Choosing a Pet ID Tag for Your Kishu

Picking a pet identification tag for your Kishu is like buying insurance – you do it with the faith that you’ll never use it. The “possible cost” of not having a pet ID tag is more costly than the “actual price” of buying the pet tag itself.

The kind of pet ID tag that you buy is crucial, so take 5 minutes or so to consider it. Whimsically buying a collar tag because it’s cheap or trendy usually ends up being a regret, in the long term.

Consider this prior to buying any pet id tag for your Kishu:
1.What is the amount of risk to your Kishu?
Lost Kishus are very common – we have all noticed “Lost Dog!” signs setup around town, or dead dogs lying by the side of the road. If your Kishu is a pro at escaping your fence, or cannot help chasing a scent, or youthful and spry, or isn’t properly trained, the chance of a lost Kishu is high.

But losing your Kishu isn’t the only risk.

Some Kishus are stolen. A pet thief may take Fido or Fifi in hopes of getting 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 religious rituals.

And what is the risk to your Kishu if something were to happen to you, the owner?

If you’re a senior citizen with a Kishu, especially if you live alone 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 short notice. And anyone can be struck by disaster or tragedy which renders you unable to care for your Kishu.

In this instance, will your Kishu’s temporary or new caretaker know that Fifi hates cats, or requires medicine, or even whether or not Max is housetrained? A pet identification that contains more than your phone number and name would be very beneficial.

2.What amount of danger are you comfortable with?
Some Kishus are just more important to their owners, and the chance of losing that particular animal calls for a specific, higher priced kind of pet identification tag. Risk is directly proportional to value.

Realize that there is more than one way to calculate the value of your Kishu. It may be financial (e.g., a purebred Kishu) or occupational (e.g., a guide dog).

However for most Kishu owners, the relationoship attachment they have with their Kishu determines its value. For many, Kishus are family members, impossible to replace and dearly loved.

3.From your responses to the two previous questions, what do you need in a pet ID tag?

Pet identification tags come in various materials, shapes and sizes and hold varying amounts of information. Some have logos or artwork, too. Most pet identification tags are designed to be attached to a collar.

At a bare minimum, a pet identification tag should contain the name, address and phone number of the Kishu’s owner in a legible, durable format. Plastic tags are light but easily chewed. Stainless steel tags don’t rust or fade and are durable. These customary types of tags can gotten from any veterinarian or pet store. They’re inexpensive yet the amount of information they can display is limited to the size of the tag.

Luckily, you have many more options of pet ID tags for your Kishu these days, such as microchipping, tattooing, digital display tags, pet registry web sites and voice recorded pet id tags.

One of the recent entrants in the pet ID game is the high-tech USB drive that hangs from your pet’s collar (or is attached to their cage) and which can hold 64MB of data (including comprehensive diet and medical information). The small USB drive is encased in a sturdy plastic case and can be used in any computer, where it is automatically updated and easy to print sections for sharing with your vet or pet sitter. There also exist bluetooth trackers, but their range is severely limited, because of bluetooth technological limits.

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

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