Does anyone here not believe in Microchipping?

erica1989

(through my shelter work) that if a dog came in with a tatoo - I would have no clue where to look.

Well, now you do: http://www.nationaldogregistry.com/

A tattoo (and a microchip) is only as good as its registration.  I can think of a dog at our shelter who was microchipped, but nothing was registered.  All we know is that the chip was sold in the UK somewhere.  Dog never made it home.  Was adopted, then returned.... I think he's still living in the shelter.  Someone took the time to de-bark the dog, but not register his microchip.

Chips are meant to be subcutaneous, at least all of the ones I am familiar with. When they talk about  how it is bad to only inject "just under the skin" they mean intradermally, i.e. just under the epidermis - and yes, it will migrate if it is there. You need to go through ALL of the skin, not just the epidermis - that is why them make you "tent" the skin to inject it, and the chip ends up under the whole of the skin but not quite in the muscle - sort of in the fascia. The area of the trapezius where you inject, up near the scruff, is extremely thin anyway - it is practically fascia itself at that point. The trapezius isn't a big thick muscle at all, it's more like just a "flap" even at its thicker point around the side of the neck/shoulder.  I chipped both my dog and my cat subQ and neither chip has moved....the earlier versions were prone to moving even with proper SubQ injection, but they've improved now. I'm not aware of chips that are meant to be injected directly INTO muscle, but I could be wrong/

Heidi is chipped and has a tattoo.  The tat was not my choice; the breeder tat'd all of his pups at 6 weeks of age (ouchie).  That had to be painful for several days; and is (what I believe) the reason why Heidi has issues with having the inside of her ear touched. Many of this breeders dogs go into competition (Schutzhund) which requires the tats (I understand).

The chip placement can be painful if the person doing it has difficulty.  I watched the breeder unsuccessfully attempt to chip Heidi, not once but twice (hard to watch).  DH made him stop.  Then, I took her to the vet to have it done, and she didn't even wince...that (very young) vet did an oustanding job of placing the chip.

I'll have her scanned periodically just to make sure the chip is in the same place and hasn't moved.

I didn't get Buddy chipped when he was a pup, simply because I didn't know that much about it 9 years ago...had I known then, what I know now, I would have done it.  He and Cody (RIP) used to dig out and go on adventures around the neighborhood; and having him chipped would have caused much less angst.  Thank goodness they had collar tags with my phone number on them. 

CoBuHe

 Many of this breeders dogs go into competition (Schutzhund) which requires the tats (I understand).

They require a permanent ID, so a microchip is fine, but then you have to have your own scanner b/c the club or judge is not responsible for bringing one. 

But what happens when the tatoo fades - and that 4 could be an F, but you're just not sure.

Personally, I would chip vs. tatoo. Chip ids cannot be confused for another id number.

And no - the chip is notinjected into the muscle like you are thinking Kim, it goes underneath all the layers of skin, there is a very thin muscle there - but it's not like you are injecting into your biceps or anything.

erica1989

But what happens when the tatoo fades

And it does...Heidi's is already fading and she is only 16 months old.

When we get our greys off the track, we read their ears to find out their age....many times - it's really hard. And if you don't know what you are looking for (2 numbers and a letter) it's too hard to tell. We're lucky that the kennel we get them from keeps such good records and has their bdays with them.

But the racing number? Forget it. Too many numbers, too faded, it becomes a real guessing game.

Kaiser was chipped by his breeder before I got him.  It's a requirement for any dog that comes out of her place.  I got the tag & registration info and registered him online in my name when we got home (he's through HomeAgain).

I keep meaning to ask my vet about doing Luke.  We have an appointment next week and I think I'll have them scan Kaiser (I want to see it work!) and then do Luke.  I don't see any reason not to and I don't have an excuse for not having it done over the last four years...

Max is chipped, the girls arn't. Simply because Max goes out and the girls are indoor kitties. The only time they ever go out is if our bug guy comes they go outside in a crate. They do however have collars and tags.

erica1989

slightly off topic...but did you know that Banfield has their own chips? Which, by the way, do not register with most scanners....I would not get a Banfield chip. JMO

Thanks Erica I didn't know that. Max is on 24 Hour Watch, it's the same chip our shelter uses for all the animals they adopt out.
I don't believe they have ever had a complaint either.

I decided against it for Willow due to her numerous health issues I just didn't want to take a chance.  I recently saw it being done and am actually glad I didn't put her though it, the needle was much bigger than I thought.  I'm not all that confident that even if she was chipped she'd get back to us any easier--around here it seems like the shelters can only scan for certain ones and to be honest not sure they even bother with it. 

Our shelter has one kind of scanner, which picks up any and all IDs in the chip. The first 5 numbers tell which chip company it is and so they know who to call.

Scanning for the chip is the very 1st thing they do whenever a dog/cat comes in.
I think anyone who is willing to get thier pet chipped (or rescue, b/c they already come w/ the chip) is going to keep them UTD.

Inserting the chip isn't that bad. Yes, the needle is bigger than a regual vac, but it need to be to hold the chip and insert it deepenough that it dosen't submerge (I'm not sure it it would anyway)

Golden Tails

I think anyone who is willing to get thier pet chipped (or rescue, b/c they already come w/ the chip) is going to keep them UTD.

You think wrong. You have no idea how many people don't update their information when they move, change phone numbers, etc. We get so many dead end chips...it's not even slightly humerous.

And... the first 5 numbers don't say what chip it is - you have to know the proper number/letter sequence to know what kind of chip it is. Each chip has a different number of letters/numbers, for instance - AVID is 3 sets of 3 numbers. Some of the universal scanners will tell you if it's AVID or Banfield - but I've never seen one that will tell you if it's Crystal Tag, Home Again, or 24 Pet Watch.

The needle is slightly bigger (18 gage I think) but the dogs hardly notice. Cats don't even flintch. Yea - it looks really big and scary - but an animals pain tolerance is a lot higher than ours as whimpy humans.

I had one of my dogs chipped.  His chip moved and was unreadable within a few years.  I was very disappointed with the result.  I now get my dogs tatooed.  There's a couple who come to a trial near Richmond, who do a very good job.  They do the inside of the thigh.  They are skilled and gentle and the numbers are legible for many years.  I gave a bitch to a friend about five years ago, who was tatooed in this way, and her tat is still as legible as ever. 

For me it's less about someone finding me and more about proving that's my dog.  I'm more likely to find a dog that's lost without tags, than they would be to figure out a chip or a tatoo.  Heck, many people don't even look at a collar tag - they just assume the dog's been dumped if it looks a little dirty as it might be after a night of wandering.  The one time I had a dog go missing for a long time, the person saw a flyer.  And then dropped him off at the wrong address.  Fortunately that person gets our mail all the time, figured out what happened, babysat Ben all day while I was out canvassing the neighborhood again, and then came over with a very happy dog who had hoodwinked that couple into playing with him all day long! 

erica1989

Golden Tails

I think anyone who is willing to get thier pet chipped (or rescue, b/c they already come w/ the chip) is going to keep them UTD.

You think wrong. You have no idea how many people don't update their information when they move, change phone numbers, etc. We get so many dead end chips...it's not even slightly humerous.

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erica1989

And... the first 5 numbers don't say what chip it is - you have to know the proper number/letter sequence to know what kind of chip it is. Each chip has a different number of letters/numbers, for instance - AVID is 3 sets of 3 numbers. Some of the universal scanners will tell you if it's AVID or Banfield - but I've never seen one that will tell you if it's Crystal Tag, Home Again, or 24 Pet Watch.

Ok, so I was wrong about it being the first 5 numbers. I do however know there is a sequence. Tho I personally don't know them off the top of my head the ladies who work in the office do. And, the scanner they have pics up most if not all of the ID numbers.

Well... you could go by the first numbers if you are looking at a 24 petwatch - they all start 0A#######.... but that's the only one... the others are a mixture of numbers and letters.

I think most of the chips that we get that aren't up to date are puppies from petstores - now I don't know if they really have no clue that their pet in unregistered, or if they think it is and just never check on it.

I scan all my guys when they get their shots - just to make sure the chip didn't fall out or migrate. So far so good! My one cat has been chipped for about 5 years now, and it's still in the same place I put it!