut after the postman leaves in the morning. Anyone else coming up texts me when they arrive so I can open up for them. My only consolation is that they are so rare, no one would probably want to steal them as they wouldn't know what they are but I am not taking any chances.

Why has lockdown caused the number of dog thefts to go up? Are they being resold? How bloody worrying!

Ponchy because the price of puppies and dogs have skyrocketed during lockdown.

I always dismissed the chalk thing too, until it was mentioned in a big warning post on our local police fb page.

Feeling more at ease this morning, I had quite a stressful day yesterday with my uncle going into hospital following a fall, where he’d stayed on the floor all night unable to move and fortunately was able to get dads attention when he dropped the paper off, he’s unlikely to be able to go home without some form of care package, may even need a home. So my head was not in a great place last night.

Loads of person in the back garden warnings on the cctv this morning, it was a spider😂

Thank you all for your input, you have helped with perspective.

I also though the chalk mark thing was an urban myth, but it was definitely mentioned on social media last week by one police force in relation to a recent theft.

Chalk marks on walls will be from kids playing or athletic groups marking routes. The only time they are related to planned dog thefts is on bloody Facebook 🙄