Tag your dogs!

tk123

I posted in another thread but we had an incident at home this morning and unfortunately the gates were left open - both dogs bolted (out into traffic! :eek: ) and Lucy was missing for a while. I got a call in work from my mum in a state crying and flew home...Luckily on the way home I got a call from somebody who saw her running along the avenue, knew she was on her own and got my number from her tag. I've met this woman once or twice so she wouldn't really know me or the dogs....

I'm always seeing photos of people's dogs at home with no collar/harness on so thought I'd post as a reminder as it's Halloween on Saturday.

That 30-40 mins was the longest in my life - would I see a dead body on the way home? Was she taken and just gone? etc etc Imagine having to wait overnight hoping somebody had found your dog and would bring it to the vets the next morning to check for a chip - if they're open - ours is only open for a few hours on Sunday mornings.

If my two don't have a collar on in the house they have a comfy harness - both with tags with mobile, landline and vets numbers on it. Thank god!! My poor doggies and poor family member who is feeling terrible for not closing the gates.

andreac

Oh god Tk, you poor thing. I can only imagine how you felt. It's the worst feeling ever.

The amount of dogs that aren't chipped is awful. My brother found a dog wandering last night near Palmerstown and its has no chip :-(

OldNotWIse

That must have been terrifying

Hooked

I'm just gonna say it here as I was literally just on an animal welfare Facebook page... At least I can rant anonymously online.

Every day the story goes like this....

Today's post:

'Little xxxx owners must be sooo worried' and a pic of the stray dog.


If they were so f-ing concerned, they'd have a collar and tag on their 'beloved pet'. It maddens me the amount of 'lost dogs' with no bloody chip or tag!

It's so cheap and easy to do FFS!

Glad to hear you had a happy ending!

www.identitag.co.uk for the win.

OldNotWIse

Hooked wrote: »

I'm just gonna say it here as I was literally just on an animal welfare Facebook page... At least I can rant anonymously online.

Every day the story goes like this....

Today's post:

'Little xxxx owners must be sooo worried' and a pic of the stray dog.


If they were so f-ing concerned, they'd have a collar and tag on their 'beloved pet'. It maddens me the amount of 'lost dogs' with no bloody chip or tag!

It's so cheap and easy to do FFS!

Glad to hear you had a happy ending!

www.identitag.co.uk for the win.

Our dog is microchipped but she cannot tolerate a collar because of a medical condition known as tracheal collapse. If anything did happen to her, I would be relying on the good sense (and generosity) of whoever found her to have her scanned.

tk123

Hooked wrote: »

I'm just gonna say it here as I was literally just on an animal welfare Facebook page... At least I can rant anonymously online.

Every day the story goes like this....

Today's post:

'Little xxxx owners must be sooo worried' and a pic of the stray dog.


If they were so f-ing concerned, they'd have a collar and tag on their 'beloved pet'. It maddens me the amount of 'lost dogs' with no bloody chip or tag!

It's so cheap and easy to do FFS!

Glad to hear you had a happy ending!

www.identitag.co.uk for the win.

99% of people I know posting pics of their dogs indoors on FB etc don't have collars on though. Dogs are in for the evening and collars come off. If I had have taken her collar off this morning after their walk she would have had no ID on her when she bolted.

cocker5

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Our dog is microchipped but she cannot tolerate a collar because of a medical condition known as tracheal collapse. If anything did happen to her, I would be relying on the good sense (and generosity) of whoever found her to have her scanned.

have you considered are harness? you can attach a tag to a body harness and not just a collar.. might be an idea. you can get very soft, easily wearable harnesses

you would be VERY surprised how stupid people can be when it comes to lost/found animals... lots of dogs up on adverts etc - who were found a few days ago with finder looking to off load... who havent bothered checking chips etc

lots of people don't know about microchipping, informing local garda stations and that are not on social media site etc

Just an idea for you...

angeldaisy

Poor you TK12, you must have been out of your mind worrying, thank goodness they are both okay.

I found two dogs last week straying, neither had collars or were chipped. Managed to get them into the care of a local rescue, informed the local pound etc... rang round local shops etc to see if anyone was missing them. The following morning I had a visit from the irate owner giving out stink to me that I had picked them up:mad: I gave out to him about not having them chipped or with collars, only to be told he only had them 5 days and didn't have chance yet! I told him there was no excuse for no collar and tag, he then proceeded to call me an aul b***h upon which point the door was closed in his face:mad::mad:

hardCopy

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Our dog is microchipped but she cannot tolerate a collar because of a medical condition known as tracheal collapse. If anything did happen to her, I would be relying on the good sense (and generosity) of whoever found her to have her scanned.

Maybe you could get the harness embroidered?

OldNotWIse

cocker5 wrote: »

have you considered are harness? you can attach a tag to a body harness and not just a collar.. might be an idea. you can get very soft, easily wearable harnesses

you would be VERY surprised how stupid people can be when it comes to lost/found animals... lots of dogs up on adverts etc - who were found a few days ago with finder looking to off load... who havent bothered checking chips etc

lots of people don't know about microchipping, informing local garda stations and that are not on social media site etc

Just an idea for you...

I've done more than consider a harness - she has one But I'm not going to leave it on her all the time.

I know only too well about owners trying to offload. We took in a "stray" about a year ago and it turned out that he was chipped but he was reg'd to someone in Galway. Turns out they had surrendered him twice to <snip> but he kept escaping and returning home (saddest thing I ever heard ) so then they left in a Wexford shelter but he escaped from there and made his way to our garden (of course :rolleyes:) in Dublin. The owners really didn't want to know and the <snip> in Wexford had the cheek to tell us they would need to do a home check before they could let us keep him - after them losing him It all ended beautifully, he found his forever home with a couple I know and they adore him

OldNotWIse

hardCopy wrote: »

Maybe you could get the harness embroidered?

Not a bad idea since when she is outside she has the harness on and that is the only time she'd be at risk of disappearing. I'll ask my long-suffering Dad to do a job with the swing machine :P

OldNotWIse

angeldaisy wrote: »

Poor you TK12, you must have been out of your mind worrying, thank goodness they are both okay.

I found two dogs last week straying, neither had collars or were chipped. Managed to get them into the care of a local rescue, informed the local pound etc... rang round local shops etc to see if anyone was missing them. The following morning I had a visit from the irate owner giving out stink to me that I had picked them up:mad: I gave out to him about not having them chipped or with collars, only to be told he only had them 5 days and didn't have chance yet! I told him there was no excuse for no collar and tag, he then proceeded to call me an aul b***h upon which point the door was closed in his face:mad::mad:

Jesus If that was my dog I'd feel forever indebted to whoever found her!

tk123

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Jesus If that was my dog I'd feel forever indebted to whoever found her!

I called somebody one day after their dog was running amok in the park and bothering another dog - she's like that with some dogs.....anyways they were peeved I bother them and made me feel stupid for calling them! This dog has been picked up by the warden on more that one occasion but they still let her roam!


I use a mesh puppia harness for Lucy when she's gotten wet and I want to take the collar off to let her dry. It's really soft and comfy for her

ShaShaBear

Admittedly Opie's tag doesn't have a contact number on it. Or his name for that matter. It just has "I'm Lost, Snipped and Chipped". I know a lot of people around this area (some living very close) who would happily "lift" a dog and ring the number in the hopes of a reward. We hoped that the fact that it says he's neutered and chipped that people would know he was cared for and missed and would take him straight to a vet. And we know the microchip details are up-to-date (and they have my number, OH's number, my mother's number and my FIL's number too, just in case) :pac:

borderlinemeath

It's my worst nightmare TK, although mine are gate trained, it's never been left open unless there's somebody coming or going and we're there with them. I don't take their collars off when they come in either, but I know loads that do take their collars and IDs off. I know some dogs that never wear a collar, and it drives me demented, when they come to me I put my own collars on them!

odckdo

For the life of me I can't think of a reason off-hand, other than a medical reason, why would you take a collar off indoors? Is it for safety reasons in that the collar might get caught in something or is it for comfort?

Mine wear a collar all the time. Instead of the normal tag hanging off, their tag is curved and slides over the collar so it never falls off.

tk123

I'm just so glad I had the 3 numbers on the tag - if I hadn't of answered yesterday say if the connection wasn't working in the car or something there's a good chance the house phone wouldn't have been answered but the third number was the vets. The receptionist would have recognised her even without checking the chip - they wave out to her when we pass on walks lol!

I just keep hugging them

TG1

Awh, you poor thing! Thinking you might have lost one is just horrible...

I had a similar incident when my dog moved to a different county with my parents, so had no idea where he was or who he should be with, and my dad left a door open for a second while he brought a few boxes in. Bob went exploring and got out to the road and got confused as to which way was home. Only that I had thought at the very last minute to change the number on his tag from the house phone in cork to my dad's mobile the lady who knew he wasn't local and got him in her car would have been ringing the dissconnected number. Keeping tags up to date is so important too!!!

piperh

So glad it turned out ok, must of added a few grey hairs.

Like Borderline ours are gate trained but we are still so careful as you never know what could catch their eye so our gate is kept locked and we have signs up. Last week we had a shopping delivery and the driver left the gate open so off went a polite email asking them to remind their drivers to close gates after them.

On a side note isn't it law now to tag?

borderlinemeath

piperh wrote: »

So glad it turned out ok, must of added a few grey hairs.

Like Borderline ours are gate trained but we are still so careful as you never know what could catch their eye so our gate is kept locked and we have signs up. Last week we had a shopping delivery and the driver left the gate open so off went a polite email asking them to remind their drivers to close gates after them.

On a side note isn't it law now to tag?

It's always been the law to have an ID tag, and it's meant to have your full address on it too, I've never put the address on, it would be bad enough losing your dog, but they might be picked up by some undesirable who would now be in possession of your beloved dog and your home address, and they would then perhaps think that you'd be an easy target as your "guard dog" wouldn't be there to alert to a break in!! Mine says "If I'm alone, I'm lost, neutered and chipped and 3 contact numbers.

The new law was regarding microchipping, but even still, so many existing dogs are chipped but not registered, or the details aren't up to date. Half the problem is that a lot of the tags you get have limited room for numbers so it's maybe only one number on it, so if somebody gets a new phone with a new number it just gets disconnected. At least if you get a decent tag, like identitag, where you can put on so much information, and phone number options, chances are if you forget to change the tag, at least one of the numbers might be working.

Wizard!

My dog is tagged and chipped from day one. I brought her here from Greece. Should I do something? What is the information included in the chip? Just a name, ore there are phone numbers that I should update?

cocker5

Wizard! wrote: »

My dog is tagged and chipped from day one. I brought her here from Greece. Should I do something? What is the information included in the chip? Just a name, ore there are phone numbers that I should update?

have you checked with your vet that her chip actually scans? different counteries may have different chips / scanning equipment. The chip database should have your name , address, email address,2/3 contact numbers so you can be reunited with your pet.

Get her a tag... no name just valid phone numbers on it.

My guys tag just has on one side our 2 mobile numbers (always contactable), other side, neutered / chipped and that's it

Inexile

TK glad you got your dogs back safe and sound. Everyone should have their dogs tagged and chipped as even the most careful owners can have a mishap and lose their dog.

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Our dog is microchipped but she cannot tolerate a collar because of a medical condition known as tracheal collapse. If anything did happen to her, I would be relying on the good sense (and generosity) of whoever found her to have her scanned.

ONW - have you considered a tag collar? I have one on my grey its a very lose twisted rope type collar . It wouldn't be strong enough to hold a dog it just has a tag on it. I have used it for well over a year now and it has never fallen off even though it is swinging loose on the neck.

Tranceypoo

odckdo wrote:

For the life of me I can't think of a reason off-hand, other than a medical reason, why would you take a collar off indoors? Is it for safety reasons in that the collar might get caught in something or is it for comfort?

That's why mine have their collars off indoors, I read something on here once I think it was Andrea C who posted it, about a friend of hers whose dog managed to hang himself by his collar on a fence or something, put the fear of God in me!

Millem

Tracey you can get collars that snap off. Can't rember the name of them but I got them for my girls from dog training ireland. They were pricey from what I remember.
They are called "pet safe break away collars"
http://m.ebay.ie/itm/Premier-Petsafe-Keepsafe-Safety-Breakaway-Collar-stops-strangulation-/300520486178
Tk123 I feel your pain.....one of my girls ran away twice this week!!!! She can not be trusted near the door at the best of times but we had workmen and she snook out thank god she is tagged and microchipped.

The first time we got a phone call from a lovely man who actually drove her home and the second time while I was put looking for her I Asked group of workmen if they had seen her unbeknownst to me they actually went looking for her, found her, drove around to look for me to tell me one of the lads had her! She usually bolts once a year, refuses to come back for me but if anyone else calls her (especially a child) she is a good as gold! So far this year she has bolted 3 times..so We have resorted to building a porch!!!!!

OldNotWIse

borderlinemeath wrote: »

It's my worst nightmare TK, although mine are gate trained, it's never been left open unless there's somebody coming or going and we're there with them. I don't take their collars off when they come in either, but I know loads that do take their collars and IDs off. I know some dogs that never wear a collar, and it drives me demented, when they come to me I put my own collars on them!

My dog doesn't wear a collar, for medical reasons. She'd never be free to roam anyway and any time she is outside is with me, but I would have serious issue with someone putting a collar on her against my wishes.

tk123

OldNotWIse wrote: »

She'd never be free to roam anyway and any time she is outside is with me

I would have said the same about my two until last week and also about them being gate trained. Without going into details something happened at the house and the dogs were terrified and just bolted.

This is what Lucy wears when she's not wearing a collar - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Puppia-Soft-Harness-M-Red/dp/B0013MX6GY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446459146&sr=8-1&keywords=puppia+harness

borderlinemeath

OldNotWIse wrote: »

My dog doesn't wear a collar, for medical reasons. She'd never be free to roam anyway and any time she is outside is with me, but I would have serious issue with someone putting a collar on her against my wishes.

Of course I would respect an owners wishes if their dog couldn't wear a collar for medical reasons but the onus is on the owner to inform the minder? The ones that come here that don't have collars aren't for medical reasons, it's usually either because "the dog doesn't like wearing it" or b "the dogs coat gets tangled in it and he doesn't like getting brushed". The owners have no issue with me putting my own collars on while they're here, it's pure laziness in their cases. Most of the time I have to use my own harnesses when I take them out for walks too, particularly the ones that come with nothing but a slip lead as I refuse to use them. If an owner has an issue with that they can leave their dog elsewhere!

OldNotWIse

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Of course I would respect an owners wishes if their dog couldn't wear a collar for medical reasons but the onus is on the owner to inform the minder? The ones that come here that don't have collars aren't for medical reasons, it's usually either because "the dog doesn't like wearing it" or b "the dogs coat gets tangled in it and he doesn't like getting brushed". The owners have no issue with me putting my own collars on while they're here, it's pure laziness in their cases. Most of the time I have to use my own harnesses when I take them out for walks too, particularly the ones that come with nothing but a slip lead as I refuse to use them. If an owner has an issue with that they can leave their dog elsewhere!

Well that's different. From reading your post I thought it was just dogs that were stopping by

The last time I left my dog in kennels (and now it really is "the last time" in the "never again" sense), they didn't respect what I had told them and walked her with a collar, despite the fact that she has a collapsing trachea and cannot tolerate it. They also got quite annoyed when I pulled them on this and proceeded to put her harness on her in what I can only assume was a temper and leave it on her for the rest of the week. It was also on the wrong way. When I collected her, she had marks on her from it digging in. Nightmare kennels They also gave her canned "chum" despite instructions only to give her specialized dried food (which we supplied). They got her name and gender wrong, and sent me texts saying she was enjoying playing with all the other dogs and really happy (not like her at all), and the smell off her and the amount of hair falling off her when I collected her, I doubt she had seen the light of day tbh

smurfjed

Years ago my Lab was a wanderer, one Sunday morning he got out (no sheep for miles around), I started driving around looking for him and finally found him about a KM away in a community swimming pool, he was jumping in and swimming the length, getting out, shaking off and walking back to jump in again. I really didn't know if i should laugh or kick his arse!

Now my dogs have bluetooth tracking devices on their collars, not the greatest range, but i at least know which direction they have gone in.

TheChizler

My GF's family dog doesn't wear his collar, drives me insane. Convinced them to buy him an expensive collar and tag in the hopes that they'd feel it was a waste if they didn't use it but it didn't work. I call over to bring him for a walk and I usually give out about him not wearing it, but they say he doesn't like it. I'm not sure how they came to that conclusion, I try to make the point that he probably wouldn't like being lost either but they're convinced he won't ever escape or get off the lead. At least he's chipped, I think.

andreac

Tranceypoo wrote: »

That's why mine have their collars off indoors, I read something on here once I think it was Andrea C who posted it, about a friend of hers whose dog managed to hang himself by his collar on a fence or something, put the fear of God in me!

Yes, that was me who posted that.

None of my dogs wear a collar of any sort as it's too risky for me in case they get it caught in something.
It was my cousin's dog who died after his collar got caught on the fence and she came home to find him hanging dead off the fence, horrific

All of mine are chipped and that is enough for me.

Knine

None of mine wear collars either. I had a near miss. Borders squeeze, climb & tunnel into the smallest of spaces & it is just too risky. They play a lot together & the collars get chewed.

sillysmiles

For mine, when he is in, the collar comes off after the last pee stop. It's part of his going to bed ritual!
When we visit my brothers farm the collar comes off as the chances of him getting caught in something hunting the ditches is greater than the chances of him getting lost.

oppenheimer1

Maybe GPS pet collars are the way forward. At about £30 on ebay they're not hugely expensive.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fashion-Mini-GPS-Tracker-Locator-Tracking-for-Small-Pet-Dog-Cat-Car-/281693330901?hash=item41963b1dd5:g:7TYAAOSwNSxVVh5N