It turns out that the dog which narrowly escaped being dognapped at the end of my street last week (see Teddy’s Tales: Dognapping Foiled) was not on a lead. He was trotting along ahead of his owner when a man jumped from a van and scooped him up. Luckily the four-year-old Cockerpoo caused a stir, barking and growling (he’s frightened of men), and managed to escape the clutches of the thief with a bit of help from his owner, who gave the assailant a hearty kick (go, girl).
I’ve written about dogs walking lead-free on city streets before (Teddy’s Tales: The Fashion for Going Leash-Free). It’s clearly worth re-visiting: I had thought that the main problem associated with it would be having your dog squashed under a car when it caught wind of a squirrel/cat/whatever and instinct kicked in. I hadn’t added dognapping into the bargain.
“Well, yes, dogs are obviously nick-able,” says London-based dog trainer Deborah Colella (aka The Dog Nanny). “And because so many shops are dog un-friendly, tying them up outside is becoming the norm.” That provides another set of problems. “It can be incredibly stressful for a dog if they are not used to not being able to see their owner, especially in a busy urban environment. If you put your dog in a situation where they can’t move away, then they have no options about what they can do when another not very friendly off-lead dog, small child, crowd of people, scary motorbike comes along. That’s assuming that whatever you have tied them to is going to be effective, that the lead won’t come undone and that your dog won’t race off if they get freaked out… ”
According to Deborah, “It’s important to understand that from a training point of view, you are your dogs security – it’s asking a heck of a lot from your dog. You don’t tie up a two year old child and say “wait there and be calm”. Why would you expect your dog to be ok with it?”
Although I feel somewhat tuned in to the dog scene, there are things I do close my ears to: I’m afraid I don’t always want to hear about the nasty stuff. But sometimes you have to get real. “I do hear a lot about dog-thieving,” says Deborah. “Dogs tied up outside shops get stolen, there have been cases of dog-walking vans full of dogs being taken and yes, they are used for hideous breeding practices, or they are sold on to dog fighting rings. These are not run by kids. They are professional organised money-making schemes and they need bait. It’s hideous and they don’t care. You don’t want to scare dog-owners to death, but people don’t have any idea. If your dog is part of your family, you have to compromise to keep it safe. It might not always be convenient, but it’s not the 1950s.”
