July is National Lost Pet Prevention Month.
Today, i’m going to go over a few tips and advice I have to prevent your dog from becoming just another “lost pet“ statistic.
What does it mean to ‘protect’ your dog from being lost? How can I prevent the worst from happening?
Lets start with some basic ideas of proper pet Identification.
Having proper pet ID is a must when it comes to finding a lost dog. If your dog has no ID, how on earth is anyone suppose to know who he/she belongs to when they are found?
The most common forms of pet ID include:
- Micro-chipping
- Dog Tags
- Collars with the dogs name and address embedded into them
- Ear Tattoos
- QR Tags
Ear Tattoos are less common nowadays, however they are still used. In my opinion, and also the ID I use for my dogs, are both micro chipping and dog tags.
I hear you saying, “but why have both?” Simple – When you have your dog micro chipped, a tiny chip is implanted (about the size of a grain of rice) with it’s own unique number. When and if your dog gets lost, if someone finds your pup, and brings him into a shelter, humane society, or even a veterinarian office, they use a micro chip scanner to trace the dog back to you, with the information you provided at the time of chipping. Which is great!
BUT – what if the person who finds your dog does not know to bring them into a shelter, humane society or vet office? What if they live no where near you, and all they did was put “found dog” signs up on a pole, which you will most likely never see? This is where a micro chip and ID tags come in handy. One uses the other as a back up plan. If your dog gets lost while wearing his tags, then someone who find him/her can just call the number on the tag, and boom! Fido makes his way home. If your dog gets lost without his tags, at least you have that micro chip as a back up.
Prevention is Key.
We, as dog owners need to do our very best to prevent lost pets. But how?
By following these few tips, you can help keep your 4 legged friend by your side for life.
Simple things like:
- Not leaving doors open
- Talking to any friends or family that come over about being quick with the door
- Having a harness that fits properly when out walking your dog
- Not letting your dog off leash with poor recall
- If you have a fenced in yard, do regular checks to ensure the fence is still intact
- Do not leave your dog unattended in your yard all day
- Be weary of leaving your house windows open. Dogs can easily rip a screen, and be gone!
Did You Know?
Only 33% of pet parents say that their pets always wear ID tags?
And the strangest part is that at the same time, 80% of pet parents agree that it is crucial to have pet ID tags.
Whats up with that? According to the National Humane Society a family pet is lost every 2 seconds in North America. With statistics like that, isn’t it worth it to make sure your pet has proper identification? No question! Prevent the loss of YOUR pet, protect them with proper ID.
What type of pet ID do you use?
Please share with us in the comments, we would love to hear from you!
Jenna Drady
Jenna Drady is the author and creator of ownedbyahusky.ca. She is a mother of two beautiful daughters and 3 Siberian Huskies. Being a husky mom for a long duration of her life, Jenna was inspired to begin writing about them. In doing so, she began doing massive research on dog behavior, and all things dog in general. Jenna is inspired every day by her family, and loves to bring her readers valuable information as well as a little humor too! Jenna has created her own business partnered with her lovely mother while blogging called Pawz N Clawz Jewelry N Things. They currently sell handmade jewelry with added pet charms, as well as a few dog toys too! As an animal rights activist, and huge believer in helping pets who have been stuck in shelters, they donate a portion of their sales to local shelters throughout Canada.
