Microchipping of dogs

Nicki said:

...What we need to encourage is that all vets check all newly registered dogs for chips, as that would pick up some of the lost/stolen dogs if the ID throws up a different owner...

Click to expand...

I think vets should scan the dogs of every new client. How else can microchipping work to its potential? When i got Zack, i went to two vet offices and one emergency hospital that had had no contact with me before and as far as i know, Zack was never scanned. Would they do it without telling me at the hospital being xrayed? i doubt it. but i dont know.

i think it should be routine to scan dogs that you see for the first time and confirm that their owners are the ones registered with the chip. Otherwise, microchipping is being grossly underutilized. If someone steals my dog, he's not likely to be seen by the animal control people, why would he be? but he may be seen by a vet.

I dont think any owner should be offended by this if the owner is new to the vet. If the vet has known the owner through other pets, i would say it would be up to the judgement of the vet based on their feeling about the person, but i dont think it would be that hard for a vet to scan the dog and explain that it's just routine policy to scan all new patients.

otherwise, how can microchipping be of any help except for in rescue and impound situations? Surely more dogs are lost and stolen that never come in contact with rescue organizations or the government than those who do.

i once used a trap provided by the animal shelter to catch a cat that was meowing loudly for food outside my bedroom window every day at 4 and 5am and would not be dissuaded, and i then took the cat to the no kill shelter where i had borrowed the trap, and they scanned her right there while i was standing there, and they said she had an owner who they telephoned right then while i was still there, but they didnt' reach anyone so i dont know what happened.

I wanted to do this for our dogs, but my BF is against the idea of implanting anything into people/animals, and I couldn't convince him otherwise, even with all the brochures telling why it's a good idea. Is there another option, what about the GPS things I have seen people talk about? How do they work?

I am totally against the idea of implanting anything into people, but totally in favor of doing it for our animals! Someone who steals your pet is going to take their ID tags off of them, and the only way you are going to be able to prove that the dog is yours is if it has been chipped. This would be non-negotiable as far as I'm concerned, if my spouse were objecting.

I haven't heard about anything practical using GPS for dogs as yet--in fact, my vet made some remark about very recently to me about how microchipping is what we will do in the absence of any GPS system. We just had both our dogs chipped and it cost about $60 each. including registration fee.

I hadn't seen this thread before and was interested to read through it. Here in Mass., ALL dogs must be licensed with their towns, whether in the country, suburb or city, and you can't get a license without proof of current rabies shots. People who don't renew their dog licenses every year can be served with a warrant for their arrest! And it happens. So our dogs wear a town license tag with a number so the local police can get them home quickly if they are found, plus a rabies tag. The microchip, as far as I'm concerned, is for an eventuality where our dogs are found somewhere without their collars and tags.

The first question I asked about the micro chip was "Do you scan all dogs that come into your practice?" The Vet looked at me like it was a stupid question. I do not understand why vet's recommending this device do not scan all dogs when they are first presented for treatment. Seems a no-brainer to me.

I agree, Joanne.

Microchipping is optional in Canada, but most cities/muncipalities require licensing and certain vaccines.

I got Maggie spayed (she was 8 1/2 months old and expected to go into season anytime) and microchipped the day after we got her. The microchip cost $60 CDN, which is about $50-55 US. Well worth it if you ask me.

katc10 said:

I wanted to do this for our dogs, but my BF is against the idea of implanting anything into people/animals, and I couldn't convince him otherwise, even with all the brochures telling why it's a good idea. Is there another option..?

Click to expand...

There is tattooing. There are some problems with it, but it's an alternative. One of the problems is, if you tattoo the ear, it's reported that thieves will cut the dog's ear off--they steal dogs to use for breeding. But a tattoo would be useful if your dog just gets out loose and someone finds the dog and wants to return it, or if the animal control people find it. Dogs are also tattooed on the abdomin, and other areas, such as inside the back leg. Your BF is not alone is being put off by implanting microchips and there are definitely people who use tattoos. Microchipping has not been around as long but it seems a lot more popular.

My dogs both got briefly lost today in a freak accident situation, they weren't wearing their tags. I was glad they were at least microchipped.

check these links
http://www.nationaldogregistry.com/tattoo.html
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pets/msg0109112024824.html?9

edit: links added

While we are on the subject of microchipping, I have a question.

Our puppy Charlie wasn't microchipped when we got him. I was going to wait until we had him neutered and have him chipped then. Do you think I should just do it now? I know it's a little painful and I was trying to spare him that if I could.

Hi Lenee. Your Charlie is adorable. The vets around here recommend the microchip implant be done at the same time as the neuter. That is when Tucker was done. I saw the Chip and as someone else said it looks like a grain of rice, it's that small.

Both of mine were chipped when they were fixed. It's such a safe procedure that there was no thinking twice about it. My neighbor found a wandering dog. We took her to my vet's office, they scanned her and recovered her owner info. That evening she was back home. That just reinforced my decision.

You have a very good Vet Cathy. I wonder if all vets would say, sure bring the dog in and I'll scan it.

In Spain is mandatory! but is not compulsory to wear the rabbies tag on! :flwr:

Lenee said:

While we are on the subject of microchipping, I have a question.

Our puppy Charlie wasn't microchipped when we got him. I was going to wait until we had him neutered and have him chipped then. Do you think I should just do it now? I know it's a little painful and I was trying to spare him that if I could.

Click to expand...

We get all our puppies microchipped just before they leave for their forever homes. We have the vet put a little topical anesthetic on the injection site. Just before the chip is inserted, we let then chew on a piece of turkey or chicken breast to distract them. They usually cry a little when the chip is injected, but forget all about it in a few seconds.

Sydney here,

We've both been micro chipped but here is a problem you should all be aware of especially if you are bringing your dog from Europe to the US. Is anyone else aware of this?

Mom and Dad picked me up in Ireland before I was micro chipped and once I got to Virginia I got my micro chip implanted so I am safe. Ruby on the other hand was micro chipped in Ireland and here is where the potential for tragedy occurs. Ruby's mircrochip cannot be read with a US scanner. It shows up on the screen as ISO and no other information was available, to include the micro chip number. Luckily the vet just happened to have a universal scanner and when he used it, it showed the microchip and the phone number for Animark, the registry in Ireland(?). Turns out microchips and microchip readers operate at different frequencies in Europe and the US. Microchips and microchip readers in Europe operate on 134.0 KHz while US microchips and readers operate at 125.0 KHz. While I think European scanners can read both chips, US scanners can only read US chips. Most US vets only have scanners that can read the US micro chip and there have been instances where dogs, like Ruby, who had been lost were picked up by Animal Control. Eventually the dog was euthanized because the shelter couldn't read the European chip and the owner could not be notified. There is a push to adopt the European standard here in the US, but the vendor for US chips is blocking the effort. Canada is slowly moving to the European standard and is way ahead of the US. If you are planning on bringing your dog from Europe to the US for a visit, be aware that this situation exists.

Bark On!

Ruby and Sydney in Virginia

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

And I have also read about the problem with the different scanners being able to read the chips. I think there is a universal scanner that can be used world wide but few want to spend the money to upgrade. You need to check before travelling that the country you are visiting is able to read your pet's chip.

Lenee said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

And I have also read about the problem with the different scanners being able to read the chips. I think there is a universal scanner that can be used world wide but few want to spend the money to upgrade. You need to check before travelling that the country you are visiting is able to read your pet's chip.

Click to expand...

When i was reading about pros and cons of chips v. tattoos, this was the thing that was said about mircochips, that they can only be picked up by the scanner of the company that made the chip and there are several companies who make them, including 2 or 3 large ones. I had read that the companies deliberately did this, this was a business competition choice, rather than to use the same scanner as other companies. The one i got was advertised as being compatitble with the main scanners. I'm glad to hear there's a universal scanner now, but i too have heard that this remains a problem. How disappointing that people would choose to design scanners that won't read chips of other companies.

the other problem with chips, to me, is that vets don't scan new patients routinely. So someone can steal your dog and just go on like it's their own dog, and no one will know. To me, that's a waste of potential for this technology.

Anyway, i don't know about Europe and elsewhere in the world, but in the US, it's a bigger problem than just not reading European chips. Scanners in the US can't even read American chips if it's the wrong company.

When Lia was Microchipped, she didn't cry. Not even a yelp.
Here the put a needle near of the ear and the put inside the microchip.
When she had the vaccines she cried a lot, but she didn't say nothing with the microchip.

And Lia is tatooed too. It was a requirement of the breeder. He said that he tatooes all the dogs he breeds (cavies and springers).

I was told that universal readers read Home again and Avid. These are the two I've used-- It is the scanner that shelters and police stations have here. Sandy