Most everyone that owns a pet has a great deal of affection for them and consider them as part of their family. While some opt to purchase their dog or cat through an animal shelter others pay a small fortune for specific breeds. Those pets that come with a high price tag can also become a target for pet theft.

Many home owners really take comfort in owning a dog for security purposes. Now these may not be guard dogs in the true sense, but even the little ones can do a good job at learning their owner know that someone is on the property. Some small dogs have a pretty gruff bark which also acts as a great deterrent to some thieves.

Thieves are drawn to anything that could potentially put money in their pocket and if they think that your pet whether it be a dog or cat or something else is going to let them achieve this then they will put a good effort into stealing your pet.

When it comes to cats the main concern for their protection is usually at home.  You don’t have to be concerned about away from the home because expensive cats are not usually allowed to run at free will. Dogs have different protective requirements.

You may feel your dog is secure if he only has access to your fenced in backyard, but depending on the personality of this animal scaling your fence by a pet thief will not be all that difficult. You can enhance the security of this area by including video security or to a lesser degree at least have motion lighting in place for the night time hours. Teaching your dog not to accept food from strangers is another good measure, as this is often the way that a thief will entice your pet to cooperate with them.

You also need to give thought as to protecting your pet against theft when away from home. Try to avoid leaving your dog in the car when you are not there. When you do this it means having to leave a window down for the comfort of the dog but can also give easy entry to the potential dog thief.

Making sure your dog has the proper ID tags is a good way to help get the return of your dog in the event he is lost rather than stolen. Also, keep current pictures of your dog. These can prove to be valuable in the event the dog is stolen and you can publicsize these pics as well as give them to the Police.