How safe do you feel walking your dog at the moment?

[StillMedusa]

Apologies if it's been asked before, but today for the first time I realised that currently I don't :(
My girl needs at least one long off lead walk a day (she gets an on lead one in the mornings) and I've happily taken her through woodland, fields, fairly remote places..I prefer them as she can be unpredictable with unknown dogs and her happy place is anywhere she can hunt for squirrels or mice and be dog.
Earlier this week I was in one of our usual haunts when I noticed a pair of men ..no dog.. walking behind me... and it felt like they were watching me quite closely..and my dog. Luckily we weren't far from a cut through to a road so we nipped through.. they watched me go but didn't follow.

Of course it could have been entirely innocent..but it FELT wrong. I have rare breed dog and the spate of thefts here.. police confirmed.. make me nervous. I don't want to stop walking her off lead, (she wouldn't approach a stranger anyway but I guess she could be grabbed) but I don't feel SAFE.

I've pondered whether I could carry something protective but wouldn't want to be in trouble if it was illegal!
What are other people doing to be safe?

@sunflowersandbuttercups you are a refreshing ray of sunshine on this thread. The fear of ‘dognapping’ has reached near hysteria in my local area despite there being no reported incidents and the Police issuing a statement highlighting this. People have such limited ability to think proportionally and are far too quick to believe overdramatised social media rubbish.

Lots of lone men (and women) wandering around as we are in lockdown and there is f-all else to do

Am not feeling more worried than normal

@RoseRedRoseBlue aw, thank you

It's similar here to be honest and none of the hysteria is helpful. Dogs get "stolen" (ie. go missing) here everyday yet only one incident has ever been confirmed by the local police as being a genuine theft.

The others were all cases of dogs going missing on walks or escaping out of gardens/front doors. If you don't leave your dog unattended and take basic safety precautions, the likelihood that your dog ever gets stolen is miniscule.

You make a really good point about dogs going missing and wandering off - the immediate reaction seems to be that they have been stolen, which is a totally different thing. When I dared to make that point on our local community group I got absolutely flayed! Comments included that I “obviously didn’t own dogs” (I have 2), that I was “sticking up for dog thieves” (patently untrue) and so forth!

I don't feel any less safe than at any other time in the past. I walk in places where I sometimes only see one or two people who are either walking their dog or walking on their own.

I always check my surroundings but that is natural with a working dog breed to make sure there isn't anything unusual to chase . I always adopt a confident manner which I think is important safety wise generally anyway and trust my instincts.

Take sensible precautions but it is also important to put the risk into context.

@RoseRedRoseBlue

You make a really good point about dogs going missing and wandering off - the immediate reaction seems to be that they have been stolen, which is a totally different thing. When I dared to make that point on our local community group I got absolutely flayed! Comments included that I “obviously didn’t own dogs” (I have 2), that I was “sticking up for dog thieves” (patently untrue) and so forth!

Oh yes, I haven't dared vocalise such logic online because anyone who does gets absolutely ripped apart in my experience

Like you say it's like as soon as a dog disappears, people leap to "it must have been stolen!" - they don't consider the fact that the dog may just have wandered off on a scent, gotten lost or taken advantage of the fact that the gate was left open!

I don’t feel safe at all.
But then I never feel truly safe out and about anywhere without my DH.
Sad reflection of the world we live in.

Sometimes me and DH discuss breeds we might get in the future or after current dog passes.
I often think I’d prefer a small breed this time and think about small, ‘cute’ breeds like Chihuahuas, papillons, toy poodles etc then think no, I couldn’t as it would never get walked by me (and I am the one who does the majority of current dogs walks) as I’d be too scared; both of theft and of predatory men approaching/attacking me.

I feel as safe as ever. All dogs stolen round here are the usual suspects - puppies widely advertised for sale being kept in outbuildings, or dogs left outdoors when their owners are out. Or that have escaped after being left in the garden and not stolen at all

There's a special place in hell reserved for dog thieves. I would never leave my boy tied up outside a shop & Ive drilled that into family members too.
But i feel safe as houses walking him any time day or night. But he is a pretty big dog who wouldn't allow a strange man with bad intentions to get near us.

It is true that theft numbers are apparently low but you have to take into account attempted but unsuccessful attempts, which the two police forces close to me have said they don't record. I think we have had about 6 attempted dog thefts on the streets (not always same suspects/vehicles) in the last couple of months. It makes sense to be vigilant.

Hiya @sunflowersandbuttercups yup we do all those precautions too, and something I've added in since last week when we did have a genuine attempted theft locally is taking photos of all parked vehicles anywhere near my route.

Im scared of taking my puppies out as I take them both out at the same time. I might get some of the safety spray just as a precaution.

@QueenOfLabradors

Hiya *@sunflowersandbuttercups* yup we do all those precautions too, and something I've added in since last week when we did have a genuine attempted theft locally is taking photos of all parked vehicles anywhere near my route.

Oh, that's a good idea

I tend to walk in places where you just see the same locals all the time - they all know who I am and who the dogs belong to anyway!

I guess it's one of the advantages to living in a very close knit community. I've never felt unsafe as I know who everyone is!

465 dogs were recorded as stolen last year byy police an increase of nearly 300 on the previous year. A small number but still an increase.

I do not worry when walking but do always avoid popular dog walking areas for other reasons!

We walk for hours at a time and see noone at all.

I use a blue lead on my pup to make her look like a boy

Why would this help? Thefts aren’t sex related, they steal the dog on looks first, if it’s entire it will be used for breeding or sold as pets, neutered it’s a pet or a bait dog.

I have a small breed that would be easy to grab and run off with. I am walking him less these days as it’s easier to walk him off lead, he doesn’t like long leads. It’d be easy to bend down and grab him and I doubt I could stop anyone.

This wouldn't help in a dog napping situation but just worth a mention. 2 things you cam do on your phone:

-you can programme your lock screen button to automatic message people of your choice in your contacts by pressing it 4 times. Its sends an sos text, your location and it starts to record audio. This can be found in your security settings.

-you can choose person from your WhatsApp to send a live location tracker. It can run from 1-8 hours so they can track you on your walk. If you open a chat with the person, click on the paperclip you'll see a location option, select live and the length of time.

Feel pretty safe, yes. I'd like to see someone trying to steal a St Bernard that just decides she isn't moving when out and about. You couldn't run with her, and you couldn't lift her (too heavy) to make a fast getaway. Crap dogs to want to steal. They just aren't like your in demand breeds that are extremely portable.

Everyone's got those bloody French Bulldogs.
God love them, sweet little things, but they're like the Pandora bracelet of the dog world. Overpriced & poor quality yet everyone obsessed with them.

And cockapoos, everywhere in suburbia and even some in the countryside, pups selling for 2-3k

I feel very safe. There's been no reported suspicious behaviour around dogs in our village. My dog is a very common breed, he's neutered but looks like a puppy and is very cute. So maybe desirable to thieves? They would have to be very quick to catch him, he wouldn't willingly go with a stranger.

I feel pretty safe, but I have a lot of things in my corner, so to speak.

The dog is big and handsome and striking for his breed, but is also nervous of other people/dog and so likely to back up and bark. He especially hates someone looking at him and approaching him or reaching out for him so is likely to try and evade capture for that reason.

We live rurally and - because of the above - tend to look for wide open spaces to walk so that I can see other people from a distance and avoid them. That makes it hard for anyone to sneak up on us because I am always looking for other people and ensure I have good line of sight over long distances.

I am also pretty tall and solid looking

In short, I think we're both more hassle than he's worth. Or, at least, I hope so!

I don’t worry too much. Mine are around 11 stone and don't move when they don’t want too. I doubt it would be easy to lift them up and run. They don’t do running so it would be a slow getaway
Plus they would have to get past my German shepherd to steal the big dogs and she would not let anyone touch her family very easily.
I have a breed that people want to look at and that’s fine but I doubt they are popular enough to steal.

Saying that I am cautious. I wouldn’t leave mine outside unattended. Don’t leave them tied up and don’t let them approach people off lead.

Lots of the dogs I see stolen on Facebook seem to be ones that live in kennels outside, mine are inside under lock and key!

Surely most dogs are stolen for immediate sale. They can’t see if a dog is neutered before grabbing it. Many are working dogs, kennelled outside.
It’s ironic that our pets are worth thousands yet other countries are over run with homeless strays.

@Hovverry

I agree they wouldnt waste time checking if neutered. Thieves are opportunists and will grab what they can get. The worst of it for me is the thought of the ones who they take for fighting or bait it truly breaks my heart . God there's some evil people in the world. But as everyone has said, just have to be sensible and proportionate. I would never leave a dog alone outside where someone could take them.

We lost our old girl in December, she won’t be replaced. I rarely feel unsafe out walking, even at night, with or without dog.

There is one place that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable after dark (woodland, only one path 2 miles long) so I just keep away at night.
I generally feel very safe on our streets but we are provincial, fairly quiet place, not a high crime rate.