Customer Reviews

Flexi PC Pet ID Tag

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got this because it looks to be a well designed product that I can use to provide an extra measure of safety for my dog Telstar, who is a bit of a nut and a gifted escape artist. I checked out a few of these and this looks to be the best made one out there short of making my own (I am a certified computer geek and hot rod guy, so I could do this if there wasn't one this nice out there...) However, upon receiving the item, I noticed a few points of concern:

1) The documents are all in Word format(.doc). Since I don't want to assume that someone who finds my dog has Word (yes, I know about Wordpad, but this still bugs me), I put a couple of notepad documents (.txt) with my info on them into the tag as well so as to maximize format compatibility options for anyone who might find this.

I also put my information in the tag in Spanish -titled "espanol"; in case my dog is found by a Spanish-speaking person, which is a distinct possibility in my area. If you don't speak Spanish (or need to translate into another language) visit [...], copy and paste your text into the translation box, then copy the translated text into a new document in the tag. Be sure to title this translated document "espanol" (or whatever language name applies) preferably in the native text of the language. I know that this may sound like a lot of effort for this step, but it does no good to translate the text and then give it an English title if the person who finds the tag doesn't understand the title. Anyway, I digress...

2) The split ring attached to the tag is junk. My dog is crazy and strong, and his favorite playmate is our pit-mix ruby, who is also very strong and likes to grab the tag end of Telstar's collar in her mouth. Translation: if I were dumb enough to trust this crap split ring to keep the tag attached to my dog's collar, it'd be lost in the yard in about 2 days. You can get a much better quality split ring at a hardware store for less than a buck that will keep the tag from being lost after the first couple of times it is subjected to the stress of being attached to a dog collar. Which is what I did...

3) Although the cap of the tag is screw-on and is sealed with an o-ring -which is great, the led in the bottom of the tag appears to be unsealed, which potentially negates any waterproofing conveyed by the cap. I'm going to seal this spot with a dab of silicone so that water can't sneak in through the back, as it were...

One last thing: I removed all but the most essential documents from the tag -the more cluttered the file list is, the more confused (and less likely to read them) the person who finds and plugs this tag in is likely to be. I'm keeping it simple by reducing the document count to a bare minimum needed to make effective use of this awesome product. Anyway, if you're willing to tweak it a bit for best performance, this is a great option for keeping your beloved family member safe -remember that unlike a microchip, this tag can be read by anyone with access to a computer with USB port...

Very easy to use. I just plugged it into my computer and the simple Word for Windows forms appeared allowing me to enter the information I wanted. There is even a page for my favorite pictures.

First time it fell apart it wasn't much of a big deal, even though I was positive I screwed it together VERY tight. It unscrewed on its own.

The second time the lid stayed on, but the bottom fell off. I realized that the glue had come undone that holds it on due to there being NO seal between the casing and the LED. With out any seal, water goes right inside. I plugged it in to see if it still worked, and it did not.

I wonder how long i've assumed it has been working..........

Don't buy this.. it's crap.

While our pets have microchips, this device can significantly speed up the recovery process. If one of our pets gets out, there won't be a delay taking them to a vet or shelter to have the chip read. This device plugs into any USB port and can be read on virtually any computer that can read Word-based documents. While I agree that ASCII Text files would further expand its readability, I still think this is one heck of an idea. I put my first unit on the collar of my moderately large Yorkie, as she is most apt to run if she gets out. I will probably order additional units after seeing this item. Great concept!

First of all for $16+ dollars there could have been a little more room on the flash drive. 64MB is ridiculous. The Word docs on the device are cute but I would like to edit them more extensively. I replaced them with my own word docs, then I made pdfs and finally I took all of the information and put it into a text document. That way even if someone has no way to open a word doc they can still see the info.

I bought this for my 10 pound poodle. As a rescue dog, he'd been found wandering the streets of Miami and was down to 7 pounds before Animal Control picked him up. Based on his behavior it was obvious he had been well cared for by his previous owner. As any owner of a rescued dog knows, discovering a dog's history through his behavior is a lengthy process. I thought I'd save my dog the stress and me the heartache by attaching this to his collar along with his other tags.

However, the unit itself is fairly large and the computer files inside the unit are fairly simplistic. You can modify the files easily and add more if needed which is a good feature. I uploaded photos of my dog, his dog food, treats, meds, and our human friends (for identification when they come to pick him up.)

But I don't use it on my dog's collar for everyday use walking at the beach. Instead, I attach it to a harness when we travel longer distances, or attached to his life vest when we go kayaking. While we never EXPECT anything to happen, it's comforting to know that if does happen your dog's needs and preferences are understood.

I love the concept but wonder if there's a smaller product out there.

Pug at the Beach: An Island Dog's Reflections on Life

http://amzn.to/JacksonDunes