AIBU to wonder why so many dogs are found without tags

[TheLivelyCat]

Why do so many dog owners not put tags on their dogs when its a legal requirement? Ive seen so many dogs this week on my local Facebook page, who have got out however they are not wearing tags. I get some people take there fogs collars off in the home, but the amount of strays found without a collar is huge. (For context my dog allways wears her collar and tag unless in her crate due to safety)

YABU it should be up to the owner to decide whether to use a collar and tag.

YANBU all dogs unless legaly exempt should wear a collar and tag, unless the risk of injury in the home is too high, eg crates.

Yes they should always have a tag. I found a 14 year old almost blind dog this week wandering alone and it fortunately had a tag and I was able to call the owner and get them reunited. Not sure why it was ever off the lead really. She had a pack of six other large dogs all off the lead and whilst she was distracted with one of the others this one had wandered off !

YANBU

I have two dogs and we keep their collars on all the time just incase they manage to escape the house or garden.

They're pretty well trained so it's never happened, but that doesn't mean it couldn't.

My elderly neighbour's dog recently escaped his garden and when I heard him desperately calling, I grabbed my dog's lead and gave chase for about 10 minutes.

Only to catch up with the dog and realise there was no collar, so I ended up having to carry him home and he weighed a bloody tonne!!

Collars are a strangulation risk so mine never wears one in the home.

How is a well fitted collar a strangulation risk?

What if your dog got out and you couldn't find it?

Would you rely on a member of the public to spend their time trying to get your dog to a vet, to have it's chip scanned?

Dogs found with tags aren’t reported or advertised. I’ve found a few dogs out for walks on their own, called the owner and reunited them without anyone else knowing. A dog without a tag is much more publicly returned.

Because even well-fitted collars can get caught on things. I know of dogs who have injured themselves scratching under their collars and getting their feet caught, for example.

My dog can't get out as our garden is secure with a padlocked gate and he's never left out there unattended. Our front door has a double-locked system.

If he got loose on a walk he would have his collar and tag on him.

Exactly. Dogs wearing collars and tags don't make it onto social media as they're reunited automatically.

If my dog got lost it would be because she managed to get her harness and collar off. She is always on lead because of her being typical of her breed. She is a nervous girl and if she gets really scared she will try and shrug her harness off and run, she has such a thick coat that it's hard not to have a little wiggle room. It's only happened twice in five years though and I got her back quickly. So if she ran away she wouldn't have her tag with her. She is microchipped though.

The majority of lost dogs I've found without a collar and tag have escaped from their homes.

I would never take the risk of removing their collar indoors.

I've had dogs for 57 years without one of them ever being strangled.

Surely the risk of them getting lost/run over and killed is far far greater than strangulation?

I mean massively greater?

Strangulation isn't the only risk from collars.

And the risk of them getting out of the house and getting lost or killed is only an issue if you don't have a secure home and garden. My dog can't physically escape our back garden (unless he suddenly grows springs in his feet) and our house has a double locked entry way so he can't get out of the front door either.

I'm happy with my choice.

My dog doesn’t wear a collar in the house after a friends dog died years ago getting his back leg stuck through his collar whilst scratching. She came home to find the dog sadly passed away. I’ve never left a dog unattended in a collar since.

However, it’s unlikely that he’ll escape the house/garden and run off. He always has a collar and tag on walks, but is rarely more than a foot away from me even when off lead.

I agree, there is a small risk, but with proper management, supervision and a well fitted collar, is the risk of them escaping not higher risk?
As i said if my dogs in their crate I take her collar off, as the risk is higher in that case. There maybe other times when the risk is higher too.

I would be asking why your dogs are at such a risk of escaping in the first place.

If you have a secure garden and a properly locked door, why would they ever be able to get out?

I loosen their collars in the house. They're not escape artists so unlikely to get out and if they got caught on something, they could pull out of it with a bit of effort.

Ok. Vallied point, about being unsupervised, but hopefully in that case your dog will be secured in the home unable to escape. As in doors and windows locked.

they should be microchipped so could be taken to a vet etc for scanning. problem starts when the chip is not up to date with details.
my dog has his collar on all the time, it goes on it stays on but he can wriggle out of it especially on lead so cannot rely on that, hence why he has a harness when out and about.
to make you smile my dogs tag reads
I am Moo help! i am lost ring my mum!

Because a lot of dog owners are utter wankers and shouldn’t have pets, or even plants in some cases as they’re so dumb.

Famous last words.

Even the best trained animals are still animals.

You need to be thinking one step ahead at all times.

I do - which is why I always check our gate is padlocked before letting him out the back. It’s why he’s always shut behind a baby gate or locked door when I open the front door. It’s why we have a double door system in place so he can’t get out while we pop to the car or take in a delivery in case we forget to use the baby gate…

Well as you said, you're happy with your choices...so 🤷‍♂️

Yep, I am. I don't personally know anyone who has collars on their dogs in the home either, and I work with a lot of dogs.

I’ve seen my clumsy dog get his leg stuck on his collar. He has a collar when on a walk and as a responsible adult, I am able to close/lock doors and gates and he is never off the lead on a walk.

I have had a dog escape. DP was hoovering the car and left the front door open. Dog obviously saw his chance and legged it. Some people are stupid. Some people look for potential risks. This dog has been trained to never leave the front door without our say so. Obviously it’s still a risk so we block access to it.

My dogs don’t wear collars at home. It’s not only crates that are hazardous. A friend’s Labrador lay next to a chest of drawers with knobs and caught one through his collar, twisted as he tried to pull away but didn’t know to twist the other way to loosen it. Had she not been in the same room he could have strangled.

I remember reading about a couple leaving their young dog at home and on their return found it hung by its collar on a door handle. We always take our dogs collar off if we leave her at home for any length of time.

Falkirk family devastated after finding beloved puppy HANGED by collar in horrific ‘freak accident’ | https://share.google/4dni0Pn9VcFQIgmIH

We have the same dog! Mines also always on a lead but he has a collar. It has to be on tight as when he was a pup, a pull in the opposite direction and it came off his head due to the floof.