How do dogtags work?

[Panzer]

What does "equipping" a dog tag do? And when someone melee kills me, do I lose that dog tag? Because whenever I melee kill someone, some dog tag appears on my screen but idk what that means. In the menu it says I've taken certain amounts of dog tags from players, which makes me assume that I do lose them if theyre equipped.
I just got the "a beginning" dog tag which took very long but was quite fun. Going through all the morse code things. Though at the end, I followed what the guide told me to do, giants shadow windmill balcony, look at the pigeons until one swoops down past you which is meant to give you the dog tag. I look in the menu, it says I have two of those dog tags, but it also says "2 times taken from enemies". So both of the beginning dog tags I have, are from players? Did I not get the proper one from doing the easter eggs?
Although the tag's icon is colored now, instead of grey? So maybe I got it?

[Langrel]

you don't take anything from anyone, it just says how many times you melee killed players wearing that dog tag. if it is equippable, i.e the pigeon has flown through you at the windmill, then you have completed The Beginning.