The little ring or S-hook that you get with your new pet ID tag may seem like a trivial detail that doesn’t require much thought. But here at the LuckyPet pet tag factory, we’ve done lots of thinking and testing for you to make sure your pet's tag is attached, safely and securely.
The Hidden Danger of S-hooks
For over 20 years, we offered our customers the choice of either an S-hook or a split ring with hundreds of thousands of tags. S-hooks are a simple, effective way to attach a tag to a collar but it does require pliers to pinch it shut. About 6 years ago, we got a letter in the mail describing a terrible accident. Somehow a dog wearing one of our tags, got the S-hook hooked into his eyelid. We were relieved to know that the dog recovered with no lasting injuries. The owners just wanted us to know of the potential danger posed by the S-hook.
We found it nearly impossible to even imagine how this accident could have happened. In fact, we hadn’t ever heard of any S-hook related injury. We felt this had to be a once-in-a-lifetime, freak accident.
And then it happened again!
We were stunned. Further investigation showed that in both cases, the S-hook was pinched shut enough to hold the tag from falling off- but not pinched entirely closed. That small opening allowed the S-hook to still act as a hook and grab the dogs’ eyelid. Luckily, this second dog also fully recovered.
We were done with S-hooks. There is simply no way for us to ensure that every S-hook will be pinched entirely shut so that this can’t ever happen again. We decided that day to eliminated the S-hook as an option.
There are millions of pets out there with S-hook attachments. If your pet is one of them, please make sure that both sides of the S-hook are completely closed. In fact, you should consider changing your attachment to a split ring.
Split Rings
All of our tags are shipped with split ring attachments. Split rings are little, miniature key rings. A flat spiral of spring steel that doesn’t require tools to attach, once they are on, they tend to stay on and as far as we know, can’t injure your pet.
It probably seems like there isn’t much to ordering a box of split rings but we have to make several choices to ensure that your split ring works the way it should.
The first choice is simple, we choose the diameter of the ring. Next, we must choose the thickness of the metal that makes the ring. That not only affects how tough it is but also how hard it is to spread open when putting it on. There needs to be a careful balance between strength and ease of use. Further, we need to choose how much spring there is in the steel. If it’s not springy enough, it will bend when you spread it open it and not close back up. If we make them too springy, the metal becomes brittle and will shatter to pieces when pulled to the breaking point.
The only way to know all this about our rings is to test them. Above is a picture of our tug tester. We use it to test rings any time we order a new batch or buy from a new supplier. We know that we want the ring to hold its shape for a certain number of pounds of pull and then we want it to stretch open if pulled even harder. We doubt anyone else goes to these extremes to ensure that the product on your pet performs the way it should.
Klippy
We invented and designed the Klippy right here at LuckyPet. We sell an awful lot of them. Klippy isn’t actually an alternative to the split ring since it still uses a ring to connect the tag to the Klippy. You attach your tag to the Klippy with the split ring just one time and from then on, you can easily clip and unclip your tag. That makes it exceptionally easy to move your tag between different collars or to simply remove them when your pet is inside and you don’t want to hear tags jangling every time your pet moves.
Many people have discovered that Klippys work great for many uses beyond your pet’s tags. Any time you want to quickly connect and disconnect smaller items like keys or a camera strap, Klippy is an ideal solution.
Collar Tags
And finally, no discussion about how to hang a pet tag would be complete without mentioning a completely different option, don't hang it at all. We sell rivet-on tags, and what we call a collar tag. We invented the collar tag right here at the factory, so we're the only company that sells them. These attractive and unique tags attach flat to your pet's collar. This provides several advantages over a hanging pet tag: no dangling to annoy your pet and no jangling to make noise. And maybe more importantly, since the writing is not rubbing on anything, it doesn't wear out.
If you've read this far, you now know more than most people (ever wanted to know) about how to attach a pet tag to a collar! We would strongly suggest not using an S-hook just in case your pet is the unlucky one-in-a-million. And consider a Klippy if you often have the need to change tags or collars. Otherwise, we think the tried and true split ring is the best choice for the unglamorous and overlooked job of attaching your pet's tag.
