Micro chipping

[lynnmw1208]

Hey everyone! I was just wondering your thoughts in microchipping. We were thinking about doing this as a safety precaution just in case Pongo escapes. Just wondering if it was worth it or not.

[Lyn]

Worth it?......ABSOLUTELY!

Every single one of ours is done and any rescues we take in are done before they are rehomed.

ANYTHING that helps get your dog back to you in the event of them going missing is good in my opinion. It would also go towards stamping out problems with abandoned dogs, strays, dog attacks etc, as the dogs owner can be identified.

Not only should ALL dogs be chipped, I would argue it should be compulsary. Can anyone come up with a single good reason why it shouldn't ?

I would have said breeders should do this for all pups, but we don't chip till 10 weeks, and not all breeders want to keep pups back till then. Not a problem for us, as we also keep ours till they can go FULLY vacinated so second jab and chip are done together.

Cost should not be an excuse not to chip. It's relatively inexpensive (you may need to shop around) and in some cases, you can get it done discounted, or even for free.

Ours cost £10 done in conjuction with a course of vaccinations: £35 for both basic jabs and a chip per pup. It's a drop in the ocean of a dogs lifetime costs!

[Chezell]

Definatly worth it!

Good reply Lyn added to rep

anything to keep my girls with me is a good idea

[Cathy]

I would recommend it. I had Dakota done. Not expensive at all, he didn't even flinch when it was done, and it was fun to see him set off a beep on the scanner like he was a grocery item when they demonstrated the system to me. I feel much better having it in case he slips his collar or is (god forbid) stolen. For me, the peace of mind alone has been worth the few bucks I spent.

Edited to add: I see you're in the US - the system our vet used was AKC Companion Animal Recovery.

[Val (Zebedee)]

without a shadow of a doubt - YES!!

[Mazz]

In the UK, there's one frequency for microchips. In the US, there are three. It may be a no-brainer in the UK to get a dog micro-chipped, but in the US, you really need to do a bit of research. You need to find out what scanning system is in use in area shelters, and make sure your vet implants a compatible microchip.

In the area we live in, there are over six animal shelters. Out of the six animal shelters, they all use a different system or none at all. So if you get an animal micro-chipped, it escapes, and ends up in one of the six animal shelters, there is a possibility that the chip won't scan, depending on what system they have and what microchip you had implanted. There are also medical risks to having a dog micro-chipped, but I think those are fairly slim.

Here's a link that may provide some additional background: http://www.avma.org/issues/microchipping/microchipping_bgnd.asp

[Sarah]

Never knew that Dave, added to rep

Both my boys are chipped - it's an extra added comfort if the worst ever happens. I had them done when they went in for their second vaccination, i gave them some treats as the needle was going in and they didn't even bat an eyelid

[stacym]

Defo you should get it done.

[lynnmw1208]

Thanks everyone! I will definitely get it done now. I just wanna shop around for good prices. Our local husky club does it once a year I believe for a discounted rate. Look at what else I found when you sent me the links.... GPS for your dog! for a small monthly fee you can tell where you dog is at all times!!! how cool?! http://www.akccar.org/spotlight/

[Lana]

I think mirco-chipping is well worth it and should be the law! Why so extreme as far as it being a law? Too many irresponsible pet owners get their dog for breeding, let their pet go on the street for what ever reason, keep their dogs in poor health, etc.

The good things for us loving pet owners here is that if our dog should escape, accidentally run out the door, accidentally get off leash, or even stolen we have way to get our loved ones back. Aminal control (or your respective dog catcher) first scan dogs before the take them to the shelter and then the shelter will scan them again. (at least here) IF it is your dog then they can contact you vs. if your dog have just tags they could have accidentally come off, (god forbid) but if your dog got into a fight it could have broke off or whatever that case may be.

You pet can be tracked anywhere in the United States ( not sure for other countries). If you are worked about chips being removed well dont. They are injected by needle which is well within their shoulder or neck tissue. Easier to put in but requires cutting/surgery to remove. In which case some smuck tries to remove you will there will be a scare proving it was there and/or not successful.

All three of mines are chipped. When you get them chipped make sure you keep up with the yearly dues and make sure that if you change address and/or phone numbers that you update them . It would defeat the purpose of you getting micro-chipped and dont update the contact information. It is 100% worth it! Go for it! It will be the best thing you could do for you and your pet.

[SABRES DAD]

I would defo have him done.

A few years ago we used to have dog licences in the UK,but this was fazed out because it didn't work, I think it should be made law that all dogs should be chipped, that way any stray dog can be rehomed or there owners brought to account for any misdermeaners ( think that's spelt right ). Any dog with a Name tag that is not chipped should result in a fine or the dog being rehomed.

[Cathy]

Mazz has a good point that there are lots of different scanners, so there's some homework involved there. Also, as Lana pointed out, some systemss have annual fees (the one we used is just a one-time fee included in the price, and I've found it easy to log on to change information if the address changes). Lots of stuff to consider! (I'll admit that I was lazy and just went with whatever our vet was using, but touring the site now, ours seems compatible with a lot of different types of scanners. They also gave us a collar tag with his chip number and the phone number on it, but he also wears a tag with our phone numbers, too.)

The "Lo-Jack" for dogs is interesting -- I think I'd pass out if I ever saw where Nikita went on the few times he got out. He got away from a pet sitter (after I told her that he could not be left in her back yard but she did it anyway) when he was 15, and a boy retrieved him from a 6-lane busy road about 4 miles away before she even knew he was gone. The boy took him home and phoned us (needless to say we gave the boy a big reward), and the poor petsitter was so shaken and heartbroken there was no need to pile onto her since everything turned out OK in the end.

[Lyn]

The 'medical problems' of chipping makes interesting reading, though reassuring to see the problems have reduced dramatically over the years.

I'll not read too much in to their tumour research, as by their own admission, it was done on one of the species most prone to tumours from foreign bodies . Apart from which, it's fairly obvious that something which is around the size of a grain of rice is bound to cause more issues in a tiny mouse than in your average dog. It would be a bit like sticking a shotgun catridge in your dogs scruff and expecting them not to have a problem from it!

That said, We've had Koi carp, african grey and amazon parrots, and a pair of rather pricy piebald royal pythons chipped with no problems to date (and your average african grey can live 80 years, so a better benchmark of longer-term problems than most animals)

Ive only ever come across 3 'failures' to date that I've heard of:

1) Chip migrating to a dogs knee joint and having to be removed.

2) Chip shorted-out after the pup it was in chewed through the burgler alarm wiring

3) Chip being rejected and working its way out, till it came through the skin (and that was a cat, not a dog)

Overall though, I'd say the benefits far outweigh the slight risks (most of which can be remedied if they did occur).

Migration of the chip is an interesting one to discuss. We don't chip our pups till 10-12 weeks. The only exception being when the breeder has done them sooner. The most migrated chip we have is in a 4 year old girl, and it's been down her shoulder since she was checked at her first booster at 14 months. It absolutely went in in the right place, I saw it done! and it's not moved any further on checking since. We did 'check out' what a random scan would find at an RSPCA 'roadshow', where the lady scanning had problems finding it to the point that she insisted the dog wasn't chipped. The scanner actually has to be held under her neck to pick it up. This does concern me a bit, and actually planning to discuss with our vet at her next visit if it would be worth putting a second in the correct place now shes an adult, thats less easy to miss on scanning (With obviously both chips registered with same details and an explanation given to petlog explaining why she has two chips).

I was advised by one breeder that postponing chipping till the dog is 6 months+ reduces greatly the risk of migration, but putting it off that long don't sit comfortably with me ....We've had a 12 WEEK old (thankfully chipped at 10 weeks) pup escape and go on the rampage with his 3 year old half-sister and end up 5 MILES away inside 2hrs. We had already raised all the 'missing dog' alarms already and the two of them were actually rounded up in a churchyard by two policemen,but had they split up, or pup had been picked up and we hadn't chipped him,the consequences don't bear thinking about

The GPS system is GREAT! Is that only available in the states? as I would happily suscribe to that for mine. turn-by-turn directions to your dog, what a brilliant idea!!

[Lana]

Micro chipping has come a long ways. As far as different micro chips scanners being used in different areas ....yes it was a hug problem when companies made their individual chips and scanners. That problem has been drastically reduce. There may be some areas that you will run across that doesnt use the universal scanner but for the most part vets use the universal scanners. Also it really depends on what year you got your dog chip implanted depends on if the universal scanners work and where the chip might migrate too. This challenges has been identified by manufacturers, veterinarians and animal shelters. Together they have done outstanding improvements to address those imperfections.

There are 2 major manufactors here in the United States:

1. AVID (American Veterinary Identification Devices) microchip

A. you will register with PETrac

B. Phone number is:1-(800) 336-2843

2. Schering-Plough HomeAgain microchip

A. you will register with the American Kennel Club (AKC) Companion Animal Recovery (CAR) program

b. Phone umber is: 1-800-252-7894

I was unable to find the 3rd major manufacture but i am not saying there isnt one.

When it comes to micro-chip being moved that more protains to the cases when they first implanted the chip in the animals neck. Once again they identified the problems and made two adjustments. 1. They moved the implant from the neck to around or in between the shoulder blades, 2. standard procedure now is to scan the entire body now. Not saying that the new implant procedures will ensue the chip doesn't but increases that chances that it doesn't move.

Nearly 20 million pets are euthanized each year because their owners cannot be located. It all comes down to your choice and best choice for your loved pet. It is worth increasing your pet chances of being found if lost or stolen? I too wear the tag ( i have home again) that comes with the chip that goes on your dog collar along with another tag that gives my address, phone numbers, breed, telling them "i am micro-chipped", and dog name. Is it worth it? So like they said before do some research. I just hope that my research help you a little.

"I am Pro Micro-chip"

[Susanna]

Here dog breeders must microchip all of their puppies before selling them. Otherwise Finnish kennel club won´t register the litter. It´s really good system! Kennel club has also so called "FIX-register" for mix-breeds identity numbers.

BTW. Ronja has got two micro-chips..First broke down. Sometimes it just happens.

[Dou]

same as VUK i got Viktor from the breeder microchipped 7 weeks old.I think its well worth it.Especially when it comes to huskies

[lynnmw1208]

Just an update: Got Pongo Microchipped today. Again thanks for all the replies, you just helped me make a great decision. Although now he's got a little shaved patch on his back. Oh well, he'll blow his coat soon enough I'm sure. It was only $40 for lifetime membership to 24petwatch gotta love dicounted vaccine day at Petco!!

[Sasha_Bailey]

Shaved him for microchip??

Both mine didn't get shaved in the slightest when they got chipped...

[wasp]

i got sky her rfid tag when she was about 4 months. she barely flinched. the local non-profit vet uses HomeAgain and only charges $20 for it. My reasons were not only about the runaway possibility but everyone that meets her says how beautiful she is and you never know how might try to snatch her. There are many good reasons to make sure your dog is tagged. Sounds like you got it at a pretty good price too

[lynnmw1208]

Shaved him for microchip??

Both mine didn't get shaved in the slightest when they got chipped...

Yeah they wanted to make sure it was really cleaned and disinfected before inserting it. Hope it grows back soon lol

[Lana]

None of mine got shaved either.