diff --git a/dogstatsd/dogstatsd.go b/dogstatsd/dogstatsd.go
index d312013..7171f62 100644
--- a/dogstatsd/dogstatsd.go
+++ b/dogstatsd/dogstatsd.go
@@ -10,41 +10,42 @@ import (
 // Statsd is a statreceiver that writes stats to a statsd endpoint
 type Statsd struct {
 	client *statsd.Client
-	tags   []string
 }
 
 // New creates a new Statsd statreceiver with a new instance of a cactus statter
 func New(addr string, tags []string) (*Statsd, error) {
-	sd, err := statsd.New(addr)
+	sd, err := statsd.NewBuffered(addr, 10000)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	sd.SkipErrors = true
+	sd.Tags = tags
 	return &Statsd{
 		client: sd,
-		tags:   tags,
 	}, nil
 }
 
 // Checkpoint implementation that writes to statsd
 func (s *Statsd) Checkpoint() {
-	_ = s.client.Incr("kinsumer.checkpoints", s.tags, 1.0)
+	_ = s.client.Incr("kinsumer.checkpoints", nil, 1.0)
 }
 
 // EventToClient implementation that writes to statsd metrics about a record
 // that was consumed by the client
 func (s *Statsd) EventToClient(inserted, retrieved time.Time) {
 	now := time.Now()
-
-	_ = s.client.Incr("kinsumer.consumed", s.tags, 1.0)
-	_ = s.client.Timing("kinsumer.in_stream", retrieved.Sub(inserted), s.tags, 1.0)
-	_ = s.client.Timing("kinsumer.end_to_end", now.Sub(inserted), s.tags, 1.0)
-	_ = s.client.Timing("kinsumer.in_kinsumer", now.Sub(retrieved), s.tags, 1.0)
+	_ = s.client.Incr("kinsumer.consumed", nil, 1.0)
+	_ = s.client.Timing("kinsumer.in_stream", retrieved.Sub(inserted), nil, 1.0)
+	_ = s.client.Timing("kinsumer.end_to_end", now.Sub(inserted), nil, 1.0)
+	_ = s.client.Timing("kinsumer.in_kinsumer", now.Sub(retrieved), nil, 1.0)
 }
 
 // EventsFromKinesis implementation that writes to statsd metrics about records that
 // were retrieved from kinesis
 func (s *Statsd) EventsFromKinesis(num int, shardID string, lag time.Duration) {
-	shardTag := fmt.Sprintf("shardId:%s", shardID)
-	_ = s.client.Timing("kinsumer.lag", lag, append(s.tags, shardTag), 1.0)
-	_ = s.client.Count("kinsumer.retrieved", int64(num), append(s.tags, shardTag), 1.0)
+	tags := []string{
+		fmt.Sprintf("shardId:%s", shardID),
+	}
+	_ = s.client.Timing("kinsumer.lag", lag, tags, 1.0)
+	_ = s.client.Count("kinsumer.retrieved", int64(num), tags, 1.0)
 }