Information on pet tags

[Cindy Dobson]

I have heard that like putting your child's name on his clothing, printing your dog's name on his pet tag makes is easier for would be kid/dog nappers to lure such child/dog away.  Any thoughts on this?

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I have heard that also as far as children and having their names on their backpacks or embroidered on their clothing, but didn't think about it with dogs...you'd have to get pretty close to the dog to read the tag

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I never put my Dogs names on their tags for that reason. I put 'If I'm alone I'm lost' and two telephone numbers. I also put microchipped and neutered. It will be interesting to know what others put on theirs.

[Oliver & Elizabeth]

I heard that too, but decided that this was probably a very rare situation and would be little benefit to us. Realistically, Oliver is only 30 pounds and friendly. If somebody is close enough to read his name tag they can probably just pick him up and steal him without much resistance regardless of if his name is said.

That being said, labradoodles are generally perceived to be expensive--especially Australian Labradoodles--so I avoid questions on price and don’t leave Oliver unattended outside stores. Also, I wouldn't write something like "reward if found" on his tag because that might encourage someone to steal him to extort a reward or sell him for a profit.

[Adina P]

I just don't think that my dogs would have the same reaction to someone knowing their name as my kids would have to someone knowing their name.  My dogs are much more likely to approach a stranger and be friendly than my kids would.  Plus what difference (have you heard) does it make for a dog thief to know a dog's name once they have their hands on the dog's collar?  I'm just curious.

[Sally S Miles]

I really can't recall where I read it, well over a year ago, but the general notion was this: if your dog got lost or stolen then the thieves would have a dog that responds nicely for resale purposes.  No name means they have less response from the dog and can't just post it on CL.   So this is a condensed version, but it was directed at folks who own popular or expensive breeds of dogs.   It doesn't apply to the creeps who steal dogs for other purposes.    

Consider that dogs run to a whistle, or name, or simple command - but they do get lost and they do get stolen.  

Both of my dogs ID tags read 'Reward" - but I love the idea of 'If I'm alone I'm lost" and similar is "call my Mom and Dad"

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Hi Cindy and welcome!  If my dogs get loose, I want whoever finds them to be able to contact me, my dh, my vet, or the chip company as soon as possible, so I want a tag on my guys.  Yes, someone could steal them, but I would for sure rather take a chance of them being returned asap. As far as names,  my guys would (or wouldn't) respond to strangers whether they knew their names or not.  When we first rescued Clancy, we renamed him because no one knew his original name and his rescue assigned name didn't seem to matter to him.  What I do not put on their tags is their chip number. This way if they were stolen, the thief could not re-register them without going to the vet for the chip to be read.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

My dogs are just friendly or stupid enough to go to anyone who calls them anything, especially if a treat is attached to the name. All we do is socialize them so they can be approached by strangers, take treats from strangers and not be afraid of or attack strangers. I have their names, our address and both our phone numbers on their tags, plus microchipped of course. I am going to put my faith in the camp of people who are honest and love their pets enough to want to help mine find their people should they get lost.
My children loved their names monogrammed backpacks and team shirts. They were also taught the fundamental essentials of stranger danger that we can not really teach to our dogs. And really, my dogs are pretty well behaved whether someone uses their names or not. So names on tags seems like a mute point to me. But that's just my opinion.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

We have their names on their tags, my name, address and cell #.  I keep such a watchful eye on them, I doubt if anyone could take them.  LOL  When we are home, neither of the boys wear a collar and it is only when we are walking or out and about that they have collars on.  Will be curious to others thoughts! 

[Kyoko]

I think for the potential dog nappers to be able to call the dog by its name, the dog napper have to be already close enough to get a hold of the dog...If he/she can get a hold of the dog, the dog napper can just simply steal the dog so the name thing does not matter, I think. For the kids, since the kid napper can just grab the kids and take off without causing the scene, the name thing comes in handy, I think. Kid napper can say something like " Hey Jonathan, your mom asked me to come pick you up. " etc... to gain the trust of the kid....I do have my dog's name on their tasg. The reason for that is if they get loose or lost, someone who find her/him can assist them in letting them know it is OK. ( I guess the trust thing here, too )

[Julie and Max]

It would also be really simple to teach a dog to respond to a new name. It would probably only take an hour or two of work with treats, so it wouldn't really matter if their name was on the tag or not. If the person wanted to steal the dog and sell it they would. :(