Friday, April 22, 2016

Dog Trainer Confessions #2: No Dog Tags!?


Welcome to my new series: Dog Trainer Confessions

 

This series is where I answer all of your questions and tell you my deepest, darkest secrets! Be sure to leave your questions in the comments below or email me at: zoephee201@gmail.com

 

 

That's right! My dogs don't wear any ID tags unless we are going on a day trip off the property. We live in an apartment complex that is full of dogs, 95% of them are reactive. One of the most common triggers for a reactive dog is hearing jiggling dog tags. Taking their tags off has allowed me to control the antecedent (the thing that happens before the behavior).

Not having any jiggling tags has really helped to prevent some of the dogs from freaking out at us as we pass their units, especially our downstairs neighbor dog who actually slams into and attacks the glass when people walk their dogs past her. Barking and lunging dogs really scare Phoenix and not having a jiggling trigger on her has been one more way to help her feel safe.

I know this is not something everyone will feel comfortable doing, it's probably a very unpopular idea and that's totally fine. My dogs still have ID, my phone number is written on the backside of their collars and they are also microchipped. I'm thinking about getting those tags that attach directly to the collar instead of a tag that hangs. Right now what I've done works well for us. I'm not at all worried about either of my dogs getting out or away from me. Both of the girls are pretty much stuck to me like glue and not having immediately visible ID on them while we are walking around our neighborhood is not a big deal.

Disclaimer: I do not ever recommend leaving dogs unattended outside without ID and I don't recommend taking their tags off unless you know your dog won't take off on you. 


What sort of ID do you have for your dogs and are you happy with it?

Don't forget to leave me your burning dog training questions! 


23 comments:

  1. We know a lot of dogs that run around naked most of the time. Mom likes to hear our jingles so she knows where we are, so we wear our collars all the time unless it is bedtime. Whatever works for the pet and pet parent is good for us!

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  2. We use one plastic hang tag with ID, don't attach city or rabies tag. Since it is just one and is plastic, it doesn't make noise.

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  3. That's so interesting -- it would never occur to me to remove tags, but I can see why it makes sense in your situation! I would not be comfortable taking the tags off mine and I pick up enough strays to be vexed when I can't find a number on the dog...do you mean backside as in back of the neck or as in inside (facing the neck)? I did use Gun Dog Supply collars with identification plates for a while -- liked them a lot!

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    1. I completely understand where you're coming from! It is sort of an unpopular idea and I knew it would be when I posted it. The dogs actually don't even where collars on at home because I've heard too many horror stories of dogs playing and accidentally getting stuck and strangling themselves, etc. On their Hurtta collars, our phone number is written on the part of the collar that touches the neck, Hurtta puts an extra tag there for a phone number. It's not visible but at least it's there. I've been thinking about getting a gun dog ID plate.

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    2. I just pulled two tagless dogs off the road this evening -- thought of this post! No judgment; you have to do what makes sense to and for you, and it sounds like the reactivity issue is more frequent and immediate than running loose for your girls. It would never have occurred to me to look inside a collar, but i'llkeep it in mind now.:)

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  4. Oh man. I'm so glad you said your number is written on the collar because I was feeling so panicky when I read the title! We've known too many people who don't keep collars/tags on their dogs and then their dogs have slipped out of the door even though it's something they've never done before and gotten lost (one of our old agility classmates was lost for 11 months!), so even though Barley is never outside without me, I couldn't even imagine not having tags on her. I also like when other dogs where jingly tags because it gives me more of a heads up when we're out walking--if I can hear a tag jingle before I see the dog, I can get Bar's attention before either of us see the dog and keep her from melting down. Nothing upsets her more than being caught off guard by a dog that starts barking insanely as soon as we get in front of it when we didn't see the dog in the yard before, so having that few extra seconds to say "What's that?" before we're directly in front of a dog helps her keep her cool. I'm glad that the lack of jingling helps Phoenix out, though! Dogs here are required to have their license on their collars or else you can get fined--and since we walk in a lot of parks with lots of park officers, it seems better to be safe than sorry, so I'd probably opt for one of those little tag pouches that keeps them from jingling if we needed quiet tags :)

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    1. Awe, please don't worry! We never have any visitors and the girls would not be able to just slip out and they don't want to. We've done a lot of door dash training and they really stick to us like glue so I'm not worried. Zoe and Phoenix don't even wear their collars at home. It's just not something I'm comfortable with since I've heard so many horror stories about dogs playing and getting stuck on the collars where someone gets strangled to death.

      They do wear their other collars with the tags on when we go off the property or out of the immediate neighborhood. :)

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  5. Little Bit always wore her tags. Always. You seem to have found what works where you live.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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  6. I have a slide on style tag for Koira, because the tag jingling tends to set off dogs in yards on walks. Plus, with her metal allergies, the tag doesn't irritate her, but the steel jump rings that are used on them causes a rash. The slide on tag stays on her biothane collar, which is waterproof and which she wears all summer when we go SUPing and hiking and all of that. The puppy has a dangling tag, but just the one, which minimizes the sound it makes. But with a half trained dog, I feel like a tag is required, and her current collar isn't a style that makes slide on tags possible.

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  7. We have tags and both are microchipped. Hailey has to be on leash for safety reasons. I like Phod's tags when we are in the bush because I can hear him when I can't see him. We take their collars off at night so we don't hear the jingling while we sleep!

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    1. The girls wear their other collars with tags when we go to the off leash park and sometimes I even attach a mini cow bell (gun dog, bell)to them as well so we can hear them when we go off leash hiking.

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  8. This is a problem mom worries about all the time. Unless we are off property we have no ID tags either. That is cuz we don't ever wear collars! We USED to wear them until one time during a wrestling match Stanley grabbed my collar and it got stuck behind his canines and it was a BAD scene. We are chipped too but mom still worries.

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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    1. I have heard of this happening so many times and it happened to our family dogs, too! Dogs get to playing and then somebody gets stuck on the collar and the other dog gets strangled! Luckily we had a happy ending with our family dogs but it's totally scary.

      Zoe and Phoenix area always naked unless we are out walking or out and about.

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  9. Oh, yeah, Blueberry is "naked" at home too. Mostly because I cannot stand the sound of her tags and partly because I once had a foster dog that always had to wear her collar (a rescue rule) and she was running around in my yard one day and snagged her collar on a screw on a wheelbarrow in my yard (what are the odds?) and ended up dragging it a few feet and completely flipping out over the noise and the big scary thing "chasing" her. Thankfully, I was at home at the time and helped relieve her of the beastly barrow. When we walk though, I do have her tags on - I actually WANT other people to hear her because too many of them have their dogs off leash and at least they have a warning we are coming so they can leash their dogs (sometimes, other times they are not polite). I had one of those tags that you attach to the collar - but it was hard to put on and I always worried it would fall off because I don't think I put it on correctly. But on the plus side - no jingling!

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  10. My dogs both have ID tags with our phone number. And I added our address to Leo's after he wandered off one day (though that hasn't happened since). I was just thinking the other day about how technically, it's the law for them to wear their license tag at all times too. I'm a scofflaw in that sense. I don't see the point of having a second tag to make additional noise. They're both licensed and both chipped, with the license number linked to the chip.

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  11. I don't normally have mine wear tags either. I got them both embroidered collars that have my name and phone number on them. Mine are microchipped too, but I figured the collars make it easier for someone to be able to contact me without having to take them to get their chips scanned. I have harnesses that I put on them when we go hiking and such, and those do have ID tags on them, but the rest of the time they just have their collars.

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  12. I'll see your no tags and raise you to no collars. ;-) My dogs don't wear collars in the house at all. I had read a long time ago of a dog that ended up hanging itself because the collar got stuck on something and also someone whose dogs were playing and one of the dogs got their foot stuck in the other dog's collar causing both dogs to panic. In that instance they were there to free the dogs.

    Also, because both my dogs are pullers, I have tags attached to their harnesses. We have collars and the collars have a simple ID tag with my name and number on it, but they rarely wear those.

    Both my dogs are chipped also, and since we go outside with them and our yard is fenced, we don't use them.

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  13. My Charlie is chipped but NEVER wears tags. I like your idea of a phone number written on his collar. Whippets move so quickly and turn and spin at a rate of knots that I worry about him getting caught up on things so he only wears a collar if we are out and about and only then when on lead. If his lead comes off for a run I take his collar off too. He doesn't ever get too far away from me so I don't worry about him taking off. He is only let off lead in situations where I know it is safe. His recall is very good too .... unless he sees a rabbit. I don't ever let him off lead when on bush walks.

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  14. On the opposite side of the controversy, I always have a collar on Nola. :p Pike doesn't wear one because it mats his neck like crazy, but Nola always wears one. My dogs don't play with much mouthy-ness, only chasing and nose pokes, and they've been taught to never touch each others necks. In this area, a collarless dog is liable to be shot. :/
    I utilize tags and microchips, too!

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  15. Our crew always has their collars with tags on them. They actually get upset when we take their collars off to change to different ones! Some of our collars have ID embroidered right onto them - just their name and my cell phone #. It's easier to see and then you don't have to have the jingly tags. We always have their rabies tags and also use ultrasonic flea/tick tags so we're used to all the jingling. One thing I do hate is that some of the metal tags can turn the white fur on their necks gray - that drives me crazy!
    I say everyone should do what they are comfortable with (our girls aren't microchipped but Luke is and all future dogs will be), but if you wanted to have more ID on them I'd suggest the embroidered collars.

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  16. This is thoughtful behavior on your part. I have collars with tags on my dogs 24/7 because 1) I am a complete worry wart; and 2) I have been in the split second decision so many times of deciding whether to help a lost dog. Tags on the collar, especially more than one, can secure the deal.

    That being said, Clara didn't have a tag on her collar for her first 18 months because she would chew it. I bought her collars with her name and my phone number in big bold letters. She still wears those, actually, as well as one tag now. If one of my dogs ever gets loose, I want it to be very clear that "This is somebody's dear pet. Please help."

    Cricket (now deceased) and Zani wore tag silencers--the little purse kinds--after Cricket got a toenail stuck in an O-ring on her tag. (I had to take Zani's off after I got Clara, since puppy Clara was WAY too interested in that little thing on Zani's collar.) I always keep multiple tags on Summer because I and the other dogs need to know what she is up to and the jingle is helpful for that.

    All are microchipped.

    There are lots of ways to eliminate or silence tags and still be safe, and I think this is a nice thing you are doing for your dogs and all the neighbor dogs.

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  17. I have to admit that I am terrified when my dogs accidentally end up outside without tags. We used to use little neoprene tag holders that made them silent... just an idea. But, I know that you know what's best for your pups!!!

    Another idea is those collars with their names and phone #'s written on the collar itself. I've always been afraid that Shyla would never approach a stranger if lost... and my only idea to help with that is to have her name very prominent on her tag so that someone could at least call her by name to try to get her to come close to them.

    But, again, I know that you always do what's best for your girls so feel free to ignore my ideas!

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  18. Our dogs don't wear tags or collars. They're all microchipped, but I understand that this isn't full proof. I picked up tags that I plan to activate and put on their harnesses -this will help us if we are separated when we're off the property. Our dogs are always wearing harnesses off the property.

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