Enamel chips, plated finishes wear through, and a tag that has spent two years clattering against a food bowl often cannot be read at all — which tends to be discovered on the one day it matters. A flat stainless steel tag has no coating to lose. The engraving is cut into the metal itself, so what it says on the day you fit it is what it still says three winters later.

This is the classic bone shape in plain stainless: no colour, no enamel inlay, nothing on the surface that can fail. We engrave it here in the UK rather than sending the order abroad, so it arrives in days rather than weeks, and Red Dingo back their tags with a five-year guarantee. Put your phone number on before anything else — a name is nice, but a number is what gets a dog home the same evening.

• Genuine Red Dingo flat bone tag
• Solid stainless steel with no enamel or plating
• Engraved in the UK for a fast turnaround
• Backed by Red Dingo's five-year guarantee
• Supplied in medium
• Add your pet's name and your contact number when ordering

On what to engrave. UK law requires a dog in a public place to wear a tag showing the owner's name and address, and there is only so much room on one face. Mobile number first, then surname and postcode; if space is tight, leave the dog's name off, because it is the least useful line on the tag.

Who it's for: Owners who want a tag that outlasts the collar it hangs on, and anyone who has already thrown away one worn-out engraved disc.