What should I put on my dogs pet tag?
What to put on your dog’s ID tag
However, the two anesthesia-free alternatives for marking free-roaming animals, freeze branding (“ear whiting”) and ear tagging, both have drawbacks as well. Freeze branding requires equipment and has a learning curve for getting reliable results, and ear tags can be susceptible to catching and infection. The Steinberger marking method therefore adds a valuable alternative.
Parsemus Foundation funded a study comparing the welfare and logistical impacts of “ear-whiting” (also called freeze branding) with ear tagging. Ear whiting is currently used by some U.S. dog owners to mark their hunting dogs (as well as widely used on the flank on horses and cows). Ear-tagging is simply putting a tag on the ear, like is done for farm animals, which is currently in use in some trap-neuter-release programs in Eastern Europe and Turkey. The study compares how well they work and which is least stressful for the animal. Is either one humane enough to be done without anesthesia? That would spare animals anesthesia-related risks, for use with a nonsurgical sterilization procedure such as GonaCon Canine (multi-year injection for males and females) and calcium chloride injection (permanent for males)?
The Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (ACC&D) has made marking and identification of free-roaming cats and dogs a flagship initiative. They have tested a cloth ear tag in dogs with mixed results and have moved toward a new concept: microneedle tattoos. It consists of a patch with tiny needles that can penetrate the skin without discomfort. This methodology is in development at Georgia Tech as a method to deliver the flu vaccine. ACC&D is working with the university to use the microneedle patch to deliver tattoo ink in the shape of numbers or letters, and thereby offer a method of tattooing animals without the need for anesthesia. As with other tattoo methods for use on animals, visibility from a distance is difficult, but this novel approach may provide a highly useful tool for identifying non-surgically contracepted dogs and cats.
The procedure is straightforward: Choose the area of light-colored skin free of thick hair, generally the abdomen or inside of ear on a dog or cat. Put lidocaine paste or gel on the area and allow it to take effect. Use a 25 gauge or thinner needle in dogs. Use a 29- or 31- gauge need in cats to avoid tearing the delicate skin (an insulin needle should work, and is available behind the counter at pharmacies or purchased through a veterinary supplier). If using a separate needle and syringe, use a Luer lock syringe and needle hub to avoid messy spills. It is important to use human tattoo ink, not veterinary tattoo paste, for ease of flow; veterinary tattoo paste will go through a 25-gauge needle, but not thinner needles, and the human tattoo ink is also reported to be brighter. Draw tattoo ink (bright blue or green) into the syringe. Lay the syringe and needle parallel with the skin, and insert the needle just under the skin into the subcutaneous layer, 1 cm or more parallel with the skin. Inject the tattoo ink and withdraw the needle, leaving a line of tattoo ink under the skin. Below is a brief video of the procedure.
In dogs, ear-notching (cutting a chunk out of the ear and then sealing the wound with heat cautery) is the most common way of identifying stray and feral animals that have been vaccinated and surgically sterilized. In cats, ear-tipping (cutting off the tip of the ear and then sealing the wound with heat cautery) is the standard method to mark surgically sterilized animals. (Tattooing inside the ear or the flank is also sometimes used, although like microchipping, this is not visible from a distance.)
However, there are two different types. The most common is embossing. Here all data and information about your dog are on the preferred dog mark, usually engraved, on it. With our Dogtap, however, this is somewhat different. Here all data are read out with the help of the Smartphone. If you find a dog that carries our Dogtap, you now know what to do. Simply read the data from your smartphone and contact the owner with one click. The special thing about it is that you dont have to leave the data visible. So even if others dont know your address or phone number, they can still contact you.
But what do all dog tags have in common in a certain way? Right: They are all labeled, so other passers-by know that you are the owner of your faithful companion.
For the attachment of the different dog tags there are different measures. These are optional and can be used by everyone at will. Most dog owners attach their dog tag to the dogs neck, i.e. to a collar. There it is well visible and the carrying feeling is not unpleasant also for the dog. Many dog owners also prefer to attach their dog tags to the leash if their dog tags are made of metal. So the dog does not have the jingling at the ear and it is perceptible only damped. Also a common variation is the harness. It does not lie around the neck of the dog, but covers the body, whereby the dog tag can be attached easily to it.
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