Hi Lea,

The law aside, my view would be that anything that could safely reunite my dog with me, should he get out or get lost, can only be a good thing.

Things have changed in that many police forces now will not deal with loose dogs (unless they are seen to be a risk - aggressive, running down a motorway etc) some dogs wardens only work weekdays. It is all very well having your dog microchipped or tattooed but if someone finds your dog on a Friday evening, it has no tag and the police won't take it and they ring the dog warden to get a recorded message saying call back on Monday, a lot of people simply won't be able to keep the dog until then and will have no choice but to let it go again.

One weekend a while back my husband and I were driving back from the supermarket when we saw a border terrier and a staffie by the side of the road. I jumped out and approached them, the border terrier kept his distance but the staffie was a typical playful boy and was all over me. He had a collar but no tag. I approached the border terrier to see if he had a tag (he didn't) and he wandered off. I took hold of the staffie's collar and followed his buddy, who led me straight to his house. I knocked on the door and the owner had no idea that the dogs had got out of the garden. I did say to her that it was a good job that the border terrier knew his way home, because I would never have known where they lived as neither had a tag.

I couldn't have taken those dogs home with me and kept them until my local dog warden could scan them, I don't know what I would have done if one of them hadn't been able to find his way home....

Tags are a life saver. When I just had Minnie she managed to do a houdini and slip past 3 adults to escape. Me and the OH jumped in the car and were driving round looking for her. Our friend stayed at our house waiting. Lo and behold someone came round the corner with my dog on a lead. He was bringing her home as she had gone to play with his dog and so he checked her and the tag had my address on My advice would be to put as much info on the tags as you can.

Exactly. I've had one dog I returned home (twice), no tag, only found where it lived because someone recognised it. Another dog I couldn't catch but found where it lived and let them know it was out - they didn't care. Also one lovely staffy boy who had to go to kennels in the end and I don't know what happened to him, if he'd had a tag I could have taken him straight home.

Love the mental image of a dog running round with a full sized car licence plate hanging off its collar

People would certainly notice it

And Jin is only a small JR...... she wouldnt be able to get far! The plate would be bigger than her!

My dogs have had name tags on them since the 1950's. They now have chips but still have tags in case they get out as someone finding them wouldn't be able to read the chip or my girls tattoo. When I used to go away they had tags like luggage labels with the holiday address on.

Think more people should be made awear of this law! The amount of dogs I see without even so much as a phone number on them is cronic! Even if your dog is chiped the average person on the street doesnt cary a chip reader so your dog should always have the bare min info to get them back home to you asap! Mine have My surname, the fact that they are chiped (to deter anyone from just removing the tag and trying to claim them as their own), my address and two phone numbers. Any dog in my care also has a tag with info for me on it just incase it gets loose while under my care!

Totally agree that more people need to be aware. I am always shocked when I see dog tags for sale and they dont mention legal requirements.... even at the vets.....!

Ah well it would work really well to stop her getting lost then, maybe you should consider it

Shes a good girly when we camp, never going further than 5 foot from me, and always running to me when she sees other dogs or people I ALWAYS reward her recalls, though she seems to be alot better at it when we are camping... I guess its because she is less confident in a less familiar surroundings?