over the park the other day i had all the dogs and mikey running around we had a lovely day and then mikey needed a wee,well theres no toilets in the country park so i told bella and troy to lay down and stay (PUT THEYRE LEADS BACK ON) and took mikey into the bush not far but enough so people couldnt see mikey doing his wee wee,anyways two boys gotta have been in 20's came over and was fussing bella and troy and cos im still holding mikey in mid wee i couldnt do nothing but say please dont touch them ill be out in a minute and you can stroke them well bella and troy had rolled over and were both enjoying the fuss.
next thing i knew bella was crying like something had hurt her yellping you know....

i ran out (i could see where they were i was just yards away but had my back to them)with mikey in my arms and they were running away with troy  bella came running over to me so i started screaming at troy to come and all he could do was turn and look at me still strotting along with them.not being able to hold onto miley and bellas lead i had no choice but to let her off and to follow behind me running after troy.
bella done no more but ran over to troy and was growling i could hear her...i think she meant it too  honestly i still shake at the thought of it.they let him go and run off.

troy came back over to me all stump wagging but ive never been so scared in all the time ive had my dogs.
can you belive they were actually gonna steal him.a rottweiler! and dunno what i would have been able to do if they'd have challenged me as i was on my own with two dogs and maggie and mikey.
now what do i do not walk the dogs on my own i always thought i was safe with two rotties but now what?

just wanted to share with you all so nothin like this happens to you guys as i know all our dogs are lovely,but how do you teach your dog to not go with someone eles.he was on a lead and he'll do just as he's told.when we did puppy classes he used to be handled by loads of different people so he (i suppose)thought no more of it!
off lead im not sure he'd have gone i came home shaking and really upset obviously called the police but as usual the crime wasnt commited so cant do nothing!!!!!! as theyres no proof they wanted to steal him.
now was gonna go over the park today with mikey and dogs and thought what if theyre waiting to steal someones dog.

what do i do now.nothing thats what,nothin i can do accept hope.

How scary!!!! That would happen to my dogs I'm sure, Jack is so friendly and loves everyone.

Are they trained to the whistle i know this is weird but even if my daughter holds ours and i have a rotti i can be at the other end of the field and 2 short blows and she'll pull like mad with my daughter to get back to me.

Alot of this going round we have been warned of people pretending to be dog wardens trying to take your dogs as you violated something or other, and not sure if the border collie is still missing that was actually taken out of the old ladies hands in the field behind her house.

Some terrible people out there that just makes it scarey to take your beloved dogs out, i tend to stick to non public places where i never see a sole, lots of fields our way that farmers let me use for mine

Glad the outcome was good tho

if it was bella theyd have gone nowhere but would have been dragged to me but troy is so soft he just does exactly what hes told no matter what.iv thought about teaching them to follow my commad only but then im in trouble should i need them to lisen to someone els the whistle sounds like a good idea.i do actually have a different sounding whistle and they know its me but all i could do was scream and run to be honest and i wasnt getting far i had mikey in my arms.without bella he'd be gone.

That's frightening! :-( I'm so glad you've still got both your dogs safe and sound.

That must of been so frightening, just goes to show no where is really safe. Thankfully you got your dogs back.

I always take a walking stick or something like it with me on a walk. i've never had a problem and live in a quiet village with very little crime but it just makes me feel safe. i walk across lots of very quiet fields and really there's not a lot you could do if someone aproached you. i refuse to stop walking though otherwise these criminals win and my dogs miss out on all the enjoyment they get.
I'm sure if this actually happened to me though i'd be very scared to go back to the same place.
If you do go back can you take another dog walker with you, safety in numbers etc  

> I'm so glad you've still got both your dogs safe and sound.

thank you.x

taking a stick with me IS my dogs.if you get me my dogs are large dogs but are big softies.when we're out we always see the same people and its nice cos the dogs run round wth all the other dogs and play they love it.but i just cannot see how no one heard me screaming and didnt come.
there were loads of people about and in that split minute theyd all gone.

How terribal! glad you got him back, i feel for you i rember when my mates dog got nicked we were in compleat panic it was horrible, lucky another owner saw him outside a shop and carried him all the way back to where we were looking for him.

justme idea sounds realy good. My nabours westy will just wander off with any stranger so i have to make sure that i dont give her the chance, I dont think there is realy anything else that you could do. Also i would put up some posters around the area warning other owners that there are 2 blokes trying to steal dogs.

People just don't seem to want to get involved with things these days, i suppose it's because of all the horror stories on the news ie young people carrying knifes.
Isn't there a spray you can carry with you? can't remember what it is but i'd think about getting one and putting it in pouch that clips on my belt for my treats and poo bags.
Like you i see lots of people and dogs i know but when wondering somewhere new or along way from other people think it's better to carry something, even if a stick is a pain to carry.
Hope it hasn't put you off going out too much.

My rotti is also friendly when out and to be honest i want the breed to look like any other family pet so encourage people to stroke mine, i never started training her to the whistle till she was 8 and she took to it easy one short blow for stop in your tracks 2 short blows for return to me, works a treat. I now have 5 dogs all trained to the whistle that i know would pull like a train to get back to me, as they know i have the treats so returning to me is a good thing.

I agree tho maybe contact the dog warden just to let them know in case they get a rise in strays, they could take them and then dump them somewhere once bored with them

There is a spray and an attack alarm is useful too. I was flashed at several times when walking my dogs in the woods behind my old house and the police man who took my statement gave me 2 to carry. They really are deafening and if nothing else would get other peoples attention if you weren't close enough to bother the person it was meant for.
I had 2 rough looking chaps approach me when i was out with 2 of my GR girls asking how much puppies were etc. Far too many questions for my liking but i made out mine were both spayed, puppies were very difficult to sell and they had awful pedigrees and no one would want their pups anyway. I don't know what they were planning but i think i managed to put them off. It scared me half to death and i walked a different route for about 3 months after that. 
Glad you got your boy back and i hope you never have to deal with a situation like that again.
mel.x

how frightening for you, I'm so glad they didn't get away with your dog.

> now what do i do not walk the dogs on my own i always thought i was safe with two rotties but now what?

the fact that your dog could be lead away while his lead was laying on the floor, does not mean that he would happily go with somebody who tried to take him off you, while you were holding the lead.

A few months ago, on the local news, a man tried to mug a  blind female pensioner (what an utter scum bag ), but her guide-dog warded off the mugger. The husband of the lady, reported that the dog has never ever so much as growled at anybody before and they were very suprised that thier soft-natured, well socialised, trained, guide-dog protected the her.

Dogs know when thier owners are at risk, and somebody trying to take a lead from your hand, may well spark a fluffy of protectiveness form your dogs.

Hardly normal circumstances & certainly no reason to think the dogs would be stolen again. At the end of the day they were left unattended, it would not have happened otherwise. Doesn't matter if you could still see them.This is why i can never ever understand these people that forever leave thier dogs tied up outside shops then wonder why they get stolen. The sad fact is that there is a market for stolen dogs.

Personally i would have taken the dogs in the bushes with me or at least found a spot where i could take the dogs and the child together. Ok i am surprised anyone would attempt to take a Rottweiler but i just wouldn't take the risk whatever the breed is because these are the sort of senario's that opportunist thieves are looking for & it is crazy to provide such an opportunity in this day and age because you cant trust people.

> At the end of the day they were left unattended, it would not have happened otherwise. Doesn't matter if you could still see them

no it wouldnt have happened but i think this statement is a little unfair cos my dogs were just outside the bush.they wasnt far from me at all.i could read the writing on the blokes shirt,i spoke to them without having to raise my voice they were hardly left alone.i just didnt wanna get tangled up holding onto leads and holding baby while having a wee.they were close to me idnever leave my dogs unattened in the park.the only place they can go wothout me watching is our garden!
if id have thought for one minute my rottweiler could be possibly walked away right under my nose then id have made baby have a wee in the feild and stayed in sight of all the people around to have a moan at me.

tamara
How frightened you must have been.  I bet you were shaking by the time you got home.  So very pleased that you actually had both dogs to take home with you.  If it can happen to a Rottie owner, it can happen to anyone.

Tamara you dont have to justify yourself to any one,you did nothing wrong.
Iwould have done just the same as you.
Im afraid its the world we live in thats all wrong.

How awful especially as you had children with you.

Something I worry about all the time is my dogs being stolen.. I am very sure one would not go. The other for a bit of sausage, would be any ones!!

What an awful thing to happen and as you say with a rottie you would think they would leave well alone,just becaus f his breed. I am so glad you got him back safely there are to many scum bags around !

btw I had to smile at myself it took me a few minutes to realise that Mikey was your baby  I couldn't work out why he had to wee in private so I am just stupid !

So glad your dogs are back with you and the s**t bags (excuse the language) didnt get away with them. Big hugs for your other dog for getting him back!

I  really riles me these kind of people , if anyone stops me to ask about my dogs (most people dont know the breed) I always say they are cross breeds and that they do bite which isnt fair to them as they as soft as putty but I dont trust anyone.
I do take the three of them out on my own but dont feel relaxed until I am home ..I do live in a big City in a lovely area but I dont trust anyone where my dogs are concerned.
I also change my route and time of day I exercise them in case I am being watched.

Remember to take a phone that takes pictures and a small can of hairspray in your pocket to spray into thier eyes also look confident stand tall and look confident and dont cross the road stay firm and carry on , I deliberately walk through any groups of youths  (with my heart beating fast) that worry me and they get out of the way its when you look concerned they pick on you  . My hubby and son say they are more worried for the thugs than me as I can be scary when I get angry and if it concerned my dogs even more so.

The whistle sounds a good idea too.

Dont let them win

(I would also talke a walk with my hubby in the same area a few times to see if I could spot them take thier picture and put it on you tube!!) :0

Thats auwful! So glad you got you dog back!

Im so paranoid about people stealing my dogs, ive heard way too many horribal storys about it happening. Only a few weeks ago a GSD and a bulldog was stolen from the town near me!
I know my GSD wouldnt go off with anyone, but my boy hes only a little chihuahua! anybody could just scoup him up and run off!  the bad thing is he wouldnt mind! he would walk off with anybody!

it is scarey, but dont let it make you keep your dogs on the lead, just take them somewhere else. do some recall practise as well

> Im so paranoid about people stealing my dogs

I'm a little bit like that too - the only reason I have considered having him castrated!! (Decided not to in the end - if anyone asks he's infertile ;-) - fertility means "able to conceive young" in my dictionary, and he isn't cos he aint allowed!! :-D ) If anyone asks I also point out he's old (well, 8.5yrs ;-) ) - has a bad back - and his meds are very expensive.... and..... He's not exactly 'butch' looking anyway - people always seem to think he's a girl (despite the obvious :-D ).

What a horrible experience for you. I wouldve thought it was just and 'opportunity crime' they just saw their chance and tried to take it-they probably hadnt planned to take him, just realised they had chance to as he was so friendly. If you have to leave them the same agai, i would leave their leads OFF so that it is much harder for someone to coax a rottie away!
I  dont think there is anything wrong with leaving them still in view. I regularly train down stays out of sight with my girl, where i walk out of sight behind trees etc. But i know my girl would use every fight in her to get away from anyone trying to take her...typical gsd, mummies girl!

How horrible.  So now you know there are dog thieves in the area and you can NEVER leave your dogs alone.  So next time a trip to the bushes means putting the dogs back on their leads, even if it is difficult.   And basically, you cannot trust anyone you do not know near your dogs.  It is a sad, sad situation ... but that's the state of the world today.

Thankfully, I don't have a popular breed.  Even so, once or twice the hairs on my own back went up with suspicion about a strange question or two ... like, are they fixed? 

Not to scare you too much, but in my area (leafy Surrey) thieves will target specific dogs and take them from their own gardens.   Just be watchful.

> Hardly normal circumstances & certainly no reason to think the dogs would be stolen again. At the end of the day they were left unattended, it would not have happened otherwise.

Suep... ive only been on here for ten minutes tonight and this is the second 'kick em whilst they are down' post I have read from you... are we to understand you are absolutely and unutterably perfect, that you have NEVER in your entire life, made a mistake, whether the consequences were serious or not?

To the OP - how scary for you, I once left a dog of mine with a friend outside a shopping mall, he was sat out there and I had little option but to go into the shopping mall without the dog.

Coming out of the shop Id been in to my shock there was a total stranger walking towards me with my dog, without thinking I snatched the lead from him and ran, but had i been just a few seconds later...... it doesnt bear thinking about.

When i got outside my friend was coming towards me as quick as he could, the lad had snatched Rocky off him whilst hed been dealing with a customer and hed gone as fast as he could (with his horrific arthritis unfortunately not very fast!) to catch up with the lad (leaving his gear, money and stand all unattended whilst he did so)..

Ill never leave a dog with someone outside a shop again, well not someone unable to run after a theif, but you just do NOT think someone will snatch a dog from an old man selling papers outside Mothercare!

I think you are right to be wary, hopefully these lads WERE just chancers but dog theft is far more serious than some peole realise and there are people out there stealing to order.

Im sure you will attempt to avoid leaving them in such circumstances again but dont beat yourself up, they were close to you, they were not out of sight and until human beings grow an extra pair of arms (or develop suep's gleaming halo of perfection) sometimes do find yourself needing to be in two places at once.

> or develop suep's gleaming halo of perfection

LOL  :-)

how horrible, it must have been terrifying for you!you did nothing wrong in my opinion, it was the men who tried taking your friendly rottie that were all in the wrong. unfortunately, theives of any kind will snatch at a chance, how ever slim. whether it be to take your car, bag,....or your dog. you dont even have to have your back turned.they just need to catch you off guard, which these boys did to you.i certainly wouldnt have expected two nice young men so close to me fussing my dogs to try and make a run for it with them. like you said, they werent left alone, you were just a few yards away. people like this sicken me, they really do!
im so glad that both your dogs are safe, i cant imagine how much it must have shaken you up. perhaps you can take someone wth you the next few times you visit the place, until you get your confidence back, and i think the can of hairspray is a very good idea too, as just having it with you wll make you feel better. and any woman knows how much cheap hairspray stings the eyes! :) lol!
dont forget, it wasnt your fault!
Kaylz x

just like to say thanx to all those who posted their experiences and kind remarks,ive found a new route and met a nice guy who walks his dogs at the same time i took mine out the fisrt day on this new route, ive told him whats happened and now we plan to walk together.:-)
he has two large breed dogs and mine seemed happy enough to walk run and play for the route so shall be telling others so we can all make sure that those who would normally walk alone actually has company.
thanx all.xxxxx

thats a great idea!glad you found a route both you and your dogs can enjoy again! :)

Excellant... new friends as well :-)

What an awful fright.

My WSD was stolen several years ago. And he wasn't 'valuable', just a lovely mongrely looking WSD .  And yes I was stupid and did tie him up and leave him just for a few seconds while I dashed into the local swimming pool to call my kids to come out. End of the day you can't take dogs into certain buildings no matter how much we want to and when you have kids you have to let the kids do things too - they can't just walk the dog day in day out. So they swam while I walked the dog and when their time was up they didn't get out of the pool so I had to tie him up and dash into give them a shout and dashed straight back outside - and my dog had been taken.

I was in total panic. The folk at the pool were helpful but their manager refused to let them call the police or to offer me help. The staff ignorerd their manager! They came out to help find my dog and search for him, and they found out who'd taken him and took me to the street this guy lived on. I'd taught him a recall to a whistle earlier that week so at the bottom of the terraced street I blew the whistle and my dog came dashing out of a house up the street dragging the fella behind him.  The guy who took him had been banned from keeping animals so the only way to get a dog was to steal one. He once had a Staffie he stole for 3 months before it was spotted and returned to it's owner.

So yes never leave the dogs alone out of sight, even if we feel we should be able to or it is just for a fast dash second or two.

> Suep... ive only been on here for ten minutes tonight and this is the second 'kick em whilst they are down' post I have read from you... are we to understand you are absolutely and unutterably perfect, that you have NEVER in your entire life, made a mistake, whether the consequences were serious or not?
>

I noticed that and wondered too! :-)

> LOL!! oh of course I forgot that on Chump Dogs your all perfect yourselfs and experts nd you all know better then everyone else dont you?? your problem is you dont have the guts to say what u really think.

Of course opinions on topics will differ, but to support your own opionions with comments to lure people into a slagging match, just gives the impression you have no intention to conribute in a constructive way.

It is very childish.