It's the collar that gets checked first, every time
Say your dog slips out the gate, or your cat wanders further than usual, and someone comes across them: the collar is the first place they'll look, before anything else crosses their mind. So it's worth getting right, whether that means an engraved tag, a QR tag, or one that carries both, for a dog, a cat, or livestock out in the field. Every United Pet Club tag ties back to your pet's free registry profile, wherever that finder happens to be.
Why a small metal tag still matters so much
A microchip will outlast the pet it's fitted to, but it needs a scanner before it says a word, and not everyone who finds a stray dog is carrying one, though a vet or a dog warden usually will be. A tag skips all that: whoever picks up your pet reads it there and then, off the collar, with nothing to plug in or switch on. Have both, and between them they cover almost every situation, since our microchip registry ties the tag's code to that very same profile.
A standard tag carries your pet's name and your number, engraved straight into the metal, plain and simple. A QR tag goes a step further, adding a code that opens your pet's profile online, so even if your number has changed since the tag was made, whoever scans it still lands on the right details. Premium tags are finished with a layer of epoxy over the print, keeping the code and the lettering from fading with the weather. If you're torn between the two, the buying guide walks through engraved against QR, the materials, and what's worth putting on there. And if you've already a tag to hand, register it here and its code will join your pet's free profile.
There's a tag suited to whatever you're minding
Dog tags
Standard or premium, made for a dog's collar, with one job in mind, getting a lost dog back to the person who's missing him.
Cat tags
The same tags again, only smaller, sized for a cat's collar and built to bring a wandering cat home.
Livestock tags
Sturdy tags you can customise, made for herds and flocks out on the land, as much use for keeping count as for chasing down a stray.
QR or code tags
A code that opens your pet's profile the moment any phone scans it. And if the scan won't take, the code can still be looked up by hand in the registry.
Epoxy-protected tags
Premium tags carry a layer of epoxy over the print, so the code and the text keep their shape through rain and shine alike.
How a QR tag carries a pet home
1
Personalise the tag
Pick out a style, and once it lands on your doorstep, link it to your pet's profile in the registry.
2
Fasten it to the collar
From there it stays put, day and night, alongside whatever other ID your pet already wears.
3
Someone scans the code
A finder holds any phone camera up to the tag, and the link opens on its own, no app needed at all.
4
Word reaches you
The scan brings up your pet's profile along with your contact details, and the registry can let you know your pet has turned up safe.
A tag and a chip, better together than apart
A tag can work its way loose off a collar, or wear thin over the years, the way things do. A chip, for its part, is no use without a scanner close at hand, and out on a country road that's not always the case. Between the two, though, each one makes up for what the other lacks.
A finder with no scanner can still read the tag clean off the collar. And a pet that slips its collar entirely still carries the chip, quietly, under the skin.
The questions people tend to ask about pet tags
What's worth putting on my pet's tag?
Most people go with the pet's name, a phone number, and often a second number besides. If your pet is chipped as well, adding the word "microchipped" is a small thing that tells a finder to have it checked.
Do you need an app to scan a QR tag?
Not a bit of it. Any phone's camera will scan the code and open the link straight away, nothing to download.
What separates a tag from a microchip, really?
A tag sits out where anyone passing can read it at a glance. A chip lives under the skin for good, but it takes a scanner to read. Have both, and your pet's got two separate roads home.
Are livestock tags much the same as pet tags?
Not quite. They're built with herds and flocks in mind, more about keeping records and finding strays than sitting on one animal's collar.
Will the tag still work if I never set up a QR code?
It will, of course. An engraved tag with your number does the job well enough on its own, and the code, if there is one, can still be looked up by hand at the registry when scanning isn't possible.
Link the tag to a free profile before you need it
Register the tag alongside the microchip, and any scan will lead straight back to you. Have a read of how to register a pet tag, or dive straight in.