I really worry l about my dogs being stolen and it's so hard to know whether  someone is just being friendly. I left my dogs in the car tonight when I nipped into a shop (I could see them  from the shop).

When I came out someone had just parked behind me and called  good evening to me. He asked what breeds of dogs I've got. I said a mixture - why? And he asked what sort of mixture so I answered "just lab cross types".  He told me that he had had a poodle who lived till 18. At that point my dalmatian looked up. He said that he was lovely and asked where I had got him from from. I said Wales and and he said he bet he was really expensive? I said that no one had wanted him because of his patch so no he wasn't. He then asked if I give them lots of long walks. I said of course and then got back in the car.

The whole conversation was friendly and lighthearted but I just don't know...

Saw a bit on facebook the other day - someone on about their dog being stolen - but when you watched the vid-clip It was a wide pavement and she had tied it up on a barrier next to the road (it couldn't get onto the road) then gone into the shop. going by the timer thing on the cctv she was in there for a good 3-4 minutes at least when someone just undid the lead and walked the dog away

Still stolen, 3 or 4 minutes is not abandonment, how many people who don't drive take the dog out and think blast I'm out of milk.  It's not a crime to tie a dog safely fro a few minutes but to steal it.

That is worrying!  Some years ago I went in to the local post office.  I had my Toy Poodle with me and left her outside with her lead attached to a pole.  I've seen lots of people do it, but I would have been distraught if she wasn't there when I came out.  As it happens she was entertaining the kids.  I heard a boy say, come and look mum, it's a circus dog!!!

She was walking on her back legs and wagging her tail like mad.  Yet she was obedience trained to a high standard, but not trained to walk like a human! 

I never leave my Papillons in the van alone even for seconds. The Malinois I do, however. I reckon if anyone tries to steal them, good luck to them!

My beagle howls and creates stink if I leave her tied anywhere. She is not as bad if I leave her with someone but if anyone took her I could track the noise! I don't tend to leave them out of eyesight though, too much can go wrong too quickly.
I have left them in the car, but rarely and again never for very long

Having moved down here to the SW some years ago now, from the East where we NEVER saw dogs tied up outside shops, it happens all the time here - from mutts to purebred dogs.    And frankly it's NOT something I'd do with mine, ever.   I realise for people who don't drive, it might be useful to combine a normal walk with a quick stop off at the store on the way home but even if the dog is tied up so it can't escape, there is ALWAYS the risk of it being stolen - obviously not so much down here eh!!   I'd just not risk it with either of mine, ESPECIALLY with my Basset who is a magnet to everybody.

So that's a no, never, from me re leaving a dog outside a store.    Perhaps in the car, depending on the time of year (heat)?

It's not a crime to tie them outside, no, but why on earth would anyone ever risk it?  You'd not leave your handbag outside a shop while you popped in, or your brand new iphone, or your baby - why on earth would you do it with any irreplaceable member of your family?  Especially when dog theft has been on the rise for some time and the risks of it have been spoken about for a long time now.

I live in hope of someone stealing Lottie!! No, just joking, I do take care of my dogs and would never leave them unattended outside a shop.

If I tied mine up outside a shop he would howl the place down as soon as went out of sight. Not something I would ever do not just because of stealing, I wouldn't trust some evil people not to give a dog a kick as they walked passed just because its tied up there and defenceless.

Leaving my dogs unattended in my car would be like leaving the doors unlocked on a new Ferrari, handbag on seat stuffed with money

For me I start feeling awkward when people start asking about price, 'bet they are expensive', ' the must go for alot', 'how much do they go for' ect ect, especialy when that question is followed by 'is she neutered?'.
I'll lie and say the breed is cheaper than it is or that they don't sell well.

But I think alot of it is just innocent as a huge amount of people see dog breeding as a money maker so when they see a dog they think looks nice many just assume the owner must breed it or is going to breed it. But you can never be too careful.

On the tying dog up out side shops, yes owners are within their rights to do so but they then can't say to did all they could to prevent their dog being stolen if they do. As they left their dog unattended where it could very easerly be stolen. As Nikita has said its the same as if I put my phone on the floor and went in the shop. Yes no one should steal it but I didn't take any steps to prevent it. Cars are being stolen this month due to owners leaving them running to defrost and going back in the house, I'd bet their insurance won't pay out for it.

>I really worry l about my dogs being stolen and it's so hard to know whether  someone is just being friendly

Sometimes I really don't like the way I distrust strangers, but I guess it has to be that way, so many scams, so many dog thefts, every single day dogs are stolen, you get smart and wary or you run that risk of theft I'm afraid.

I find it funny myself, how when walking my dogs and I bump into a fellow dog walker, male, female or adolescent I will happily stand and talk and open up about my dogs much more, yet if I were to meet the same people I've just had a laugh and chat with without a dog of their own in tow, they would be lucky to get a hello, I would be thinking, why are you talking to me? and I would be worried about the males and adolescents and be on high alert 'ready to do battle'

We can't help it, it's just survival instinct, we weigh up the risks, so don't feel bad.

I really wouldn't even leave my dogs for a second in the car, rather take them home and drive out again for what I wanted, as for tying them up outside a shop, never, ever would I risk that, probably have had a heart attack from the stress of leaving them before I picked up a basket.

I must admit when on walks if people ask if I breed them, hello a group of corgi s are unusual to see, my standard answer is no they are all neutered and chipped and tattooed weither there were or not, at dog shows the reply is different i have had people follow me back to where I am set up asking about puppies one couple saw us at a local agricultural show and they had being looking to replace their corgi for over three years just were not getting lucky every time they found a litter they had all gone

Talking to strangers - hits a nerve.   Now we are older and since my husband had his stroke, much as he does exercise our two, and seems is always chatting to EVERYBODY locally, I'm always stressing he take care because some while ago there was a spate of dog snatching going on - people would talk to others out with dogs, especially the elderly it seems, and before they could react, snatch the dog, put them in a nearby waiting van, and drive away.   His 'awareness' isn't what it used to be much as I hate having to be suspicious of people rather than trusting.

We have too many incidents around d here for me to leave mine anywhere.from people being held up by knife point to dogs beejng taken from locked vans in tesco carpark and everything in between. For me it's a no .totally agree mambas and that kind of thing too

> they had being looking to replace their corgi for over three years just were not getting lucky every time they found a litter they had all gone

Think we can blame a certain biscuit advert for that. Such beautiful puppies, well I guess all breeds are.

I have to admit I do pop into pick up take away or milk from my local shops with mine,  but few people want to approach let alone steal the six of them. They tend to be vocal in greeting too,  which tends to make people waitnto speak to us when I come out.

Would I do this these days with less than three decent size dogs?  Sadly no.

I have tied mine outside shops when we lived in a rural town where everyone knew me and my dogs. Would I do it now? Definitely not. Last year a Labrador disappeared from outside our local Tesco and was found drowned in the canal, with its feet tied together. Something has gone seriously wrong with society over the last twenty years; the low life that commit these casual acts of cruelty are rarely detected, and when they do come to court, any punishments are laughably mild. Dogs are family, I wouldn't leave an infant unguarded, and the same applies to my dogs.

> I wouldn't leave an infant unguarded,

In the past even this was quite usual.  I certainly remember being in my coach built pram with my little brother outside the local shop while my mother went in (there wasn't the room for a pram).

Babies were aired outside and in places where there was no garden this was outside the front door.

Actually one of my first memories was looking up at the willow tree that grew by our front door on the tiled path, I assume I had fallen asleep on a walk..

We had a new neighbour a few years back. To be awfully judgemental, a dodgy looking young man in his 20s. We had put all of the dogs in the van and he stopped to chat and asked 'what are they worth?' Very odd phrasing, we just said not a lot, just a few farm dogs and rescues. He just kept saying I bet they're worth a lot.

Some time later, he turned out to be a really sweet lad, had an ugly little crossbreed he adored who was never on the lead but just followed him around everywhere. Chap clearly had some substance abuse problems, but it sure did shake us up for a while.

I tend to just gauge the environment, it is more difficult now that I have an unusual good looking breed, and if I'm at all unconfident then he is a cross breed. I try to operate on the theory that people are basically good, but it doesn't hurt to have your guard up.

I do leave dogs in my car, but full in the knowledge that they would raise holy hell if anyone tried to steal it or them!  Some would bite I expect, Ren and Faolan surely would; and the rest would either threaten a lot or bark their backsides off so anyone around would know something was going on.  If I do it it's also somewhere busy - car park of Morrisons, that sort of place, and in the middle, not near the edge where it might go unnoticed.  They don't pay any mind to passers-by but someone trying to get into the vehicle would be a very different story (that, and I'm sure how idiotic someone would have to be to want to steal a 14yo berlingo).

I really think that all the facebook posts about stolen dogs make the whole thing seem much more prevalent than it really is, it's scare mongering and not at all helpful. Last year there were lots of posts about stolen dogs in my area, then Police Scotland released a statement saying they had not received a single complaint about a stolen dog in the last year, not one single case. Same with lost dogs, people are quick to shout 'it's been stolen' whereas 99% of the time they've ran away, wandered off, got lost.

So I would say don't worry about it, most people that ask about the dogs are simply being friendly. In my breed there are only 7 in Scotland, less than 70 in the UK, but I'm always happy to tell people about them. Several of those chance meetings with strangers asking about the breed have led to people putting their names down on puppy waiting lists :)

with both of my weimaraners I got followed by people asking how much were they worth when they were pups.  Was worse with first one as they were less common and my answer was always that they fetch about the same as a labrador which disappointed the asker as they always seemed to think worth thousands.  It was so bad with both of them that while they were in the cute puppy stage of growth I was very wary where I walked them.  I ceased evening walks as was too nervous.  A woman near here a few years ago was punched in the face by a man who then grabbed her young boxer puppy while she was on ground and I don't think he was ever found.
I do take my dog to local green grocers as there is a tree directly outside- no doors and I am only about 10 feet away from her and she is within my sight at all times. with no doors on shop I can be out of there immediatly if anyone shows too much interest. would never leave her out of my sight.

People still leave their dogs tied outside of shops in my city and we do have a fair few cases of dogs and puppies being stolen while ownwr was in the shop.
I just don't see the point of risking it, even if dog isn't stolen you can prevent idiots from sticking their hands on the dog and even tormenting it.
I have seen dogs tied up and looked into the shop and no one is watching the dog. I could so easily walk off with the dog. A dog thief only has to pull up in a vehicle and grab the dog and throw it into the vehicle and off they go. I've actually waited before now with the dog and explained to the owner how easily it would have been to steal their dog and urge them not to do it. Some are grateful I've stood next to their dog and others have told me where to go.

Many years ago when I was in my early teens we lived about a 25min walk from the local shops
On one occasion my older sister took my dog with her to the shops, on her return she was dogless!

"Where is Trixie?" "Oh dear! I have left her at the shop!" Off I went to fetch her, nobody panicked and there she was, patiently waiting outside.

Another time, a neighbour who had recently given birth to a gorgeous baby girl (after 3 boys, so much wanted!) came back from the same shops having left the babe! My mum looked after the trio of little boys while she went back to get her. Babe was fast asleep exactly where she had left her.

Imagine the panic nowadays!! This was late 1950's. Sad times we live in today, when we don't feel safe to even talk to strangers about our dogs, let alone leave them at the shops!

I do leave the dogs in the car as I can lock it and leave the back open and padlocked. It doesn't happen often and usually only while I nip into the local shop so everyone would know if the alarms went of ! If its anywhere else the car is parked in sight. As for tying them outside a shop never, I never have done. I walked past the school the other day (Primary) and saw a very large long coat GSD tied to the gate post, alone. Now I am sure he was of excellent character but there were lots of kids wandering in and out right by him and I did doubt the wisdom of leaving any dog so close to so many small kids. No one ever knows what the kids may do and lots were stroking him as I walked by. It's not a walk I do very often and not at that time so maybe he is a regular, but even with my good natured dogs I would not take the risk of some child overstepping the mark or of one of the girls being overwhelmed by a crowd of noisy kids. The girls like meeting kids but I allow it only under close supervision. Vino would be very hard to steal, she weighs in at 58kg and will NOT at all EVER get into a strange car, even if I am in it !! She is not easy to lift up !! and she fights me if I try to get her into a strange car to the point that I have not been able to, ever! Its not happened yet but I dread ever having to change my car !!

I have the same set up in my car, I couldn't manage without it but only leave for a short while and usually in view. I certainly wouldn't leave dogs tied up outside shops etc for all the same reasons.

Have to admit to leaving the dogs locked in the car, with a window open occasionally when I needed to nip into the shops but had to stop until we got our present car as one would climb out of the boot & into the drivers seat & sit resting his paws on the horn.
First time was obviously a fluke but he soon worked out it would bring me back.

Sorry but - I love it dog's can be so clever - pipping the horn until you come back.

I still, rarely, leave my dogs in the car whilst I nip in a shop.

Now, I've got a small and a tiny I won't leave them tied outside but I regularly walked to the shops with my Elkhound and left her outside.  She had a superb temperament so I had no worries about what she would do and always kept my eyes on her to make sure she was safe.

Go back 10 - 20  years ago, I frequently left my dogs outside shops, sometimes with my young sons, especially when we camped/had long days out.  I just kept my eyes on all of them then, doubt I would now :/

>

> one would climb out of the boot & into the drivers seat & sit resting his paws on the horn.

Fabulous!  Thanks for the chuckle.  I can just see him.