An engraved tag is two lines of text. Badly chosen, they're useless. Well chosen, they bring your dog home within the hour.
What you absolutely must engrave
Your phone number
This is the single most important piece of information, ahead of everything else. The person who finds your dog in the street doesn't carry a chip reader — they carry a phone. A legible number means a call within minutes instead of a detour via the vet or the pound.
Remember the international dialling code if you travel: +41 or +33.
Your dog's name
It identifies him less than it calms him. A lost dog is stressed; hearing his name from a stranger reassures him and makes him approachable. That's often the difference between a dog you can catch and a dog who bolts.
What's better left off
- Your full address — it also tells a stranger your home may be empty, and that you own a dog. The number is enough.
- Your own surname — unnecessary, and it says too much.
- « I'm microchipped » — that helps nobody reach you.
- Too much text — a tag is two or three centimetres. Beyond about a dozen characters per line, the engraving becomes tiny and unreadable.
The format that works
Two lines is enough:
Line 1: the dog's name
Line 2: your number with dialling code
If the tag has two faces, put the name on one side and the number on the other, larger.
A tag doesn't replace the microchip
Electronic identification is compulsory in Switzerland and in France, and legally it's what counts. But a chip needs a reader and an up-to-date database — many dogs are never reunited because the registered contact details are an old number.
Tag and chip complement each other: the first works within the hour, the second works if the dog reaches a shelter. Use the purchase of a tag as a prompt to check your details are current in the identification register.
Which material?
Brass and stainless steel last best over time. Anodised aluminium is lighter but the engraving wears off faster with friction. Avoid painted tags: the text disappears within months.
A plate fixed flat on the collar makes less noise and snags less than a dangling tag — a real comfort for dogs bothered by the jingling.
See the leather collar & lead with engraved plate
Check once a year
Engraving wears, collars stretch, numbers change. Take thirty seconds once a year to reread what's written and check it's still true and still legible.
In short
Your dog's name, your number with dialling code. No address, no surname, no essay. And keep the microchip details up to date alongside.
0 comments