Id tags

[D'Elle]

Wondering -Do you put your dogs' names on their ID tags or not? I am ordering new tags for Digger and Boo from Boomerang Tags and am debating whether or not to put their names on the tags. The tags are going to be double-sided and one side will have my phone number, and will say "Reward for return" and "If I'm alone I'm lost / Please call my mom". The other side will say "microchipped" and will have the chip number and name and phone number of the microchip company.

 

(I know "call my mom" is overly cutesey and I don't ever talk like that. But I thought it might have some impact in terms of getting people to call)

 

In the past I have had their names on the tags, but I am thinking of not doing that, because the fewer lines you use the larger the text can be. Some folks say it is no advantage to give a potential thief the ability to call your dog by name. Another school of thought is it can be good if the one who finds your dog can call the dog if he gets away from them again. I am leaning toward no name. Just wondering what other people have decided, and why.

[waffles]

I can't come up with a good reason in my mind that someone needs to know my dogs' name, if found. What I think is more helpful, is my name. When they hopefully call my number, they can ask for me by my name. I also feel that by putting "I belong to first/last name..." puts some kind of visual about the owner into the equation making them possibly less likely to keep or sell the dog.

 

The riveted tags on the collar just have two cell phone numbers and town/state/zip since we travel. The text is nice and big that way. The attached tags say I belong to..., microchip # and phone numbers.

 

At my old job, I was always amazed by how many people would put a tag on their dog that only had the dog's name...which is completely useless without phone numbers or address. So people know they found Spot and that is all.

[gcv-border]

I do have my dog's name on his riveted tag, but when I get another collar with riveted tag, I will probably not put his name on it. Unfortunately ? my dogs are so friendly that they will respond to anyone calling them so I am not sure what difference it makes if someone can call them by their name or just call them, but still .....

 

I also have my town and state, 2 phone numbers and the word 'microchipped'. Theoretically, the phone #s should be called first before someone has to have the microchip checked. I put 'microchipped' on the tag in the hopes that if someone was thinking about keeping my friendly dog, they would not go through with it because the dog is traceable.

[Tommy Coyote]

My tags have my dog's names on them . And my phone number. They also wear their rabies tags which have the vet clinic on them. And they wear their city tags which have a number to call that has my name and number and address.

 

I figure if someone wants to steal them they will just take their tags off. Zeke us microchipped but the other two aren't.

 

People around here will call if they find a dog running loose. The big danger is having one stolen so my dogs are never out if I am not close. I have Beware of Dog signs up. Doesn't hurt if people think they aren't friendly. Actually my dogs aren't used to being around other people and they aren't all that friendly with strangers. Joey just flat doesn't like strangers. There's good things and bad things about that.

[chrisandgabe]

Gabe's has our last name and my cell number, but he's in need of new tags. He also has his city license (traceable back to me) and his rabies tag from the vet (traceable back to me). He's not friendly with strangers, so my hopes aren't high that anyone would be able to catch him and get close enough to read tags at all. We didn't put his name on this tag because we needed to bring an ID tag to meet him, but weren't positive we'd keep him or keep his name. So last name and cell seemed to make the most sense.

 

We're moving next week, and I'll probably get updated tags then, with our address and "I'm microchipped" on there, based on threads from these boards.

[simba]

I have recently ordered tags which will mean one dog will have two email addresses, two cell phones, home address, and home number, and a PetHub scannable tag with all the info updated on the website, and 'spayed/chipped' (in an attempt to deter theft).The other will have everything the same except only one email address and no PetHub tag.

 

Yes, they have multiple tags. They are also registered on more than one microchip registry.

 

As I said to the vet, at least anyone who finds them will know we really, really want them back.

 

Also- Mother of God, Waffles, what is the point of a tag that has only the dog's name? Seriously, I just do not understand. Do they think they will forget what he's called?

 

Okay, that's snarky, it's probably a sentimental thing, fair enough- but I would be more happy about it if it wasn't a pointless waste of something designed to get a dog home safely.

[simba]

I mean, if the dog had its name on a jacket or a water bowl or a collar or something else- anything, really- I would be more understanding.

[diane allen]

My dogs only wear collars and their one tag when we're traveling.

Their recall is superb; I've done everything I can to protect them while in a vehicle.

I just can't imagine them getting "loose" or lost.

I suppose when it happens to me, I'll feel differently.

 

Their one tag has the dog's name, my home phone and my cell phone numbers.

Yeah, I suppose a "thief" would like to know the dog's name (or anyone who found a dog, and wanted to keep it).

 

One of mine - no way is she going with anyone else! They'd need a noose to catch her.

 

The other - well, he might, but he is rarely out of sight, and would bark loudly if anyone approached him (it's a friendly "I'd love to play with you!" bark - but they might not know that....heh, heh!).

 

So yeah. Names. But YMMV.

diane

[GentleLake]

I'd asked the question here several years ago about whether or not to put the dogs' names on their tags. IIRC people were fairly evenly divided as to whether or not they do.

 

As a pet sitter, one thing I've noticed is that dogs often visibly relax when a stranger calls them by their names. I always go to meet pets before I go to the homes when their people are away, but still the first time or two when I come when people are gone some are pretty suspicious until I call them by name. So I've started to do that as soon as I walk in the door.

 

I've seen it in other situations as well, when I might be meeting a dog for the first time, know its name and use it. Somehow I think there's a level of name recognition that puts them at ease more easily.

 

So, on the one hand, do I want someone who's stolen my dog to know their name? Probably not. But I think it's much more likely (at least I hope so) that one of my dogs could end up lost. Unfortunately, I've had some times when dogs have run off and someone has called me from the info on their tags (thank dog, not for some time now). In that case, I think I'd like it if they felt a little more comfortable with the person who's found them and that they'll be with until I can gt there to pick them up.

 

So I'm still on the fence about it.

[D'Elle]

Thanks for the replies.

I don't know how my post got put up twice. I only posted it once.

I think I will go with no dog names. That way the text on the other info will be larger.