I just came back from walking the labs im looking after, and one has lost his dog license!
my question do they need one on when out and about?
can i get in trouble for not having a tag on him, even though hes not my dog??

dog-madness x

"The law states that any dog walked in a public place must wear a collar with identification displayed on or attached to it.  The information required on an ID disc is the name and address of the owner.  Other information eg telephone number is optional."

This is a direct quote from the KC GCDS guidelines for examiners sheet if that helps. :D

cheers, ill go and get a new one for him tomorrow!
I was thinking of going to look for it, but we walked 13 miles!!!! :P

I don't think I'd want my address on.  Mine just have my name and the telephone no.

We had one with exactly the same details on it Diane, but for the KCGC test I had to get one made with our address on.

Like it or not that is the law. Like a lot of laws it dates back so far that telephones were not in common use when it was put on the statute book and really should be updated to take the 21 century into account!

Best wishes, John

I not only have my name, address and phone no. on my tags, but on the reverse I also have my vets phone no. and that my dogs are I.D chipped too.

i did the same with my previous dogs, mali fan, i had everything on them, so they could always be returned to me.

although its the law to have your address on the ID tag my local dog warden actually recommends that you don't as we have had a lot of burgarlys just from people reading the tags. It differs in each region as to weather they stick to all the rules.

Laws is laws Sonny!

Yes but how many are actually follwed is unknown. Just saying what my local dog warden told everybody doing good citizen awards.

But as you will see from my post the guidelines issued by the Kennel Club regarding the Good Citizens award specifically state name and address!

Perhaps it would be a good idea if your dog warden had a copy :D

:D

It is not the dog warden's job to interpret the law Sonny. There is also the problem of what would happen if you take your dog out of your area to a show, holiday or whatever. It is your own business if you chose to break the law but I feel that people on here should at least be informed of what the law is. If they got into trouble it would be no use saying, "Arr, but someone on the internet said their dog warden was happy!"

John

Very true John!

okay, I'm being dumb, why would you omit the address?  Someone mentions burglars - so if you have a dog you must be out and can be burgled?  Ah, doh, just came to me, so they can read your address when petting your dog, then come back another day to steal your dog, right?

Does that really happen?  Hmmm, weighing up the pros and cons and likelyhood, I'd be leaning towards the safe knowledge that if my dog got out someone finding her would bring her back.  Or the police/dog warden would know where to bring her back.  I have OH's mobile number on there, because my theory was its all well and good someone ringing my house if I'm out searching the streets and don't know that they've rung, so I felt the address was essential....although now you've given me something else to think about!

I'm more curious as to why the owner's name is a neccesity.  With only three lines available for her tag, I went with her name.  I would be quite prepared to answer to 'Millie's Owner', so I don't see why my name is required by law.

Hmmm, now you've got me thinking about theft, someone finds her loose and has the advantage of knowing her name and gaining her trust.  Ok, off down the key cutters this week for a new tag then!

Well I have lost count of the number of stray dogs I have picked up, and am thankful if they have the address, as I can then take then straight back, and more than likely it is closer than my home!

When you have several dogs, and maybe young stock at homw, you so not want to have to take said dog home, try and ring an often out of date phone no. (people change phones more often than address).

It is nearly always sods law that you find the dog after Dog Warden working hours or a\zt the weekend.  I have to admit that now if the dog isn't on a main road I will often just leave well alone, as trying to reunite it with it's owner is just so much hassle. :(

As far as my local council are concerned they are happy that my dogs only have my home and mobile no. on their tags with 'microchipped' on the reverse. I'm not allowing my home address to be on any dog tag, laws or no laws and I can't see anyone enforcing it anyway!

Thats your affair FrankieB. I will say though that most people do not have access to a chip reader so without taking the dog to their home and possibly taking infection to a litter of puppies, assuming they did not have a mobile phone then they would have to carry the dog to a vets or police station. And if they did not have a car then that would not be easy.

I wonder how many people faced with that would walk away from the dog? I personally think too much of my dogs to subject them to that risk

I had the exact same trouble when I found a dog in an unfamilar town, when nothing was open and no one was about, I put the dog in my car whilst I went for an appointment and then hunted around for ages to reunite it, it had no disc on.  Next time, if it does not have an address I am afraid I won't bother.  Chances are if you ARE looking for your dog your home and mobile numbers may be engaged, the finder may not necessarily have a mobile (not everyone does you know, or it may be out of money/battery) or money/access to a telephone box etc.  Not everyone has a caged up car that they could put a dog in (which as John says is putting my dogs at risk as I have no idea if the dog is vaccinated or not).

But as John says what you do with your own dog is your own affair however my dogs will continue to sport what they are required to by law ie my name and address as well as the telephone numbers of my home, my work and my vet as this way I maximise the chances of my dog being returned to me if it is ever lost and found by a helpful person.

I have had the exact situation John describes.  I was road walking my girls, as I had a litter of pups at home.

This dog was walking in the main road, and of course I couldn't leave it.

I had to walk it home (I don't drive) tie it up outsdie my house, and when I rang the number on the disc it was not recognised (no longer valid or changed I assume).  Ithen had to track down the dog Warden Service, keep redialling to get through to council, who have Dog warden under Pest Control!

I then had to stand outside my house in the rain until the Dog warden came.

As other people have said, if there is an address on a dog's tag it will be taken home and reunited with its owner much sooner.
:)

Oooh, I might be being controversial here As well as breaking the law ........ but my dogs tags are simply not big enought to add my address too, so for my sins, I have my home tel no, and also mobile number. When we moved house some years ago, we forgot to close the back gate, and Bree decided to go walkabout, fortunatly, some people found her, and phoned up, a happy reunion then followed *aaah*

I'm not going to disagree about the rights and wrongs of the law, only to add, I'd rather anyone finding my dogs had my phone & mobile numbers. JMHO

liberty :)

I have the small Brass tags from Pettags, which have room for 6 lines of text, and on one side there is room for my name(well my affix actually as it is simpler than my surname) my address (hous and street, suburb, Ccity and Post Code, and phone number (to fit the dialling code is in brackets under the number).  On the other side it says that they are chipped and tattooed and to contact NDTR and Petlog.

These tags are excellent, and have black lettering.  The dogs apart from Pup, ahve had them over 3 years, and they are as clear as the new one I got for pup.

Hi I was just reading your tag conversation. I agree with the others. I personally wouldn't put my dog's name on the tag. If the dog is well trained, anyone who knows the obedience commands AND your dogs name has a better chance of stealing him/her. I have "Please call & then mine and my husband's mobile numbers" I hope It is never used but it is by far the most safe and effective way of getting back you dog if the worse case scenario happened and it strayed. I wonder whether you had also considered getting your dog microchipped? - just a thought.
Regards
Pushy

Hi Pushy, being microchipped dosent remove the need to have a tag with name address etc on - pudding brain here broke the law for a couple of months after having her dog microchipped until someone here pointed out the error of my ways. :) Now Ive seen my chums ex racing greyhound's ear tattoo, I may well get our next dog tattooed if possible to avoid any missing chip problems.

If someone is reading your dog's name on their tag then they will likely have hold of the collar so if they want to steal them they will anyway.  Some of my dogs would go with anyone regardless of what they called them or commands they used and some of them wouldn't even if they were saying their name and the recall command they are familiar with.  ;)

Who needs to read the name on the tag Pushy? By the time the dog is in a position for a thief to read the name on the tag he would already have the dog in his hands! And lets face it, training a dog another name is childs play! Most dogs answer to at least two names anyway.

John

We have  our name and number on one side and house number and postcaode on the other.  This way people don't always instantly know our address BUT if lost it will be easy to find our address.

Mine came from Pets At Home, 3 lines so has her name on one line, my door number and street name in the middle and OH's mobile number at the bottom (my phone is always dead or lost and if I was out and about looking for Millie I wouldn't hear the home phone ring :-D and OH always has his phone with him, fully charged and switched on come rain or shine so even if he was at work he'd be able to get in touch with me, or someone else, or advise what to do with the dog).  So I have all the information I wanted on it, but can still take it to Timpson's to get more info put on the reverse if I decide to.

Regarding finding a lost dog without an address on a tag, I can just imagine me finding a stray dog and trying to hold it, and my flapping puppy, whilst searching through my bag for my mobile, dropping my cigs, lipstick etc all over the pavement whilst I tried to call the person's number, only to find they live two doors away from where I'm standing! I'd much rather find an address to take the dog home to!

Been there with lost dogs - Manic Morse trying to play with em, kids wailing about being late for school and me trying  to improvise a lead/collar with a dish towel on one memorable occasion :D Since the police/dog wardens can be reluctant to take the dogs Id love it if they had an address to go to. Knowing my luck the owner would be out. :D

I know the law is the law, and you should have your address on a dog tag. However if one of my dogs went missing, I wouldn't be at home, I'd be out looking for them, so IMO far better to have a mobile number as a contact.

liberty - law-breaker ;)