How to Choose a Pet Identification Tag for Your New Zealand Heading Dog

Picking a pet identification tag for your New Zealand Heading Dog is like buying insurance – you do so with the devout wish that you’re never going to use it. The “possible price” of not having a pet ID tag is more costly than the “actual price” of purchasing the pet tag itself.

The type of pet identification tag that you buy is important, so take 5 minutes or so to consider it. Whimsically 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 New Zealand Heading Dog:
1.What is the level of risk to your New Zealand Heading Dog?
Missing New Zealand Heading Dogs are certainly common – we’ve all come across “Lost New Zealand Heading Dog!” signs tacked around the city, or dead New Zealand Heading Dogs lying along the edge of the road. If your New Zealand Heading Dog is a master at hopping the fence, or cannot help chasing a smell, or young and energetic, or isn’t correctly trained, the risk of a lost New Zealand Heading Dog is high.

But losing your New Zealand Heading Dog isn’t the only risk.

Sometimes New Zealand Heading Dogs are stolen. A pet thief may snatch Fifi or Fido in hopes of getting a reward for its return, or to use in dog fights (even small or gentle dogs are at risk – they can be used as “bait”), or for use in religious rituals.

And what is the risk to your New Zealand Heading Dog if something happens to you, its owner?

If you’re a senior adult with a New Zealand Heading Dog, especially if you live alone or are in ill health, there’s a good chance that at some point someone else will need to care for your New Zealand Heading Dog, maybe with short notice. And anyone can be struck by disaster or tragedy that renders you unable to care for your companion.

In this case, will your New Zealand Heading Dog’s temporary or new caregiver know that Fifi hates cats, or needs medication, or even whether or not Max is housetrained? A pet ID tag that contains more than your name and phone number would be extremely beneficial.

2.What amount of risk are you ok with?
Some New Zealand Heading Dogs are simply more important to their owners, and the chance of losing that particular animal calls for a specific, more expensive kind of pet ID tag. Risk is proportional to value.

Realize that there are multiple ways to calculate the value of your New Zealand Heading Dog. It may be monetary (e.g., a purebred New Zealand Heading Dog) or occupational (e.g., a guide dog).

However for most New Zealand Heading Dog owners, the relationoship attachment they have with their New Zealand Heading Dog determines its value. For many, New Zealand Heading Dogs are family members, impossible to replace and dearly loved.

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

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

At a bare minimum, a pet identification tag should contain the phone number, name and address of the New Zealand Heading Dog’s owner in a legible, durable format. Plastic tags are lightweight but chewed easily. Stainless steel tags don’t rust or fade and are durable. These traditional types of tags can gotten from any animal doctor or pet store. They’re low cost however the amount of information they hold is limited to the size of the tag.

Fortunately, you have many more options in pet identification tags for your New Zealand Heading Dog these days, such as tattooing, microchipping, digital display tags, voice recorded pet identification tags, and pet registry websites.

One of the recent entrants in the pet ID game is the high-tech USB drive that hangs from your New Zealand Heading Dog’s collar (or is attached to their kennel) and which can hold 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 easily updated and easy to print sections for sharing with your vet or pet sitter. There are also bluetooth trackers, but their range is low, because of bluetooth technological limits.

Don’t forget to check out these other articles about New Zealand Heading Dogs

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