Buying a Pet Identification Tag for The Leonberger

Picking a pet ID tag for your Leonberger is like purchasing insurance – you do it with the devout wish that you’re never going to need it. The “possible price” of not having a pet ID tag is more expensive than the “actual price” of purchasing the pet tag itself.

The kind of pet identification tag that you buy is crucial, so take five minutes or so to think it through. Whimsically picking a collar tag just because it’s inexpensive or trendy usually proves to be unwise, long-term.

Consider this prior to buying any pet identification tag for your Leonberger:
1.What is the amount of risk to your Leonberger?
Lost Leonbergers are certainly common – we have all seen “Lost Dog!” signs tacked around the city, or dead Leonbergers lying along the side of the road. If your Leonberger is a master at jumping your fence, or cannot resist following a smell, or youthful and spry, or isn’t properly trained, the risk of a missing Leonberger is high.

But losing your Leonberger isn’t the only concern.

Sometimes Leonbergers are stolen. A pet thief may take Spot or Rover hoping to get a reward for its return, or to use in dog battles (even small or gentle dogs are susceptible – they can be used as “bait”), or for use in cult rituals.

And what is the risk to your Leonberger if something happens to you, its owner?

If you’re a senior citizen with a Leonberger, particularly if you live by yourself or are in ill health, there’s a high chance that at some point someone else will need to care for your furry friend, maybe with little notice. And anyone can be hit with a disaster or tragedy that renders you unable to care for your Leonberger.

In this instance, will your Leonberger’s temporary or new steward know that Fido hates cats, or needs medication, or even whether or not Max is housetrained? A pet ID tag that has more than your name and phone number would be extremely beneficial.

2.What level of risk are you ok with?
Some Leonbergers are just more important to their owners, and the chance of losing that pet warrants a specific, more expensive kind of pet ID tag. Risk is proportionate to value.

Keep in mind that there is more than one way to assess the value of your Leonberger. It may be monetary (e.g., a purebred Leonberger) or occupational (e.g., a guide dog).

However for most Leonberger owners, the emotional attachment they have with their companion sets its value. For many people, Leonbergers are members of the family, impossible to replace and dearly loved.

3.From your responses to the two previous queries, what do you require of a pet ID tag?

Pet identification tags come in various sizes, shapes and materials and hold varying amounts of information. Some contain artwork or logos, too. Many pet ID tags are designed to be hung from a collar.

At a bare minimum, a pet ID tag should contain the phone number, name and address of the Leonberger’s owner in a durable, legible format. Plastic tags are lightweight but chewed easily. Stainless steel tags are durable and don’t rust or fade. These traditional types of tags can bought from any animal doctor or pet store. They’re economical yet the amount of info they hold is limited to the size of the tag.

Luckily, there are many more options for pet ID tags for your Leonberger these days, such as tattooing, microchipping, digital display tags, voice recorded pet id tags, and pet registry websites.

One of the newer entrants in the pet ID market is the high-tech USB drive that hangs off your Leonberger’s collar (or is attached to their cage) and which can hold 64MB of data (including complete medical and diet information). The small USB drive is encased in a sturdy plastic case and can be used in any computer, where it is readily updated and easy to print sections for sharing with your animal doctor or pet sitter. There also exist bluetooth devices for tracking, but their range is low, because of bluetooth technological limits.

Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Leonbergers

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