10 Things About Dog Theft You Should Know As a Doberman Guardian

Dog theft might not be on our radar as Doberman guardians, because we believe our dogs have a reputation that precedes them and are often leery of strangers. However, dog theft, also referred to as ‘dognapping,’ is correlated with purebred dogs and desirability, and many Dobermans are friendly to people they don’t know as long as they have a treat, a calm voice, and mummy and daddy approve. And here’s the first problem: you think that no one will try to steal your dog while you are around, making you vulnerable to having your Doberman stolen. In this article, we will break down 10 important things you should know about pet theft to protect your puppy and your grown Doberman from being taken from you, likely forever.

1) Most Dogs Are Lost Forever

Only 1 in 10 stolen dogs ever gets returned to their legal owners.

That is a grim statistic, and we did not choose to start the list with those numbers to scare you. But, given that dog theft in the USA reportedly has risen by 40% since 2022, and analyses on dog theft in the UK caution that data may be incomplete and the numbers could be higher than what is reported, we think it is crucial to realize that there is only a 10% chance that you will ever be reunited if your dog gets stolen. Hence, education on dog theft to prevent it is important.

2) It’s Not Just Small Dogs

While one study indicates that smaller dogs are more at risk for dog theft because they’re easier to grab and go, AKC Reunite reports that German Shepherds, Pit Bulls, and Labradors are among the 10 most stolen breeds.

As you can see from these statistics, large dogs are not necessarily an obstacle to steal, even though small dogs are potentially easier targets. Plus, all large dogs, including Dobermans, start out as a puppy. Now, if you are in the USA and your pup has taped ears, you might argue that the taping could be a deterrent. Maybe. However, we would not assume that people who steal purebred dogs to make quite a bit of money on the black market or through breeding care about ear taping one way or the other.

We will return to the topic of adult Doberman theft multiple times, especially at the end of this list.

3) Public Businesses are Not Always a Safe Space

In one study, more than 60% of thefts were committed in retail environments.

Now you think, “I don’t take my dog grocery shopping.” Well, the same study found that the most common retail environments where dogs are stolen are groomers and pet stores. The same research also found that thieves quite often use distraction tactics, such as asking for directions, and while they often work on their own, they also work in pairs.

First off, never leave your dog in front of any store while you ‘just pop inside really quick’, like this Doberman owner in Canada might have done.

Second, pet stores are a common place to socialize a puppy. Often, the advice is to put them in a cart to avoid them walking across the floor or meeting other dogs directly because they are not fully vaccinated yet. Never, we repeat, never leave your pup unattended in a shopping cart. If a cart does not fit through an aisle for whatever reason, pick up your puppy and carry them with you. Do not turn your back to the cart while you are stopping to look for or at something. It only takes a couple of seconds for a thief to grab your dog and leave a store.

Never divert your attention away from your dog. If someone is asking you a question or wants you to walk them to, let’s say, your dog’s favorite treats, keep your puppy or your grown Doberman with you at all times. Do not take the seemingly nice stranger’s offer to watch your dog while you try to, for example, get a bag of food from the top shelf, and also never let anyone hold your puppy because they might just take off with your dog, as happened in this Doberman theft story.

4) Thieves Are Not Always Afraid of You or Your Dog

Tractive reports that thieves sometimes use violence and intimidation. In the video analysis study, about 4% of the cases analyzed included violence, “defined as physical harm to another person (hitting or pushing)”.

But, it might not stay at hitting and pushing. In 2023, a Doberman puppy was stolen at gunpoint in Washington, D.C during a walk. While likely incredibly rare, in another case, a breeder denied selling a Doberman puppyto a man, the man then went back, reportedly killed the breeder, stole ten puppies, and sold some of them. CBS Colorado reported that only three of the ten puppies were recovered.

As we stated in the introduction and will show you again, just because you are around does not mean that thieves will not try to steal your dog from you, and sometimes they may use force against people.

Now, you might think, we are not just talking about Doberman puppies, but adults. We understand your reasoning. But while you might hope that your grown Doberman will protect you during a scuffle or worse, watch this video or this video and think again. In these staged home-invasion pranks involving Dobermans, the dogs did not necessarily respond the way many people would expect from the breed’s reputation, at least not right away. Of course, these videos do not prove what any individual dog would do in a real emergency, but we think it is a useful reminder not to treat breed image as a personal safety plan.

If something feels off, act early rather than politely overriding your instincts. Cross the street, change direction, step into a busy shop, café, veterinary clinic, or other public, well-lit place. If the person keeps following, gets too close, blocks your path, or makes you feel unsafe, call the police. Do not walk home with them behind you.

5) It Usually Happens in Broad Daylight

68% of dog thefts occur in broad daylight. The authors mention that because the study included more thefts from commercial locations than from homes, it makes sense that more incidents happened during the day, when pet stores are typically open.

Then again, as you will see next, since your dog's visibility is another factor in dog theft, daylight likely plays a role in multiple scenarios.

Bottom line: The old, ‘it happened in broad daylight’ applies to dognapping as well. Daylight is not a protective factor against dog theft. Be aware of your surroundings as much during the day as you are during a walk at night. If you unleash your dog to roam freely, understand that AKC Reunite explicitly warns against letting your dog get out of sight, as it makes it easier for thieves to corral your dog.

Have your phone with you on every walk. No matter if it’s just to let your dog pee ‘really quick’ in front of your house, take a spin around the block, or go for a hike, a phone is essential for calling 911 and documenting an incident. Also, use the daylight to your advantage and, if you notice someone acting strangely with no one around to ask for help, take a picture or start filming in their direction to increase the perceived risk of being identified and, therefore, to increase the chance to deter them from executing their possible plan. Text the footage to your spouse, family member, or friend, and do not hesitate to call 911.

6) Your Yard is Not Automatically Safe

Thieves often take dogs when owners leave them unattended in locations that make the dogs easy to spot, such as front yards. In the video analysis study, 88% of dog theft from yards happened when dogs could be seen from the street. Moreover, the video footage review also showed that thieves break fences and gates. That fenced yards are not an obstacle also is also shown this Phoenix police report of a man who entered a fenced yard and allegedly stole a family’s Doberman puppy from its kennel.

You might think that no one would steal a dog in bright daylight, let alone from a highly visible spot, such as a front yard. After all, if the thief can see your dog, so can your neighbors or other people on the street. Unfortunately, as the research suggests, reality paints a very different picture. Opportunity makes thieves.

In general, we recommend never leaving your dog unattended in any outdoor environment, including yards. There are simply too many dangers that can arise, and, as we have just explored, fences, gates, visibility, and daylight are no obstacles to people who see your dog as a valuable asset that they could sell or, if still intact, breed and make even more money.

Another word of caution: While the authors of the video surveillance study recommend, for example, higher fences and video cameras, we think the latter recommendation is a bit ironic since the study indirectly proved that video cameras may not reliably deter dog thieves. However, taking a hint from burglaries, visible video surveillance may still be a much more effective deterrent than no cameras or hidden cameras.

7) Dogs Are Often Calm

The video analysis study we have cited multiple times also found that many dogs are, maybe surprisingly, calm when they are getting taken. The authors suggest that this might be because of the thieves’ friendly demeanor.

We know what you are thinking: my Doberman is not going to just walk calmly out of my yard with a stranger. Well, we consider Persephone leery of strangers. She does act tough. However, without disclosing what makes her forget she’s a Doberman for a second, when a person acts calmly and knows how to approach dogs correctly, even Dobermans may walk with a stranger far enough to be shoved into a car.

Again, never take the breed image as an insurance policy. Don’t assume. As trite as it may sound, hope is not a strategy.

8) Perpetrators Are Mainly Males, But Not Only

In one study, 66% of perpetrators were male.

That statistic still leaves 34% women in the dog theft equation. As stated before, thieves do act in pairs. One of the issues is that people may underestimate women as potential participants in theft or setup situations because of gendered threat perception: women are often perceived as less dangerous or less likely to be offenders. Make sure you judge suspicious behavior by the behavior, not the person’s gender.

The nice lady on a walk that enmeshes you in a seemingly harmless conversation about your dog or asks for directions? Well, she might just want you to let your guard down, as seems to have happened in this case, where a Doberman puppy named ‘Blue’ was taken from a mother and her child while they were out and about.

This and many other stories make one thing clear: If someone is unusually focused on your dog’s breed, price, breeding status, where you live, seems to want the conversation going unnaturally, or any other thing that feels off, treat that as a reason to end the interaction and move away.

While you don’t need to panic over every encounter while you are out and about with your dog, keep an eye on your surroundings and the person talking to you. Move into a position where no one can approach you from the back. For example, move so that your back faces a house, a car, or a hedge, and you can easily see everything around you.

9) Dogs Get Snatched From Cars

Regarding theft, AKC Reunite warns that you should never leave your dog in a car, even for short errands, whether the window is cracked or the AC is running. Sometimes, your dog might not be the main target but still gets stolen along with your car, as this UK story of a stolen Range Rover with a Doberman inside shows.

We wholeheartedly agree with the AKC and hope we don’t need to mention that leaving dogs in a car during the summer, or even the winter, is a complete no-no on its own. Given that thieves may use the cracked window to open your car, theft is quite apparently another concern.

However, it is 2026, and we want to mention an important exception. Some people, like us, own electric vehicles that have a so-called ‘pet mode’. For example, Teslas, the cars we own, not only have a pet mode that keeps the temperature consistent and the doors locked, but they also have several cameras that record any movement around the car and send a notification to the car owners’ app. There is also a camera filming the inside of the car in live mode, accessible through the same app. We do leave our dogs, including Persephone, in the car when we are grocery shopping after a hike, walk, or another daily outing with them. Our dogs are always with us, and we are not exaggerating.

In our case, Persephone is not acting like the lovely, innocent girl she is on the inside when someone approaches the car, and her brother, who is 75 pounds, is not necessarily inviting a quick, uneventful snatch from a car you’d need to break the window to get to them, either. Combined with the cameras -one of us has the phone with the live feed in their hand at all times- and us being less than 30 seconds away, we feel comfortable leaving them in the car, but that is just us. We, however, would not leave them in the car if we were further than a few hundred yards away from them. The reason is simple: we want to be in the direct vicinity to intervene in any scenario that could harm our dogs.

10) The Broken Record: Adult Dobermans Get Taken

Yes, we might sound like a broken record, but it is worth repeating because we think Doberman guardians might be biased: A grown Doberman is not automatically safe from theft. As Mitch Rapoport of the National Dog Registry said:

“People think that just because they have a Doberman or a Rottweiler or a boxer, they’re safe because people will be afraid to steal them. But a lot of these people who are stealing dogs are pros. They can handle the animal better than you can.”

Here’s a list of some of the USA and Worldwide cases and stories we found about adult Dobermans stolen from their people:

1. South Carolina: 3-year-old blue Doberman service dog stolen from yard
https://wach.com/news/local/service-dog-stolen-from-familys-yard

2. Oklahoma: 6-year-old Doberman service dog Gabriel missing, suspected stolen
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/oklahoma-family-searching-missing-service-dog/527-dabc0b00-bf27-4daa-9462-c65b36e9c1ba

3. Tennessee: rescue Dobermans reportedly stolen from facility
https://groups.google.com/g/K9AmberAlert/c/yDnKjkyCn0c

4. Washington: stolen RV with Doberman service dog inside
https://www.facebook.com/DavidRoseFOX13/posts/found-happy-reunion-stolen-rv-with-11-show-dogs-including-5-toy-fox-terriers-5-m/1557198794303259/

5. Scotland: 7-year-old Doberman cross stolen outside McDonald’s
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dog-stolen-outside-mcdonalds-owner-29741150

6. England: two Dobermans suspected stolen from farm, later found
https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/news/gloucestershire/suspect-stolen-doberman-dogs-found/

7. England: Doberman inside stolen Range Rover
https://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/news/north-yorkshire/news/news/2022/02-february/stolen-vehicle-recovered-within-30-minutes-and-one-suspect-arrested/

8. Ireland: 11-year-old Doberman reportedly stolen
https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22456645/

5. Canada: Adolescent Doberman stolen from yard, confirmed theft claim
https://www.facebook.com/groups/558014447614076/posts/25185666904422155/

6. Canada: Montreal “Doberman stolen, reward offered”
https://www.montrealdogblog.com/11669/doberman-stolen-reward-offered/

7. UK FOI: Cleveland Police recorded Doberman thefts
https://www.cleveland.police.uk/foi-ai/cleveland-police/disclosure/2025/february/foi-26425-stolen-dogs/
https://www.cleveland.police.uk/foi-ai/cleveland-police/disclosure/2025/april/foi-42325-dog-theft/

One Last & Extra Point: Some Dogs May End Up In Illegal Dog Fighting Rings

There are reports that dogs are sometimes stolen and used in illegal dog fighting, sometimes as an Australian newspaper reports, as bait dogs. People also warn about such scenarios in US lost-and-found social media groups. While Pit Bulls are very popular companion dogs, they’re also the main dog breed used in illegal dog fights in the USA, which the ASPCA confirms.

While we don’t know for sure, Pit Bulls might not be on the thieves’ list only as companion dogs or for breeding, and it seems plausible that some stolen dogs could end up in dog-fighting rings, either to fight or as bait.

When it comes to Dobermans, at least one source reports that Dobermans are occasionally used in street fights or as bait dogs. There is also at least one documented raid where three Dobermans were seized from a suspected dogfighting property.

With all that said, is it the most likely scenario that a stolen Doberman will end up in an illegal dog-fighting operation? Probably not, since they are not the main target breed found in dog fighting. But as some of these reports suggest, it is not impossible either.

Be Prepared and Aware

The moral of the story is: we don’t want our Dobermans in the hands of any thieves. That is why it is important to inform ourselves about the various ways dognapping can occur. We need to learn about when they happen, who is usually involved, and what practices they use. It is equally crucial that we understand that many of the things we think are protective, like daylight, being with our dogs, or having an adult Doberman at our side, are not as protective as we think.

In-Text Linked References

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