Identifying Puppies

Just curious what everyone here uses/has used/has seen being used and the pros/cons of the many ways people use to ID their puppies. A lot of folks in my breed use nail polish, actually haven't seen many who use anything else. Just something I have been thinking about lately

For those who are knowledgeable with ric rac, does it fray too much (the #1 issue I have heard with it)? Is ribbon a BIG no no (it seems those who use it like it, and those who don't say it's the one thing never to use)? Is there a difference between breed sizes when making a consideration (besides thinner pieces)?

for the wowies...

you know those velcro cable ties that come in lots of colors...
yup, ive found them PERFECT for tiny wowie necks, there very easy to readjust as the puppies grow.
ive also heard of nail polish, a Dot of color of a washable marker (itll fade as the pups grow old enough to be identified easily by looks) and a dot of cool-aid paste (like the way i dye ruby) it fades/washes out in about 6 weeks

I always bought whelping collars , but have used markers too . I knew the pups well enough to know who was who and mainly put the collars on for visitors .

When I helped my friend whelp her litter of collies, she had a bunch of papers printed out that had a spread eagled outline in the shape of a dog (like if you skinned a dog and spread the hide out on the floor). It also had a bunch of lines for notes, like, gender, order born in, time born, birth weight, etc.

On the outline, for every puppy we sketched out the markings. It actually made it really easy to identify them, because they all had pretty different markings on their ruffs and different sock sizes. I imagine it wouldn't work very well for a breed like rottweilers where they all have the same markings, but for collies it worked. She never put any whelping collars or painted on them or anything.

I do this as well. Collies make it very easy because there is always a difference in their markings. If I had a single colored breed, I'm not sure what I'd do ...

When I bred rabbits when younger, I marked the inside of their ears with markers

at that large show collie kennel I used to work at we used nail polish.

I used paper collars used for puppy IDing. I just write on them with a marker. They come in packs of like 50 or something, with all different colors. They are easy to change as the puppy grows. I ordered them from petsuppliesdeliverd.com

Thanks everyone

Foxy, I'll have to look into those more and see the available sizes. Nail polish (or similar marking of the pup) seem to be the easier option and the most commonly used, but yet keep flopping back and forth wanting something more easily seen from across the room/in photos, while taking into consideration the risks. LOL, sad how I'm so hung up on this VS other (probably more important) things

Hello all, I just joined this group...

As far as marking the puppies to ID them. I have never needed to do it. I have Collies (obviously) and they are always marked slightly different (even if other people can't tell it, I can!) and I know who is who and what order they were born in etc....

If I had a breed where all the puppies were the same solid color I might have to mark them then!... but no with my collies.

Still looking through the forum, but thought I'd post some pictures of dogs I bred... and own a few of them...


Paris - CH Spiritwind Barely An Angel


Lindsay - Can CH. Armitage Spiritwind Stolen Halo (Litter sister to Paris) pictured at the 2009 CCA national specialty in April 2009.


Lindsay - 1st place Open Rough Blue bitches, 2009 CCA


Bree - Ptd Spiritwind Galway Girl - class placement at the 2009 CCA. She is a Pairs daughter.


Amy - Spiritwind Amaretto


Tori (Amy daughter) sired by CH Blu Ridge Lookout


And here is Keebler, who I bred, but do not own, but I love this picture!

and her sister Lucy


Ptd Spiritwind Rumor Has It