Greyhound Ear Tattoo Meaning,

 Ever wonder what the tattoos mean and why they tattoo your greyhounds ears? All greyhounds who are racers must have this done and be registered with the NGA (National Greyhound Association). They are usually tattooed between the ages of 2-1/2 to 3 months old. The actual tattoo for each puppy must be on a "Litter Registration" form and turned in to the NGA by the end of 3 months. The NGA then assigns a new litter registration number with each new litter.

The left ear tattoo is the litter registration number.

The right ear tattoo is a combination of letters and numbers that identify that particular dog. On the right ear, looking from the rear of the dog to its nose, the first number is the month in which the dog was born (2=February, 11=November, etc.). The second number is the last digit of the year the dog was born (1=2001, 3=2003, etc.). A letter then follows that identifies with how many dogs are in the litter. So for example, if there are 5 puppies in the letter, one puppy would have the letter A, another would have the letter B, another C, another D, and the last one E. Different breeders have different methods of picking who gets tattooed first, second, last. Some choose it on personalities of the dog, others I have heard as to which was born first, second, last.