How to Pick a Pet ID Tag for Your Miniature American Shepherd

Choosing a pet ID tag for your Miniature American Shepherd is like purchasing insurance – you do so with the hopes that you’re never going to need it. The “possible cost” of not having a pet ID tag is more costly than the “actual cost” of purchasing the pet tag itself.

The kind of pet ID tag that you buy is vital, so take 5 minutes or so to think it through. Impulsively picking a collar tag because it’s cheap or cute often proves to be foolish, in the long term.

Consider the following prior to purchasing any pet id tag for your Miniature American Shepherd:
1.What is the amount of risk to your Miniature American Shepherd?
Lost Miniature American Shepherds are definitely common – we have all seen “Lost Miniature American Shepherd!” signs setup around the city, or dead Miniature American Shepherds lying along the side of the road. If your Miniature American Shepherd is a pro at jumping your fence, or cannot resist following a smell, or young and spry, or is not properly trained, the chance of a missing Miniature American Shepherd is high.

But losing your Miniature American Shepherd isn’t the only concern.

Sometimes Miniature American Shepherds get stolen. A pet thief may snatch Fifi or Spot in hopes of getting a reward for its return, or to use in pit battles (even small or gentle dogs are at risk – they can be used as “bait”), or for use in religious rituals.

And what is the danger to your Miniature American Shepherd if something were to happen to you, its owner?

If you’re a senior citizen with a Miniature American Shepherd, particularly 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 furry friend, perhaps with short notice. And anyone can be struck by tragedy or disaster that leaves you incapable of caring for your companion.

In this case, will your Miniature American Shepherd’s new or temporary caretaker know that Fido hates cats, or requires medicine, or even whether or not Max is housetrained? A pet ID tag that has more than your phone number and name would be extremely beneficial.

2.What amount of danger are you comfortable with?
Some Miniature American Shepherds are simply more important to their owners, and the risk of losing that particular animal warrants a specific, higher priced kind of pet ID tag. Risk is proportional to value.

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

But for most Miniature American Shepherd owners, the emotional attachment they have with their Miniature American Shepherd determines its value. For many people, Miniature American Shepherds are family members, impossible to replace and dearly loved.

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

Pet identification tags come in varying shapes, sizes and materials and hold varying amounts of information. Some have logos or artwork, too. Many pet identification tags are meant to be hung from a collar.

At a minimum, a pet ID tag should contain the name, address and phone number of the Miniature American Shepherd’s owner in a durable, legible format. Plastic tags are lightweight but easily chewed. 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 cheap however the amount of info they can display is limited to the size of the tag.

Fortunately, there are many more options for pet identification tags for your Miniature American Shepherd these days, such as microchipping, tattooing, digital display tags, pet registry web sites and voice recorded pet identification tags.

One of the most recent entries in the pet identification game is the high-tech USB drive that hangs from your Miniature American Shepherd’s collar (or is attached to their kennel) and which can hold 64MB of data (including complete medical and diet information). The small USB drive is encased in a sturdy polymer case and can be plugged into 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 limited, because of bluetooth technological limits.

Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Miniature American Shepherds

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