Afternoon all.

Just came home from walking our two Dogs, Olli 10 month old Ess and Ben 10 year old Labrador.

To let everyone understand, we live very close to beach, golf courses and large wooded park area, always meet plenty of dog walkers, always see the usual faces.

Theres this one man (in his 40's) everytime I see him He always has a different dog with him, then you never see the first one again!!!!  very strange.  Anyway my first encounter with this resulted in him asking a lot of questions about our lab, is he a gun dog, does he have papers, how much did he cost ect, these questions were not answered dog were quickly marched onto the golf course where there were few man playing, got a few funny looks until I explained why I was walking down the middle of the course!  Got home ect.  Explained to my partner about him, then forgot about it.

A few nights later, both myself and my partner were out walking the dogs and bumped into this bloke with a different dog again, questions asked again, but this time no interest in the Lab it was Olli, again questions ignored!!!!!
we were only a few mins from the house so we changed our route, hoping that this bloke would just go away, didnt work he changed his, dog and partner nearly got run over trying to hurry on, leaving me and the old boy plodding along.  we got along the road crossed, bloke decided to go another way, we thought great, next min, we heard his stick clunking down the road behind us, run round the corner into the garden, straight into the house.

Thought, nothing more of it, just a bit weird>

Havent seen him for a few weeks until today!!!

Had the dogs out, up the park both were off the lead, both great on recall so no problem, ben just plods along unless he gets a rabbits scent and away he goes, Olli does his usual, always looking busy running through bushes and looking for mud and puddles:-)  Anyway met one of our usual dogs and owners, all four dogs were away playing, while we had a catch up, next min dogs barking there heads off not happy playfull barking but, something not right barking, ran round the corner expecting maybe another dog had joined the party, instead saw the strange  guy, holding onto Ollis collar!!!!  Asked what he thought he was doing, not so polite though, he said that the dog had tried to bite him and that he was trying to restrain him!!!
Theres no way that Olli (10 month old springer) tried to bite him, he is a very sensitive boy and cautious of strangers, I pulled my phone out my pocket and phoned the police, explained what had happened, they arrived quickly, but this guy didnt want to stay and report his near miss with my springer, wonder why!!!!

They took a description, and have a good idea who it is, he has been spoken to before for following dog owners, but he only does it with certain breeds, mostly working or staffies!!!!!  They did say I was lucky that I was close by and got to the dog quickly!!!  Thats suggesting if I was further away from him by the time I got there Olli could have been away!!!!
There going to speak to him again!!!!!

It gave me a fright and the poor dog, I have Olli micro-chipped, wears a collar and ID tag at all times when out, is there anything else I could do to show this dog does have a owner and has id?

Just wanted to share this with other owners and to see if anyone has had the same experience??

I would never have thought of dog theft before, now I am scared to let him off the lead when were out, its not fair on him being confined to the lead either.

Thanks for reading.

I to would be very  worried about free running with a weido like that on the loose ,i know its not always possible but to walk with someone else if you can  and try to kepp the dogs insight (not easy i know) not much help but i am glad your boy is ok and that you had a lucky escape, dont know if its legal or not but could you print some posters and put them on lamp posts warning others of possible dog theft , if he sees them he might think twice next time

Sadly dog theft is really common, am presently doing a puppy socialisation course with my pups and its run by the local dog warden, the first lesson was all about how to keep your dog safe from theft, apparently there has been a huge rise in this area and the thieves use all sorts of ploys to get your dog off you, grabbing hold of the collar and walking off with it is a favourite, if challenged they usually do say they are restraining a biting dog or they will say they thought the dog was lost and were taking it to the police station, sad sign of the times isnt it :-(

OMG what a dreadful experience for you.Glad the police took you seriously and hope they are pro active in stopping this guy.It is always best to avoid giving too much details about your dog,which you clearly did.
I just wish all vets would routinely microchip when a dog goes to the vets.

Thank you everyone for your reply, It is something I have never thought about until this happened, why would anyone want to cause so much suffering to a owner and dog by stealing it.

I have had a look into tattooing, would this make a difference as it more visible?

Olli is my first springer, wont be my last and hes a gem, he does have his moments where he pings off all the walls in the house but I would be without him and to think that this guy could have just taken him, has really scared me, I work from home and my partners out at work durn the day, so its only me durn the day out with the boys, I will ask some of the local walkers to arrange to go out with them,  I am not taking chances, what if it was to happen again and I wasnt so quck to get to him!!!

Thanks everyone.

Maybe alerting a local newspaper might help....it might act as a deterrent if more people are aware of this man and where he's been hanging around.

> Maybe alerting a local newspaper might help....it might act as a deterrent if more people are aware of this man and where he's been hanging around.

Thats a great idea!  The more people that know about it, the less likely this person will be able to continue. 

Good thing you were close enough to get your ESS safe!  What a horrible situation. 

You say you see him often with a succession of different dogs.  It seems unlikely to me that they are stolen dogs.  If dogs were being stolen as frequently as that and the police were aware of this man I would think it pretty easy for them to put it all together.
I think it may be possible he is walking other peoples dogs.  Perhaps he is just a sad, lonely man who is very interested in dogs and these are the dogs of people that have been more receptive to his interest.  If you are still concerned why not have another word with the police and see what they say.  I certainly would be wary of speaking to the press and possibly raising a lynch mob before being more sure of your ground.

We have encountered a gentleman who is very interested in my Pointer. He always wants a good feel of him.. admiring his form apparentley.
He  offered money for him, (quite a wad), and asked if he could take him to train him.

All offers have been declined and I genuinely do not think he means any harm or has any motive except genuine admiration for my boy..but it scares the hell out of me and the dog he is very shy. My daughter will not even make eye contact with him!!!

How about getting him ear tattooed.

>How about getting him ear tattooed.

Hi, can I ask, do you get them tattooed at your vets, what info do you tattoo in the ear, how old are they when you get them done and does it hurt them?

Liz

>do you get them tattooed at your vets

No, tattoos are done by a representative of the National Dog Tattoo Register who will quickly (it takes a few seconds only) tattoo a unique number onto the inside of the right ear. It can be done at any age, as long as the ear is big enough.

How horrible it makes me feel sick to think about it. Is there some way you could alert people in the area maybe the police or dog warden could help. Something along the lines of the signs police put up when there's a spate of car thefts in a certain car park. It's a shame that you have to be wary about talking to people as I think part of what I enjoy about walking my dogs, (greyhound and flatcoat) is chatting about dogs now I'll think twice about getting into conversations.

> Is there some way you could alert people in the area maybe the police or dog warden could help.

The OP has spoken to the police and I cannot see there is any evidence the man has done any harm.

i havent heard of any dog thefts in my immediate area, but a few months ago i was approached by 2 young men who started patting my boy, fine with that, they then started asking loads of questions, what breed he was, sex, (then had qucik look underneath and was happy to see he was entire ) how much i paid for him, did he have papers etc. at first, i was chatting away like the proud mum i am, then quickly realised something wasnt quite right. i started making my excuses and left, without answering anything too personal about him. really shook me up. again, i have no proof the guys were up to anything but it did unnerve me, and made me concious of how easy it would be to just grab him and run. i always make sure i have my phone on me.
i can also make my boy bark and get VERY excited with a command, so if i felt threatened i would get him to do this and tell people he was highly aggressive, hopefully his sheer size would put them off.
its not a nice thing to think about :(

What part of the country do you live in?  Any way to let people in the area know would be good to prevent him trying his luck with anyone else.
Horrible horrible man.

> Horrible horrible man.

What exactly do we think this man has done?

He has intimidated and scared the OP. What right did he have to grab hold of the dog. If the OP felt threatened and the police are already aware of this man then there is something amiss and people in the area should treat with caution. Better to be safe than sorry

> What right did he have to grab hold of the dog.

He claims the dog attempted to bite him. 

> Better to be safe than sorry

Indeed, and if I was the OP I would consider walking somewhere else or where I could always see from a distance if he was approaching but I cannot see any evidence that this man is actually a threat to anyone.

This is probably a really stupid question, but it's bugging me so I'm going to ask.  A common feature of these possible dog thieves is that they seem to ask if the dog has papers.  What difference would that make to them, given that they are unlikely to be able to obtain those papers?

Maybe I'm being thick here, but if a dog attempted to bite me I think the last thing I'd do would be to grab hold of it!

Can see what Isabel is saying about lack of evidence of harm, but I have to say it would make me very uncomfortable too.

M.

> but I have to say it would make me very uncomfortable too.
>

He would me and I would try to avoid him it is just the notion of starting up campaigns etc that I think is OTT and potentially extremely harmful to what could be an innocent but perhaps just socially inept man.

You echoed my thought Lily MC.

The OP did state that he followed her so even if you tried to avoid this man it doesnt necessarily mean you would escape him.

> A common feature of these possible dog thieves is that they seem to ask if the dog has papers.  What difference would that make to them, given that they are unlikely to be able to obtain those papers?

Maybe to clarify that the dog is pure-bred and not a cross-breed/mongrel?

How upsetting for you, i know your dogs will be your pride and joy so it sends you into arrest when you have an experience like this, your mind goes into overdrive and its horrible.

Fortunately people cross the street when they see me coming with my doggies, even rough uns. So i dont often worry about things like this, but when my mum was looking after mason when he was a pup about 13 weeks old she took him to bolton abbey and a guy was pestering them when they were having a picnic, and even offered 900 pounds for him, luckily my dad was there or i dont want to think about what could have happened with him being only small and only my mum and little sister to keep him safe ( as my dad doesnt often come on walkies ) but hes quite an intimidating man, like a biker but without the bike (only coz my mum says no) i was in tenerife and had a fit when they told me.

If i were you id get some pepper spray or some mace and a big stick, nothing wrong with being cautios. Sounds like your garden variety weirdo.

Teach him to bark on command maybe to, i think that would scare people away.

Louise

>If i were you id get some pepper spray or some mace

And be arrested yourself! It's illegal to carry those items.

>If i were you id get some pepper spray or some mace

I most certainly hope you dont mean that.. those are illegal

Yes, very illegal.  However if on a country walk, one might be expected to have a hill-walking stick.  But I do not think anything is required in this case.  Indeed, I would just make sure you always keep sight of your dog and perhaps even take a disposable camera with a flash - just in case.  No need to stir up a vigilante crowd or media frenzy, they do more harm than do.

I could well believe he is socially incompetent - there are so many folk like that lol!

it is just the notion of starting up campaigns etc that I think is OTT and potentially extremely harmful to what could be an innocent but perhaps just socially inept man

I wasn't suggesting putting up "Wanted" posters, just a general warning to other dog walkers to be extra vigilant, like in car parks where there have been reported thefts. I probably come across as a dog napper if I meet someone with one of my breeds as I want to know about the pedigree etc. Never considered it might be social ineptitude:( just obsession! However  I am unlikely to grab a dog's collar especially if it had tried to bite me.

eeek i didnt know sorry, is that spray the police use illegal for civilians to carry too? But yeh a hill walking stick.

Louise

>is that spray the police use illegal for civilians to carry too?

Yes - just like tasers and firearms.

A walking-stick's fine - a baseball bat isn't!

Yes it is illegal for anyone who is not certified to use it.  Nobody else can even carry it as it is legally classed as a firearm :-)

Liz R is that one of your pups in the avatar looks so beautiful what is he/she?

I would look for somewhere else to walk to be safe - how scary!

Lesley2907 get in touch with doglost they will send a email out to all there helpers in your area to warn people about him if you are at all concerned.

hi, dont know whether this is any interest to you or where abouts in the country you are but since your boy is a gundog breed...
http://www.basc.org.uk/content/gundogtheftarticle

what about carrying a rape alarm? you could get your dogs used to it at home and then carry it with you and if anything happens set it off and it will draw attention to you and your dogs if this man tries anything

Just remember, carrying ANYTHING with intent to use as a weapon (including pen knifes, butter knift, hairspray etc) is illegal.  It becomes a fine line with the law if you use them to protect yourself without intent, but you can carry them with you at all times.

I ALWAYS carry a small hairspray with me on a night out, for my hair of course!

> I ALWAYS carry a small hairspray with me on a night out, for my hair of course! <IMG class=qButton title="Quote selected text" height=10 alt="Quote selected text" src="/images/mi_quote.gif" width=20>

Harmless but would scare a would be attacker. 
for my hair of course

My dogs would not be seen with me unless I was well "groomed" ;-)

LOL! That's actually a good idea, with the little hairspray tin for nights out.  Making mental note...

My cousin likes to walk her dog late at night and she uses the same idea....she bought one of those impulse body sprays and wrapped it in black masking tape....she says if she is ever attacked she will claim its CS gas.

Luckily shes never had to use it.

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies.

Since posting, myself and the boys now go out with two other dog walkers, so thats three adults and 5 dogs.

Since the incident, Olli still gets off his lead but doesnt go far at all, which is a good thing.

Can I just say, I have spoken to most of the local dog owners who seem to know who this man is and they have had the same type of experience with him, apart from there dog being grabbed.

I dont know if this is just this mans way or if there is something more sinister, but so far not had any more problems, we have spoken to our local dog warden, who has advised the same as many on here, to walk them where there is other people, or with someone else.   I dont know if this man was going to do anything to Olli or try and take him away,  cant say either way but I do agree with the post that if Olli did try and bite this man why would you even try to grab hold of it????

Olli is only just over ten months and for a springer is is a bit timid and wont approach strangers, thats why my first thought was he was going to try and take him, but I dont know.  I think the experience gave me such a fright and the thought that he was going to try and take my boy just made it worse.  Maybe a bit OTT on part, Olli is our first springer and hes a very special little guy.

But thanks to everyone for the replies.  We are looking into having him tattood too.

But were all ok, thank you,

Ive got a dog stop alarm which I used to stop Whistler barking, it is so loud it makes the dog stop what he is doing to see what the hell the noise was. It would make a great rape alarm, and, its about the size of well 4" X1" compressed air!!

Do you know where we would get a dog stop whistle?  I havent heard of this before.

We are in scotland, Im just going to have a look on the net and see if I can find one, sound like a really good idea.

Thank you.

Ive found a site that has the dog stop whistle, just going to order one the now.  Its a fine size to fit in my pocket so that great.

Thanks for that suggestion.

I stuck Dog Stop in goggle looking at the tube it says www.companyofanimals.co.uk I got one complete and one refill and Im still on the first one, but warn anyone you are letting it off its really loud.

A good old fashioned rape alarm would do the trick too

think they would have a hard time taking one of mine...if they take one the whole pack would go. and who in the right mind wants 4 great danes??

Me me me me me!!!!! :-)

ha ha ha ha ha ha
well maybe but you willbe known locally as that strange dog lady
but on the subject i clearly would have lost it had i though someone was trying to take my dogs.
i would fight to the death for mine