How to Pick a Pet Identification Tag for The German Wirehaired Pointer

Picking a pet identification tag for your German Wirehaired Pointer is like buying insurance – you do it with the hopes that you won’t need it. The “possible price” of not having a pet ID tag is more expensive than the “actual price” of purchasing the pet tag itself.

The type of pet identification tag that you buy is vital, so take 5 minutes or so to think it through. Whimsically choosing a collar tag because it’s low cost or pretty often proves to be foolish, down the road.

Consider this prior to picking any pet identification tag for your German Wirehaired Pointer:
1.What is the amount of risk to your German Wirehaired Pointer?
Lost German Wirehaired Pointers are certainly common – we have all come across “Lost German Wirehaired Pointer!” signs setup around the city, or deceased German Wirehaired Pointers lying by the side of the road. If your German Wirehaired Pointer is a master at tunneling under the fence, or cannot help tracking a smell, or young and spry, or is not well trained, the possibility of a lost German Wirehaired Pointer is high.

But losing your German Wirehaired Pointer isn’t the only possibility.

Sometimes German Wirehaired Pointers are stolen. A pet thief may steal Rover or Spot hoping to get 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 satanic rituals.

And what is the risk to your German Wirehaired Pointer if something happens to you, the owner?

If you’re a senior citizen with a German Wirehaired Pointer, particularly if you live by yourself or are in ill health, there’s a good chance that at some point someone else may need to care for your German Wirehaired Pointer, perhaps with short notice. And anyone can be struck by disaster or tragedy which leaves you incapable of caring for your companion.

In this instance, will your German Wirehaired Pointer’s temporary or new steward know that Spot hates cats, or requires 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 beneficial.

2.What amount of risk are you comfortable with?
Some German Wirehaired Pointers are simply more important to their owners, and the risk of losing that particular animal warrants a specific, more expensive kind of pet ID tag. Risk is proportional to value.

Note that there are many ways to determine the value of your German Wirehaired Pointer. It may be financial (e.g., a purebred German Wirehaired Pointer) or functional (e.g., a guide dog).

However for most German Wirehaired Pointer owners, the sentimental attachment they have with their companion sets its value. For many owners, German Wirehaired Pointers are family, dearly loved and impossible to replace.

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

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

At a minimum, a pet ID tag should contain the phone number, name and address of the German Wirehaired Pointer’s owner in a durable, legible format. Plastic tags are lightweight but easily chewed. Stainless steel tags don’t rust or fade and are durable. These traditional types of tags can bought from any animal doctor or pet store. They’re inexpensive but the amount of info they can display is limited to the size of the tag.

Fortunately, there are many more options in pet ID tags for your German Wirehaired Pointer 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 ID market is the high-tech USB drive that hangs off your pet’s collar (or is attached to their kennel) and which holds 64MB of data (including comprehensive 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 veterinarian or pet sitter. There are also bluetooth trackers, but their range is limited, due to bluetooth technological limits.

Don’t forget to check out these other articles about German Wirehaired Pointers

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