Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 1:23 pm Post subject: LL week - Security and Protection
Another of LL's roles is helping to get Labs identified should they be lost or stolen.
By law your dog must wear an ID tag. There can be up to a 5k fine for failure to adhere to this.
Lostlabs has it's own tags for sale......we wanted to be able to offer all relevant info on them as well as being pleasing to the eye. Lostlab tags These tags can also contain a green cross as a warning of a medical condition.
So, having ensured your pup has a tag, then comes the question of whether you want any further protection.
You can have you pup Tattooed. http://www.dog-register.co.uk/.
Some vets don't see the need for them / know of them / do them. We always recommend the National tattoo register. This way all records are held under one umbrella ( unlike many microchip companies )
Quite a few LF'ers have already had their pups tattooed, a sutble one of prick creating a unique row of numbers and letters inside one ear. A search on LF will bring up their stories. We provided a tattooist at last years main GT and will be doing again this year.
A tattoo is a visable deterrant. Stats show a stolen pup with a tattoo will be dumped within 20 miles / mins when the thieves inspect their ' prize ' and see it is of no marketable value. Pups can be tattoed from 6 weeks infact some breeders actually tattoo their litters before they go to their new homes. Cost is a one off £20.
Then there is Microchipping, usually carried out at the vets and can be done as soon as the new pup comes home. There are also 'outside ' qualified chippers who do an equally good job. Costs vary depending who you use but an average would be £25.
Although some dog agencies etc offer deals every now and then especially to those on benefits or the elderly.
We would always recomend the chip is routinely scanned when you visit your vet because chips can and do migrate or stop working.
Because of this I personally tattoo and chip my girls.
DNA profiling is becoming more popular and available now also. Although some companies require samples to go to USA for processing
I pray for the day we can have a GPS inside the microchip.....( have the plan anyone want to finance me )
So, your pup is now protected....now what.....? Well we suggest This
Always be aware on walks....there are many tricks of the thieving trade....we will cover this in another thread.....
Make sure your garden is secure.
Don't leave your pup in the garden if you are out.
Don't leave your pup outside a shop ( you will be amazed how many do )
We have had a few dogs stolen from cars while the owner had ' just popped into Sainsbury's '.
Always remember your pup has no voice. He/she can't tell the dog warden where home is......only you can do that by giving them ID and a voice
Sadly many dogs go from sofa to vets needle in 7 days because they have no ID
Great post Rhoni... if it wasn't for you getting Tilly tattooed all those months ago I would never have heard of it, despite the fact it was used decades before chipping.
As you know, I had a hard time trying to convince members of another forum to the benefits of tattooing... as someone was considering tattooing but the negative comments from others made that person cancel in the end
They didn't want to believe a microchip was not 100% foolproof, or 'deface' their dogs. Oh well, you can but try!
There's also the point of a tattooed dog being regarded as your property or something?
Corbie was first in the tattoo queue at last year's GT and loves his
MOT your dogs people make sure you have everything in your power to have your pup returned safe and well
CHIP..TATTOO.. NOTE DOWN ANY MARKINGS ON YOUR DOG
NEVER think oh it wont happen to me because it WILL and CAN... when you least expect it.
even from your own front garden this nearly happened to me last year
i let my dogs out for there toilet break and came backin to carry on with housework of course checking every now and then to make sure they werent up to mischeif
a man and woman started to fuss my dogs rosze in particular her being the baby at the time at first didnt think nothing of it (loads of ppl pet my dogs) but then to my horror the man was trying to undo my gate while the woman had hold of rosze well i have never moved so fast in my life i ran out shouting OI YOU what are you doing they just smiled he walked off she let go of rosze...
now i have learnt my lesson my dogs are never alone in my garden no more i stand in the porch watching them i also had a poster made upa nd put in my window warning ppl my dogs are chipped and they ARE BEING WATCHED!
so please never think it wont happen to you get your dog chipped/tattooed/ided in anyway possible
Yes Karen...a tattoo gives greater legal rights to ownership. Falls into the same catagory as your TV, DVD player, camera being stolen during a burglary.....it is a proof of ownership mark, no different than using an ultra violet postcode marker pen ( on your equipment not your pup )
Clair...yes that a scary episode wasn't it?...but does just go to show how easy it can all be over
Our hardest 'case ' on LL, without doubt, is reuniting an unmarked dog. Even if it's found, can we get them identified within the 7 days before they are rehomed or PTS
I have to say, dog security is something which worries me. One of my problems is that when training I so often have to leave my dogs out of sight when placing a dummy out for a blind retrieve, and this is often in public areas. It would be so easy for someone to steal them. But why?
Dog crime is one of the fastest growing areas of crime. In fact the Metropolitan Police list it as the largest single crime! But why are dogs stolen? What are the perpetrators of the crime up to gain? Several things.
Firstly dogs are stolen simply to sell. There are plenty of people prepared to accept a quick buck. No need to hold out for the true worth, even a small amount of money is money for nothing.
Some dogs are stolen to feed the illegal dog fighting scene. Mainly Staffies or staffie type dogs, but also occasionally a Labrador to use as a "Harmless" opponent for a young fighting dog. Who cares if it's torn to bits, it won’t harm the pup in training.
Moving up from there is stolen for blackmail. This is happening more and more often. A stolen pet might only fetch £100 or so when sold without papers, but blackmail the owner and the figure can rise to £1000 or more.
Getting to the top end you get the stolen to order working gundog. So many gamekeeper's dogs have been stolen in the last few years. This season a keeper in this area was held at knifepoint whilst his dogs were loaded up and taken away. We are pretty sure a large part of those find their way on to the continent. This is the "Safe" option, there is just about a zero chance that the owner will ever be in the same area as the dog so it will never be seen again.
I've deliberately missed Puppy farmers off of the list. Getting reasonable class bitches to initially stock a puppy farm is easy so why steal and risk being caught. Lets face it, the person you stole it from might turn up to buy a replacement! The risks are just too great. I said to initially stock a puppy farm because once the farm has a bitch or two they have no need of any more, they can breed their own for free!
Yes, some dogs get stolen by opportunists whilst out on a walk, but the real big criminals go where they know the dog they want is. Home! Look at your own garden. See where the weak spots are Do the dogs have access to the front garden? If so the thief is home and dry. Are the dogs ever left in the garden whilst you go along the shops? Again easy! Really look at your own security. If you are using padlocks use a B I G one! In the course of my job I've smashed open even Yale padlocks with a well directed blow from a hammer. Cheap ones can be opened silently with a bolt cropper. Look at your garden, not from the direction of how secure it is but from the direction of how insecure is it!
It can be taken further...these professional gangs....we know some of these trained labs fetch 7k in Europe, 14K in Japan. We know from theft to out of the country can be 24 hours and dogs happily sitting on the back seat of a car ( like a lab would do ) are not checked. Only if dogs come back into the country......which sadly these never will again
We know they watch / stake out the area.....watch houses for routine and use various plys to distract owners on walks.
We also know, as John says, of guns, knives used to execute their ' job '.
Was going to start a seperate thread on theft but more than happy for this to continue after John's brilliant post.
Yes there are some that are considered bigger ' hot spots ' than others....
Kent, Essex, Hampshire and Glous amoung others.....
Also in the ' middle ' dog theft market, spates of thefts seem to accelerate around the time of fairs held by people who move around the country. Some sites are fixed ( ongoing problem ) some move......harder to track
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