As dog owners, we all need to aware of the rise in dog thefts over the past year. Coronavirus has seen a huge rise in people buying puppies and taking on rescue dogs, as a lot of people have had more time to spend with our canine pals. The cost of buying puppies has gone up a considerable amount, and because of this, thieves are now targeting dogs more than ever. There have even been reports of organised crime groups now specifically targeting dogs and puppies, instead of drugs.

Whilst the threat is still relatively rare, we need to be sensible and cautious with our dogs to ensure they are as safe as possible. In this blog, I am going to give some tips for dog owners on this.

Firstly, try to vary the times and locations of your walks. We try to mix things up at Jurassic Bark for the dogs enjoyment, but this is now also helpful to deter criminals.

Keep them inside with you, or have a secure lock and security camera if they live outside in kennels. I am a firm believer that dogs should live inside with their families anyway. There have been incidents where dogs have been stolen from their outside kennels during the night, even with cutting padlocks. Security surveillance could deter them, or catch them if the worst happened. For those of us who keep our dogs inside, don’t leave them unattended in the garden if there is another way for people to access it other than from the back door of the house. I have a side gate and have been looking into getting a lock that will set off an alarm if it’s tampered with.

Try not to talk to strangers too much about your dog, especially if they are asking whether they have been spayed/ neutered. Never tell a stranger where you have walked from, or where you live.

Ensure that your dog is chipped and has a tag with your current information on. Thieves have been known to cut chips out, but you are more likely to get your dog back if they have one with your information on. This is also a legal requirement anyway, so all dogs should be chipped, and have a tag on when out in public. Make sure you have plenty of photos of your dog, even better if you are in them as well. This proves ownership. Make sure you keep all your dogs documents safe as well - any passports, certificates or vaccination records.

If you let your dog off lead, make sure they have a solid recall and don’t let them run up to strangers or out of sight. We are vigilant with the dogs we walk and only let them off the lead if we are sure they will recall to us, and obviously if we have permission from their owners.

Don’t ever leave your dog unattended in your car, if you are going out of sight. We always try to make our collections and drop offs as quick as possible if it means going out of sight of our vans, and of course they are always locked if we are away from them for any period of time.

This is a really obvious one - NEVER leave your dog tied up outside a shop! Anyone could walk off with them. This baffles me every time I see it.

Make sure you report any concerning incidents. Even better, record anything suspicious on your phone if you are worried. Be wary of other people out walking, especially if they don’t have a dog and you are walking in a quiet area. You are probably less likely to be targeted if you’re walking somewhere busy with other walkers.

Thieves are constantly adapting schemes to throw people off. Recently there have been reports of them driving around in vans with RSPCA stickers on and telling owners their dog has been reported stolen. If this sort of thing ever happens to you, then offer to accompany them to the vets to get the dogs chip scanned. Never just give your dog away, even if the person shows some sort of ID.

Make sure you are careful with anyone you let walk your dog. Be wary of people advertising the service for free online. When you hire a dog walker, you should always check them out first, including asking for relevant documents (insurance, canine first aid, DBS check) and testimonials from other clients.

This is all about common sense and being a bit more wary. It’s such a shame that it has come to this, and by no means does it mean you can’t speak to anyone when out and about. A lot of people will love to chat with other walkers, especially at the moment with so many people isolated from human interaction. Just remain vigilant. If you are worried, get your dog back on the lead immediately, and possibly get your phone out ready to record. You could also look at body cameras, or dog trackers if you are concerned.

I have personally contacted both West Berkshire Police, and Avon and Somerset Police to ask about the recent statistics on dog theft reports, to work out what the risk is in our areas. I will add the information on here if and when they get back to me. I do believe that even though it has gone up, it is still minimal - for example, the highest rise in reports from 2019 - 2020 came from Northumbria Police and it had increased from 27 to 67 reports. There are over 300,000 people living there, and the general statistic for the UK is around 26% of us own a dog, which means around 78,000 people there would likely have a dog. 67 out of 78,000 is still low, even though of course every stolen pet is absolutely devastating. I just mention this so that people get an idea of the numbers

If you do see anything concerning - let your local community know. Whether that is just speaking to friends, or posting publicly on social media. You can always get in touch with us, and we would be happy to share. The more people are aware, the safer we will be.

If you ever think your dog has been stolen, or if you have lost them, please feel free to reach out to us and we will do what we can to help.