Choosing a Pet ID Tag for Your Patterdale Terrier

Picking a pet ID tag for your Patterdale Terrier is like buying insurance – you do so with the faith that you’ll never use it. The “possible cost” of not having a pet ID tag is more expensive than the “real price” of purchasing the pet tag itself.

The kind of pet identification tag that you buy is vital, so take 5 minutes or so to think it through. Whimsically purchasing a collar tag just because it’s low cost or cute often proves to be unwise, long-term.

Think about the following before buying any pet id tag for your Patterdale Terrier:
1.What is the amount of risk to your Patterdale Terrier?
Missing Patterdale Terriers are definitely common – we’ve all noticed “Lost Dog!” signs tacked around the city, or deceased Patterdale Terriers lying along the side of the road. If your Patterdale Terrier is a pro at jumping your fence, or can’t help tracking a smell, or youthful and spry, or is not correctly trained, the chance of a missing Patterdale Terrier is high.

But losing your Patterdale Terrier isn’t the only possibility.

Sometimes Patterdale Terriers are stolen. A pet thief may take Fifi or Spot hoping to get a reward for its return, or to use in pit 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 Patterdale Terrier if something happens to you, the owner?

If you’re a senior adult with a Patterdale Terrier, especially 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 Patterdale Terrier, perhaps with short notice. And anyone can be struck by tragedy or disaster that renders you unable to care for your companion.

In this case, will your Patterdale Terrier’s temporary or new steward know that Fifi hates cats, or needs medicine, or even whether or not Max is potty trained? A pet ID tag that contains more than your name and phone number would be very helpful.

2.What level of risk are you ok with?
Some Patterdale Terriers are simply more important to their owners, and the chance of losing that pet calls for a specific, higher priced type of pet ID tag. Risk is directly proportional to value.

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

However for most Patterdale Terrier owners, the companionship attachment they have to their Patterdale Terrier sets its value. For many, Patterdale Terriers are like family, impossible to replace and dearly loved.

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

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

At a minimum, a pet ID tag should contain the address, phone number and name of the Patterdale Terrier’s owner in a durable, legible format. Plastic tags are light but chewed easily. Stainless steel tags are durable and don’t rust or fade. These traditional kinds of tags can gotten from any veterinarian or pet store. They’re low cost but the amount of info they can contain is limited to the size of the tag.

Fortunately, there are many more options of pet ID tags for your Patterdale Terrier these days, such as tattooing, microchipping, digital display tags, voice recorded pet identification tags, and pet registry websites.

One of the newer entries in the pet identification game is the high-tech USB drive that hangs off your Patterdale Terrier’s collar (or is attached to their kennel) and which holds 64MB of data (including comprehensive diet and medical information). The small USB drive is encased in a sturdy polymer case and can be plugged into any computer, where it is readily updated and easy to print sections for sharing with your animal doctor or pet sitter. There are also bluetooth trackers, but their range is small, because of bluetooth technological limits.

Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Patterdale Terriers

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