Dog ID Tag on a Martingale Collar by The Artful Canine

OK, so call me old-fashioned. I happen to believe that the best dog I.D. tag is a clearly engraved metal tag attached to my dog’s collar. I never had any of my dogs micro-chipped for reasons below. And while I love the technology a QR code provides, I’m not so sure that the first person my runaway mini-schnauzer comes in contact with will understand what a QR code is. Let me give you a couple of scenarios to prove my point:

Scenario One – Lost in the Neighborhood
You open the door to get a package, or maybe because you hear something going on outside and want to check it out. You momentarily forget that your little Rascal is right behind you, and out the door he goes at a pace way faster than you can keep up with. Before you know it, he’s gone and so are you, panicked and amazed at how quickly that little bugger disappeared on you!

If you are in a congested neighborhood, you may not know the folks the next street over, or the block down the street. And unless you’ve got the scent of a dog, you have no idea what direction he went in. An hour or two later it’s become more serious. “Rascal” is nowhere to be found.

If he were micro-chipped, he will not be immediately identifiable. To read the microchip, he will have to be picked up or handed over to animal control or a local vet. Depending on the day, the staffing, etc., you may not see your pup right away. It may take a day or two before you hear from someone, and if you live in a more rural area, it may take longer. Worse case scenario, your dog is assumed to be a stray because he has no tags, and because he’s such a cutie his finder decides to keep him! Trust me, it happens.

A Stainless Steel ID Tag available from The Artful Canine

Scenario Two – Far From Home
You’re on a road trip and a ways from home. You stop for a potty break, and timid little Tess manages to back out of her collar and bolt for the wooded area. This one is a little scarier, because now you are in a situation where your dog has no idea where she is, and is likely to panic. Maybe you don’t know the area either, and have no idea where to begin. Unless you have a tracking device on her, you are just going to have to trust that, again, local animal control will contact you when, and if, they find her.

So you think, OK, no worries, she’s got her QR tag on her, so hopefully someone will get back to you right away. You stare at your smartphone, waiting for that call that tells you she’s safe and you can come pick her up. But it just so happens that Tess ran to the home of a very sweet old man that doesn’t own a smartphone.

He is befuddled by the strange tag Tess is wearing, and decides he’ll just keep her until he goes to town next Wednesday. Then he’ll drop her off at the local County Sheriffs office and they will get her back home. In the meanwhile, she’ll make some nice company and he’s got plenty of human food to feed her until Wednesday. Little does he know that “Tess” is on medication. And while you loved the QR tag because you could list the details of her medical needs, it’s little help to Tess in this situation.

If your dog is wearing a traditional Dog I.D. tag with critical info like a home/cell phone numbers and medical alerts, s/he is more likely to get home quick and safe, regardless of the person, or situation, s/he happens to fall into. Not everyone has a smartphone (I know, can you believe it?), and not everyone knows what a microchip is (or cares, for that matter).

Err on the safe side with an inexpensive, attractive, quality Dog ID Tag like the ones sold by the Artful Canine. Depending on the size of the tag, you can fit 3 lines text. We recommend a cell phone number (if you have one and its with you all the time) and a home phone number at minimum. If your dog has medical needs, the tag is a great way of alerting someone that this dog has special needs, which may get your dog home to you quicker.

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