Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I see it all the time. People who LOVE LOVE LOVE their dogs yet they don't put I.d. tags on them. They tell me, "Oh well they are microchipped." Well, that's great but most people don't carry a scanner on them at all times. I don't.
Yesterday I dropped my son off for a playdate. The mother of my son's friend is involved in animal rescue but yet, NO collars on either dog. Her gate was also unlocked. Huh?
Just the other month, I caught a stray spaniel. Took him to the shelter where they did find his microchip. Hurray. But then I was pissed off to learn that the dog lived right around the corner from me (they never walk the dog so I had no idea he was a local). I could have just brought him home instead of dealing with the shelter. Grrr.....
I know some of you reading this have dogs who don't wear collars. I just don't get you.
My dogs have their collars on 24/7. It's California after all and when the earthquakes hit, you don't know how your dog will react. Better safe than sorry, I say.
This is why I prefer Tatoo! At least the Adv person on the street can Read it! I Dont like collars for several reasons. .1 Dogs can hang & choke. 2 When showing messes up the coat 3 Collars can grow into a dogs neck! 4 Collars can be removed
bailey and dave ALWAYS have their collars on.... and dave's collar includes tags with his chip info and rabies tag and id tag with my and my house mate's phone numbers.... bailey lost her chip info tag LONG ago, but she still has her rabies tag and id tag ........
only time a collar grows into the neck is if it is allowed to get too tight as the dog grows......
and we certainly don't have to worry about the show ring.....
the chihuahuas dont wear collars, why? because ive yet to find a quality collar thats small enough and comfortable for a 3lb dog that doesnt rub the fur off their necks and agrivate. however, the likleyhood of them ever getting loose is zero, not only do they not go out alone EVER, but they are also incredibly clingy and cant even be bribed to sneak away lol.
the cocker however always wears a collar. mostly because he would wander off if the gate was left open accidentally and does go into the yard without supervision occasionally.
all of them are microchipped also.
my cresties are always collar/tagged unless there in their crates, but thats more cosmetic than anything else, lol, i found a couple of collar that i loved and their soft enough and light weight enough to not bother the skin/coat. the cresties dont go outside unspuervised EVER, my male is only 5lbs and at hawk risk, and ive actually had people try and steal them (while in the fenced garden WITH them and right off the leash whe walking...
i actually had a couple come over to "say hello" one tried to distract me while the other tried to unclip my hairless male from his leash...)
and like the other animals in the house (yes even my macaw) everyone is microchipped...
collars, while helpfull in SOME cases are useless in many...
there great if the dog is friendly, calm and easily aproachable...
but many dogs that get loose are frightend skittish (even if normally frinedly) and not going to let you get close enough to read a little tag...most people wont put on the chase for a stray dog thats not going to stand still...
i can tell you under no uncertani circumstances, theres no way in heaven or hell that either jasper would let a random stranger get close enough to read a tag lol
i dont tattoo simply because i find number id tattoos garish and ugly (and ive seen people cut them out *shudder*)
they are often done very large to prevent being removed, in a bright black ink and it just detracts from the dog...plus if your not "in the know" or have acess to the database, how is the average person goign to know what that series of numbers actually means or where to look to find out...its not like they tattoo the owners name and adress on the dog, instead its a code...dont know how to read that code, its useless.
i also agree that the only time collars are a risk is 1: when they are improperly fitted...2: when they are not properly taken care of...
the RIGHT collar doesnt destroy a show coat, its just a case of finding one, long haired dog, go with a well conditioned ROLLED leather, sighthound, go with a wide collar with a satin or fleece lining...
for the "average" dog, finding a collar that will work isnt that hard...
when you get into odd shapes and sizes it can be harder (like finding a rolled leather for a 3lb dog lol)
Microchipping is pretty darn good too. One of mine is tattooed but the #'s wouldnt mean anything to anyone (IF they could find it). They also wear ID tags, they can be clingy but one got loose one Halloween nite several yrs ago and we were darn lucky to get her back (she was disoriented and wouldnt even go to us, my husb. had to snag her). We have an upcoming move soon so they'll get another # on their tags (along w/ the cell phone #'s).
I don't diagree with the OP but there is another reason some people don't collar if they have multiple dogs. While playing, one can get its mouth caught on the others collar, or mistakenly choke the other one. This happened to my neighbors dogs, luckily she was there to take care of the situation before they were hurt.
collars, while helpfull in SOME cases are useless in many...
there great if the dog is friendly, calm and easily aproachable...
but many dogs that get loose are frightend skittish (even if normally frinedly) and not going to let you get close enough to read a little tag...most people wont put on the chase for a stray dog thats not going to stand still...
i can tell you under no uncertani circumstances, theres no way in heaven or hell that either jasper would let a random stranger get close enough to read a tag lol
When my male GSD was around a year old, he jumped out of the van when my husband was filling in gas in a neighbouring town and took off. Hubby searched for him for about an hour (because he did not want to face my wrath) and then finally came home and told me the dog was gone.
The town is about a 20 minute drive away from where we live.
I immediately wrote up some "reward" posters with our contact information and taking hubby along, drove back to the town. I drove up and down the streets long enough for some person who happened to be out in their front yard to ask if I was looking for a dog. She said there was a strange GSD around who took off when she tried to approach him.
So then at least I had the right neighbourhood. But I still could not find my dog. Finally I had my husband drive, while I walked on the road together with my female GSD. It wasn't 5 minutes before my male GSD came bounding out of some bushes where he had been hiding.
Even people dogs don't always come. I think that he figured it would all be a big adventure and then he realized that nothing looked familiar and maybe some people shouted at him, and so he figured he better lie low. I think he wasn't sure it was my van and until I saw me, he wasn't sure it was safe to show himself.
Needless to say, I don't allow the dogs to go anywhere in the van with my husband unless I'm along.
That being said, my dogs have tattoos and collars with id tags. But I don't think that any of them would come to a stranger unless they were on the verge of starvation.
Mine is microchipped and wears a microchip tag...but since I figure not everyone would know what the microchip is, or what the tag means, he also wears a tag that spells out in block letters: "I'M MICROCHIPPED, A VET OR SHELTER CAN HELP ME HOME." (And yes, I keep the bio info updated with the chip company, and it's updated with my local police animal control database as well.)
(I also, just for safe measure, had a tag made that reads: "I'M EPILEPTIC AND REQUIRE DAILY MEDICATION." My thinking there was two-fold: 1) I just want to keep everyone informed that he had special needs; and 2) I was thinking that maybe if they realized he had special needs...which cost extra money...they would be less inclined to keep him for themselves. He's extremely beautiful and extremely well-behaved...exactly the type of dog people would love to keep if they found him somewhere.)
Yup - guilty as charged. My dogs don't wear collars unless we are going out somewhere. For Gator the main reason is his allergies. When he wears his collar all the time, he loses hair underneath and get a horrible weeping rash. I also have seen a dog hang itself from its collar. Yes, all 3 are microchipped and I keep up on the registration for all of them. Our gate is always locked and we have a 6 foot stockade fence all the way around. We have had one "jail break" but I was able to get them right back. Most will probably disagree with me but I'd rather they get out than run the risk of hanging themselves.
I used to be vigilant with ours and their tags, until my husband had to do CPR on my chihuahua after her collar got wrapped around a puppy's jaw that she'd been playing with. It cut off all oxygen to her brain and by the time the dog sitter got him to come in and help she wasn't breathing. Luckily she was saved thanks to CPR by him and an injection of steroids to stop swelling by the vet. But since then, their tags stay on their collar hanging on a hook by the back door and only go on them when we go outside. I NEVER leave anything on my dogs when they're unattended now.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
