Those darn tags........

[Summer Magic]

As you can see from my sig picture Magic has a full white beard. She stays relatively clean with the exception of the area around her collar where the rabies and dog license tags are. It is a requirement (subject to fine) that dogs wear their tags where I live. It makes such a gray dirty mess around that part of her beard it makes me think people believe I don't take care of her properly. I scrub and scrub that area with a crown royal shampoo for dogs, but the aluminum metal stains stay on the hair and even with a vigirous shampoo she still shows the gray dirty hair. Is there anything I can use on her that won't bother her skin but will take this nasty mess away?

[Dave Kersh]

There is a product called Plasti-Dip which is a plastic coating for metal objects. I've used it to coat the handles of wrenches and it works very well. It's available in clear, so if you coated Magic's tags it should stop the corrosion and keep her clean and you'd still be able to read the tags. Give it a look...
http://www.quiltershusband. com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=a ction&key=PLAS2PDS
or
http://www.garage-toys.com/plspbl.html
I think I've seen it at Home Depot too, but I couldn't find it on their website.
I know Shelties, and she's probably very embarrassed about the stain on her shirt! :wink:

[Summer Magic]

Hi David

Wow! Thanks for the information. We don't have a Home Depot close to home (I live in the woods) but there is a Lowes close in the next town so I'll try and find some of this stuff there. If not, I'll order it online. Sure appreciate the help.

[Grace Erick]

Dave, that plastic dip stuff is a good idea!

Judy, I think it's Petsmart that has a tag making machine. I don't know what metal is used or if you are really allowed to put license or rabies tag info onto a new tag. It's nice if you can combine tag info, but I don't see that you can put that much info on it.

These tags that you can make can be used to put your home phone number on them, but licenses should make it possible to track your address anyway if a dog is lost. This lost dog I found had so many tags; he was microchipped, had a license, a rabies tag and a tag with their cell phone number.

Bye, Grace

[Rachel]

They make a tag holder...I think I saw it on ebay? but anyways its a plastic box that holds like 3 or so tags in it. I think they made it so the tags do not jingle but I bet it would be good at protecting the fur too. I'll see if I can't find that website again.

[Jody Hayes]

Or...you could put clear nail polish on it.

[Jennifer Hughes]

I saw a neoprene "pocket" that covered the dog tags so they didn't jingle. Have seen them at several outdoor stores. I have the same problem with Tanna's white chest.

[Grace Erick]

My husband thinks that if you call and complain, they will stop making the tags out of materials that will stain a dog. I think he feels it's a real public relations issue and since it does "damage" your dog's coat, he feels they will take action.

I have no idea what my tags are made up of, probably the same metal since aluminum is a light weight metal. Then again, I just felt her rabies tag and it is not really light, and I would guess that is because aluminum is not a strong metal if it's too thin.

Bye, Grace

[Jill Ramsey]

You can get plastic tags, but the hooks are still metal. This is what causes problems, too.

[Karen Kwei]

Why don't you try a collartag?

I ordered a collartag from Collar Tags (http://www.boomerangtags.co m/store/index.php?A=G&ID=5)

These tags are great. They will not come in contact with your dog's fur and will stay on your dog! The engraving is deep too.

Disclaimer: I am not related to this business. I am just a happy customer.

[TimberWolf]

I know if you look in some of the pet catalogs, (jb wholesale or Dr. foster & smith, etc...) there are collars there that they'll embroider your phone number onto the actual caller so there is no metal involved. I don't know if you could add a name or address to it, but it might be worth looking into.

[Lauren Frisbie]

Well, I don't have much to say about the tags, but look into getting some enzyme whitening shampoo for the white areas on Magic. They have them on Petegde.com. You just heat it a bit in the microwave and shampoo it like normal. Then let it sit for a bit. It really does work VERY well. I use it on my border collies white feet to get the "street dirt" off. Good Luck, ~Lauren

[Lesly Stevens]

The plastic dip and the collar tags both sound like good solutions. However, in a pinch, you can also apply a couple of coats of clear nail polish. That works, too.

I remove my dogs' collars when they're in the house for safety reasons (teeth can get caught when they play), so it's not an issue for my Standard Poodles. They only wear those collars when out and about, so do not discolor their hair.

Lesly, Maddy, and Bo