Two incidents have brought this subject to my attention. First, I drove by a large 4 X 8 sign in front of someone's house that said "Reward for stolen dog" I could see an empty kennel in the yard. Second, I was training my dog downtown and some guy stopped and said, "I had a nice dobe once, someone stole him right out of his kennel"....
Now I'm paranoid.
We are planning on building a kennel off of a large shed that we have. Any tips on keeping things secure or am I just over-reacting?

 Quote: lori gallo

We are planning on building a kennel off of a large shed that we have. Any tips on keeping things secure or am I just over-reacting?

There are more than a few of us here who are paranoid about our dog's safety . You are not alone!

As far as overreacting, it's such a boring statement but, better safe than sorry!

I don't kennel my dog but if I did, there'd be a roof and a lock on the door. I'd also not leave him outside while I was out/away from the house but that's just me being paranoid . I know it's not always possible for people to keep their dog in the house while they are out/at work.

Yeesh, the guy had a dobe stolen? I'll bet he was stolen by someone who knew the dog was safe to handle. Someone like a neighbor, family "friend", the FedEx guy, etc. Otherwise, who would be stupid enough to steal a full grown dobe that they never laid eyes on before? Very few people indeed.

Edited by Judy Troiano (03/05/2007 01:47 PM)
Edit reason: typo

If I were to leave my dog outside in a kennel, I'd padlock it for sure. Yes, you could cut it off, but that would involve a saw, so there'd have to be some pre-planning. At least it would minimize the chance of a spur of the moment snatch, though.

Now I have a 6ft privacy fence, and in the yard I have a 30x7 chainlink run. I would lock that if I left my APBT alone in there; she's beautiful, friendly, and easy to steal. Not only easy to steal, but easy to poison, which I think may have been happening for a while. She kept getting sick whenever left outside alone. I put my GSD in the yard with her and never had another problem. He doesn't let anyone near his bitch, LOL. My GSD would be a difficult boy to drag off to the car;-), so I don't worry as much about someone stealing him.

But, yes, this is something to worry about depending on the dog. When my GSD was younger, I NEVER left him outside alone for fear someone would actually know what he was and steal him. Black GSDs are too trendy for my taste.

I'd put kennel in the middle of the fenced in back yard, put the pure bred in the kennel and a nasty ass big mongrel in the yard.

We're not planning on leaving the dogs out in a kennel while we're gone, just looking for a place to keep them while we have company or if I'd like the house to be clean for more than 5 minutes. I just don't think I realized that there are people out there that'll walk into a yard and take a dog. Must of had my head in the sand.
I often walk one of my dogs in a downtown area then put him in the van while I run into a store to do some errands. I am not going to do that anymore...It only takes a minute. I would absolutely freak if I returned to find my dogs gone.

I have dark glass in my minivan windows so my dog is not visible when left in there alone. However, I always do the errand first, then get him out for a walk. I never walk him first and put him in the car and leave him alone. I don't like anyone to know he's in there.

when brix's with me on "errand runs" into town, he's locked in the car while i'm gone. if it's summer, the car's running w/AC on. i figure someone would have to want him pretty badly to actually break into a car in a busy parking lot to get him; most ppl are a little leery just looking at him wagging his tail.

if i had to kennel him outside, it'd be a locked facility, but thank god dog thievery isn't the issue around here!

I used to take my adult male GSD on walks to the store. I'd platz him then run in the store for an item or two. This dog was very stable with people, I knew I could trust him if someone wanted to pet him. Once I came out of the store to find a woman trying to drag him away by his leash. He refused to budge and luckily didn't bite the bitches face off. She told me she thought he was a lost dog (sure bet). I learned a great lesson that day. Now that I am older and wiser, I can't believe I would be so stupid as to put my dog in the position of having to deal with strangers trying to pet/steal him!

Susan,

This is from the perspective of policing and air-headed suburban community, but I swear to God it seems like people go out cruising for the express purpose of picking up animals to report to the police (as a favor to us it seems, with how proud of themselves they act).

I can't help but wonder how many of these dogs and cats (particularly) have made the mistake of traveling past their own home's front yard sidewalk or less.

These are the same people who report injured vermin, and claim to see wolves.

So, I would not doubt she thought the dog was lost. Not ruling out theft, however, but I can't honestly say I've ever had a report of a *stolen* pet....yet. Though, maybe escapism is just assumed on the owner's part. Hard to say.

Intuitively speaking, though my dark side ponders the theft of many things, it doesn't seem like the idea of stealing an animal out of pure covetousness would appeal to many otherwise theft-minded people. It would seem even a criminal dog enthusiast would want to start an unadulterated relationship with a dog.

Now, a nuisance neighborhood animal which someone takes to drive out into the boondocks to get rid of...that's a different story.

i used to park my full grown male mastiff out on the sidewalk in nyc to wait for me when i was in a store. we did that without incident for 8 years. no one ever bothered him, and he never bothered anyone.

then, one day, i came out of a store only a block from my apartment to find him gone. i couldn't believe it.

i was nearly hysterical by the time i got home. the first thing i did was call his veterinarian's office to report him missing, since he was wearing a rabies tag from them. the vet tech who answered the phone informed me that sam was with her in the office. she had taken him herself when she saw him sitting outside. she said she did it so he wouldn't be stolen, but i think she was trying to make a point with me.

i was totally outraged. no one had laid a finger on the dog in all those years, and here comes the smart-ass who works for my vet, scaring me half to death. i gave her a tongue lashing that day that singed off her ears.

i am pretty sure the only reason sam went with her is because he knew her. i continued to take him everywhere with me and park him on the sidewalk. i guess i believed that nobody in their right mind would try to steal a mastiff. you can't exactly run with them, they slobber like crazy, they aren't easy to hide, and they eat five lbs. of food a day at least. i never did have a problem since, either.

i was in my 20s then, and a pretty poor pet owner by my current standards. i wonder if i would do the same now? i very much doubt it, though my current mastiff would never let a stranger touch him in a million years.

i worry more about him being harassed or poisoned in our yard from over the fence. he is NEVER outside unless i'm home.