Dog Collar Identity Tag - Make Sure Your Dog Wears One

Having an identity tag attached to the collar of your dog is very important, I know this, but that knowledge didn't stop me from taking a couple of months before I finally remembered to buy one for Barley, our lovely rescue Lurcher.
We adopted Barley in September 2013, so he's been part of our family for one year and nine months now, but he doesn't like wearing a collar, so we don't make him wear a collar all of the time.
When he's indoors we always remove his collar, but when we're off out for walks he always wears a collar with an id disc attached - now that we've finally bought one that is.

The paw print design has been almost completely scratched off

Since we adopted Barley we have bought him lots of things, as is normal with any loved pet, but we seem to have bought a lot of collars and leads; unfortunately high prices don't always equal good quality.
One of the things we bought was a lovely bright orange collar, which lasted only a few days before the metal fixings became 'unfixed'.
It was with this in mind that when we first remembered to buy a dog tag id disc made me decided not to spend a lot of money on what is basically a flat metal disc.
So a quick look on Amazon UK and I'd ordered a simple identity disc, it cost £2.70, including the engraving of any details you wanted, and it's perfectly fine.

Lately I have been thinking about buying another collar for Barley, a small straight collar that can be worn at all times. Being a Lurcher he has to wear a 'special' type of collar which is thicker around the front of his neck, as he can easily slip backwards out of 'normal' dog collars.
The reason I've been thinking about buying him a permanent wear dog collar is because as you can see from the photos I've uploaded to this blog post, the disc we bought is fastened through the buckle of his collar, and it's awkward to fasten, although it's been on there for long enough now that we're used to it.
Another reason for a basic slim width collar is that if Barley did manage to escape from the house or our yarden (no that's not a spelling mistake, I call our backyard a yarden) and he was found by a nice person, rather than stolen like so many dogs seem to be nowadays, then hopefully we'd get him back sooner if the person who found him could easily contact us via our details on his identity disc.

I remember reading on more than one occasion that you shouldn't put your dogs name on their dog tags.
I disagree with this idea.
If Barley ever got lost, I'd much prefer anyone who found him to know his name, and maybe he'd feel comforted when they spoke to him.
I know some people say having the dogs name on the id tag means criminals can steal your dog more easily because they can call them by name, but that's nonsense. Anyone who is committed to dog theft is not going to let the fact that they don't know a dogs name stop them.
And having a contact phone number or email address on the dog identity disc is also a good idea as if the dog is ever lost then once again it may make his safe return quicker and easier.

So, Barley has an identity disc attached to his 'Lurcher' collar, but I think it'd be better if it was attached to a slimline collar that he wears all of the time. I doubt he'd agree with me on this, but I guess he'll just have to get used to wearing a permanent collar.

Actually, as I am often reminded whenever I look at the website of the charity who rescued Barley, where we adopted him, it is an offence if you don't make sure your dog is wearing an identity disc, 'as required under the Environmental Protection Act 1990'.
This is what their website states -
''It is an offence under the Control of Dogs Order 1992 for a dog to be in a public place without a collar and tag with the owner’s name and address on it, even when the owner is in charge of the dog. If your dog does not have a collar and tag, you can be prosecuted and fined up to £5000. The owner commits this offence even if the dog has a microchip.''

Basic engraving of our details on the reverse on the dog identity tag; blurred for privacy ;)

Yep, it's all about being a responsible dog owner.
I suppose I'd better have a look on Amazon UK to see what suitable collars they have.
Hmm, and having seen up-close the tatty condition of Barleys current dog identity disc and his lead, I think I'll be adding a few more items to my shopping basket as well.
Does your dog wear an identity disc?
Do you make your dog wear their collar at all times?
Dos your dog mind wearing a collar?