I ordered our puppy's tags, and i included our name, address, postcode and phone numbers on one side, and "microchipped" on the other.

But i had this massive internal debate about whether to have "microchipped & neutered/sterilised" on it because someone i know has a sign on her door that says "The dogs here are chipped and neutered" to deter dog thieves.  In the end i didn't do it because he's a boy so a quick glance would disprove "neutered" and i was concerned if he DID mate a bitch accidentally (which i don't intend to happen but I'm not deluded either and know however remote it is, it's a possibility) there might be legal repercussions if the bitch's owner says "well we weren't worried because his tag says he's sterile" or similar.  I know he's less likely to be stolen purely because he's male, but it does scare me (i've never owned a pedigree dog before).

Does anyone else actively try to dissuade thieves this way?

Just make sure general security is good, they will find an easier dog to pinch.

If anyone dodgy asks, say she's a cross. I do that all the time and often get expert replies like oh of course I can see the xx in her.

In general thieves are looking to claim on kidnap reward / sell on for pets. Guess puppy farms / back yard breeders steal but not as common as the other two.

I remember the good old days when I used to leave my dogs outside shops but would never do it these days.  I'd think twice about leaving one in the car as well these days.

Sad that there are so many dog thieves about today, as owners we have to do everything possible to prevent our dogs from getting stolen.

The dogs that get stolen can be young old, neutered or entire, pedigree or crossbreed -a lot of the time they are used to demand a "reward" (i.e. ransom) from the owner, and sometimes they get used for dog fighting. So sadly sex and entirety as well as breed makes no difference in a lot of cases.

I ordered our puppy's tags, and i included our name, address, postcode and phone numbers on one side, and "microchipped" on the other.

I don't know if you live in a city or not, but, dog tags in cities are not a good idea, it would attract experienced/career thieves more then deter them, they would have a contact place or number to go about offering the dog back for a fee.....eg "I found a dog with your name & number on its collar"........"Ive been keeping it for a week so I want expenses for its return"

Risky around cities I think, they are not known as career criminals for no reason. Also dogs are often stolen to fill an order.
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https://www.dfordog.co.uk/article-dog-identification-uk-law.html

In the UK, as the above link shows, it is law the dog has an ID Collar or Tag.

In the UK, as the above link shows, it is law the dog has an ID Collar or Tag.

The law that dogs must wear a tag has been law in UK for many, many decades, the only new ID law I am aware of is the new micro chip law & as far as I know they (house of lords) did not repeal the tag wearing law.
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Indeed so why are you saying to someone not to put a tag on their dog if they live in the city .

Indeed so why are you saying to someone not to put a tag on their dog if they live in the city

Well you write very well so I assume you must be able to read as well, in that case please go back to my post which you refer to and copy & past what I did write as opposed to your current tendency to say I said (in different words) something which I did not say,
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It was an unhelpful post as, by law, dogs must be tagged with certain details including certain address details.

Please stop trying to be inflammatory for the sake of it.

It was an unhelpful post

I am sorry you found it unhelpful, maybe if you took a little more time to absorb it more you might just get there.
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as, by law, dogs must be tagged with certain details including certain address details.

Yes, it's been on the DEFRA site ever since DEFRA went online, let me try & be a bit more helpful, to you, just follow the link below, download the pdf and use the search on the pdf to find what defra says........hope you find that a tad more helpful.

DEFRA pdf
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69390/pb13333-cop-dogs-091204.pdf
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Defra says, on page 11 (of the pdf), which is numbered page 8 of the document, that the dog must wear a collar and identity tag when in a public place.

I'm not sure what your first post is meant to mean then? It's a bad idea to put an id tag on the dog, but it's also against the law not to....?

I don't know if you live in a city or not, but, dog tags in cities are not a good idea, it would attract experienced/career thieves more then deter them, they would have a contact place or number to go about offering the dog back for a fee.....eg "I found a dog with your name & number on its collar"........"Ive been keeping it for a week so I want expenses for its return"

Risky around cities I think, they are not known as career criminals for no reason. Also dogs are often stolen to fill an order.

Please explain how this was intended to be a useful contribution since it is the law for dogs to wear tags, and how it relates to you now posting DEFRA guidelines.

I haven't got my full address, I have my surname, house number, post code and telephone number, and on the reverse side it says Microchipped.

I was advised to only put these details by my dog club....

Yes, the house number and postcode is enough, I put my full address because in the last few years I have three times "found" a dog in my street and phoned the tag's numbers (which either had no address or a limited one) and spoken to mildly panicked owners only to be told the dog lives either in my street or the next street over - if I'd had that info I'd have just taken the dog home rather than phoning anyone. These are all small "lap" dogs who I never see getting walked and thus didn't recognise.

Re tags in cities.

I think what's meant is that should you meet said dodgy person when out for walk and they greet your dog, if the full address is on the tag they
A) know where you live and that you walk a dog so there will be certain times when you're out and the house is empty and
B) it gives your details so that if you have your dog pinched on a walk or from outside Tesco (or wherever) they can blackmail you or extort money to give the dog back.
It happens.

I don't ever put full address on my tags. Phone number and postcode and my surname

Postcode brings up address on internet also surnames can be typed in and found on electoral list giving full address. So we are all traceable

Our tags contain their call names and our surname, then our postal address + house number and then our phone number on the one side, and our vet's phone number on the reverse.   Come to think of it, I should update that as we've  switched vets - and scratched out the number of the previous vet there now.   I was told not to put the call name on, but I prefer to do that.  How much to include is up to the individual really, but indeed I make sure mine can't get out/stolen in any case.  And both are now 'chipped.

My tags ha be my name, first line of my adress, my phone number and that she is chipped.
My old tag use to have the vets number but I couldn't fit it on the new tag.

> I haven't got my full address, I have my surname, house number, post code and telephone number, and on the reverse side it says Microchipped. <br />

Same here, my toy breeds would be weighted down at the neck if I tried to get everything on their disc.  My discs need to be tiny.  I don't have (or want) their names on disc as my dogs are trained to return when called.   I do agree with Mamabas that it's unlikely that mine would be stolen, my security is good (one workman said it was like Fort Knox!!)

But I am still wondering if a Bedlington is ok after I drove to Royal Mail to collect a parcel last night.  On the way there I saw a girl on her evening run, she was travelling fast and the dogs' lead was attached to her waist.  10 minutes later, driving home, I saw the Bedlington racing with no collar.  You could see the fear in his eyes, he was totally panicked.  I tried to catch him, but didn't have a chance.  I looked around for the girl after, wanting to tell her that he was racing back the way she had come from.  He had slipped his collar, but I just hope that he was picked up and scanned.

Same here, my toy breeds would be weighted down at the neck if I tried to get everything on their disc.

Same here, I have bought collars that have my mobile number embroidered on and my name, house no and postcode stamped on the buckle. I think it is less likely to be lost than a tag - though I have tags on as well - belt and braces :)

When my toy poodle was a pup, I had a gentleman knock on my door offering to Tarmac my drive ;)
I massively panicked as he looked at the pup in my arms and seemed transfixed by her. He didn't try to push what he was selling, and as he walked away he said twice what a lovely pup she was. It sent shivers down my spine and I panicked.
I hadn't yet had her chipped as I was waiting for her to get bigger - so next day she was done first thing.

The other thing I did was have another gate put between my back door and front gate, just to make it harder for someone to take her.
I couldn't pass mine off as a cross, but if any strangers strike up a conversation about her I always say she's spayed.