2

I live in a pretty to a very safe area in the USA. My backyard is large, grassy, and safe (no manmade objects, choking hazards, poisonous plants, etc.) so I let my puppy be in the fully fenced in the backyard unsupervised while I am inside.¹

However, my back fence is short (around 3-4 feet / 0.9-1.2 meter tall) and I worry someone will hop it and steal my puppy from the backstreet behind my house and backyard. My puppy is a breed on the expensive side, so I worry that someone will see a chance to steal him and sell him to make a lot of money.

My fear is probably unwarranted as like I said, I live in a pretty to a very safe area that has a tight community to it.

But it's always better to be safe rather than sorry, so this leads me to my question:

Should I worry about this? If so, what can I do to prevent it?

¹I do not leave my puppy unsupervised for long periods of time. At max, they are unsupervised in the backyard for 30 min.

Improve this question
3
  • 3
    You should not leave your puppy unsupervised in the yard in general to prevent bad behavior. In principle you are it's parent and it needs you to teach him how to react for example if people go by, or people stop and chat or children stop and try to reach for the dog. The dog needs you to feel save in new/uncommon situations and without you it probably will react in barking, maybe even angry because it feels uncomfortable. As puppy this may be sweet, but with a fully grown dog f.e. barking will be stressfull for the dog and noise for you and the neighbours.
    – Allerleirauh
    Mar 26, 2021 at 5:27
  • 1
    Additionally, things can happen even in "pretty to very safe" areas; I grew up in an area you'd be hard-pressed to be defined as anything but "very safe," and we still had terrible things happen, though with considerably less frequency than in "less safe" areas.
    – Allison C
    Mar 26, 2021 at 13:36
  • 2
    @Allerleirauh Thanks for the advice. My puppy is actually pretty good in that he doesn't bark at people. He also isn't near the back fence very often (again, I have a large backyard) so I doubt anyone will reach over to pet him. I just worry that someone may see him, hop the fence and grab him. I also am almost always watching my puppy, but the only exception is I let him roll around in the grass and play with some of his toys outside in the backyard unsupervised for a max of 30 min. Usually, I check in every 10 min to make sure that he is doing alright.
    – user11111111111
    Mar 26, 2021 at 14:48

0

Reset to default

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.