How to Choose a Pet ID Tag for Your Bichon Frise

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

The kind of pet identification tag that you buy is important, so take five minutes or so to think it through. Whimsically buying a collar tag just because it’s low cost or trendy usually proves to be foolish, down the road.

Consider this prior to buying any pet identification tag for your Bichon Frise:
1.What is the level of risk to your Bichon Frise?
Missing Bichon Frises are certainly common – we have all seen “Lost Bichon Frise!” signs posted around town, or dead dogs lying along the edge of the road. If your Bichon Frise is a pro at tunneling under your fence, or can’t resist following a smell, or young and spry, or is not well trained, the possibility of a missing Bichon Frise is high.

But losing your Bichon Frise isn’t the only risk.

Some Bichon Frises get stolen. A pet thief may snatch 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 cult rituals.

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

If you’re a senior citizen with a Bichon Frise, particularly if you live alone or are in poor health, there’s a good chance that at some point someone else may need to care for your Bichon Frise, perhaps with little notice. And anyone can be hit with a tragedy or disaster which leaves you unable to care for your Bichon Frise.

In this instance, will your Bichon Frise’s new or temporary caregiver know that Spot hates cats, or needs medicine, or even whether or not Max is housetrained? A pet ID tag that contains more than your phone number and name would be very helpful.

2.What level of danger are you comfortable with?
Some Bichon Frises are just more important to their owners, and the chance of losing that pet calls for a specific, more expensive type of pet identification tag. Risk is proportional to value.

Realize that there are several ways to assess the value of your Bichon Frise. It may be financial (e.g., a purebred Bichon Frise) or occupational (e.g., a guide dog).

However for most Bichon Frise owners, the companionship attachment they have with their companion sets its value. For many people, Bichon Frises are like family, impossible to replace and dearly loved.

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

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

At the minimum, a pet ID tag should contain the address, phone number and name of the Bichon Frise’s owner in a legible, durable format. Plastic tags are light but chewed easily. Stainless steel tags are durable and don’t rust or fade. These customary types of tags can purchased from any animal doctor or pet store. They’re low cost but the amount of info they can display is limited to the size of the tag.

Fortunately, there are many more options in pet identification tags for your Bichon Frise these days, such as microchipping, tattooing, digital display tags, pet registry web sites and voice recorded pet id tags.

One of the newer entrants in the pet ID game is the high-tech USB drive that hangs off your pet’s collar (or is attached to their cage) and which holds 64MB of data (including complete 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 animal doctor or pet sitter. There also exist bluetooth trackers, but their range is low, due to bluetooth technological limits.

Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Bichon Frises

Was this post helpful? If so, please take a minute to Tweet and Share below on Facebook. I would also love to know your thoughts so leave me a comment 🙂