Choosing a Pet ID Tag for Your St. Bernard

Buying a pet identification tag for your St. Bernard is like purchasing an insurance policy – you do so with the faith that you won’t use it. The “possible price” of not having a pet ID tag is more costly than the “real price” of buying the pet tag itself.

The type of pet identification tag that you buy is important, so take five minutes or so to think it through. Impulsively buying a collar tag because it’s inexpensive or pretty usually ends up being a regret, in the long term.

Think about this prior to picking any pet identification tag for your St. Bernard:
1.What is the level of risk to your St. Bernard?
Lost St. Bernards are certainly common – we’ve all come across “Lost Dog!” signs setup around the city, or dead St. Bernards lying on the edge of the road. If your St. Bernard is a pro at hopping your fence, or can’t resist tracking a scent, or young and full of energy, or isn’t properly trained, the chance of a missing St. Bernard is high.

But losing your St. Bernard isn’t the only risk.

Sometimes St. Bernards are stolen. A pet thief may snatch Rover or Spot 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 for “bait”), or for use in religious rituals.

And what is the risk to your St. Bernard if something happens to you, its owner?

If you’re a senior citizen with a St. Bernard, particularly if you live by yourself or are in poor health, there’s a good chance that at some point someone else may need to care for your St. Bernard, maybe with short notice. And anyone can be hit with a tragedy or disaster that renders you unable to care for your companion.

In this case, will your St. Bernard’s new or temporary caregiver know that Rover 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 amount of risk are you ok with?
Some St. Bernards are just more important to their owners, and the risk of losing that pet warrants a specific, higher priced type of pet identification tag. Risk is proportionate to value.

Note that there are several ways to assess the value of your St. Bernard. It may be monetary (e.g., a purebred St. Bernard) or functional (e.g., a guide dog).

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

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

Pet ID tags come in various materials, shapes and sizes and can contain varying amounts of info. Some have artwork or logos, as well. Most pet ID tags are designed to be attached to a collar.

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

Luckily, you have many more options in pet ID tags for your St. Bernard these days, such as microchipping, tattooing, digital display tags, pet registry web sites and voice recorded pet identification tags.

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

Don’t forget to check out these other articles about St. Bernards

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