Steven Baldwin and another man were seen trying to get into parked cars in the village but had vanished by the time police arrived at the scene.
The police dog followed a trail through the village and tracked Baldwin and another man to a hedge in a narrow lane.
He was found with a pair of bolt croppers in his rucksack which he planned to use to commit crimes, Exeter Crown Court was told.
Baldwin was already subject to a suspended sentence for handling stolen Range Rovers and their number plates in 2016.
Baldwin, aged 29, of Larkbeare Road, Exeter, admitted going equipped for theft and was jailed for a total of eleven months by Judge David Evans.
He told him: ‘You were seen by residents in the early hours of the morning skulking around parked cars in Exminster. Police were called twice, once at 1.30am and again at 3am.
‘You were still skulking around and police arrived and found you hiding in a hedge after you were tracked by a dog. You had a pair of bolt croppers and it is clear you were out looking to steal, in all probability from cars.
‘It may be that you were upset in relation to family court proceedings but there are ways of dealing with that sort of upset other than by going out to steal.’
Mr Gordon Richings, prosecuting, said police were called to the village on the morning of October 3 last year after two men were seen acting suspiciously.
They were not found on the first call-out, but police sent a dog to the scene when there were further complaints of two men trying car doors.
Baldwin and another man were found hiding in a hedge. The other man has since admitted interfering with vehicles and been dealt with by magistrates.
Mr Warren Robinson, defending, said Baldwin has been working with the probation services turnaround team.
He said he turned to crime as a reaction to the stress of family court proceedings in which he is contesting an order that he should no live at the same address as his baby daughter.
It has led to him sofa surfing and caused instability in his life which led to his reoffending.
In the previous case, for which he received the suspended sentence and sent on a thinking skills course, Baldwin handled two stolen vehicles and stole valuable scientific kit from a third.