To microchip or not?

I was thinking about microchipping my dog until I did some research on it and found some horror stories about some instances of tumors at the site of the chip. I know it is not a very big per centage of animals that this happens to, but if it happened to MY dog I would be devastated. Do you guys have opinions on this? I, of course, have ID tags on her collar, but I take her collar off at night so she doesn't 'jingle' jumping on and off the bed all night. Then I thought about a fire at night and how she might get lost with no collar on.... I worry too much, but I want to make sure she is always protected. I guess I should keep the collar on and get an 'anti-jingle' thingy, huh? I just don't think I want to take the risk of a microchip...:confused:

Thanks for any replies,
Sharon :)

You have to make up your own mind, and be comfortable with your decision.

That said, I dare say that there are complications associated with almost everything we, including our animals, come in contact with these days.

Tumors from yearly vaccines, tumors from microchips, lung cancer from asbestos, the list goes on and on and on. The best source of Vitamin D is exposure to sunlight. Too much sunlight can cause skin cancer. Medications to control seizure disorders can cause depression and suicidal tendencies. As the saying goes, you pays your money, you take your chances.

I have 6 cats - all with chips - all getting vaccines when due. I've had all of my shots, also. So far we are all fine.

There are animals who have problems with the chip, but it is rare, far rarer than dogs getting lost or stolen. If a dog is stolen, they can take a collar off, but a microchip is pretty much invisible and unchangeable. If you dog has not had problems with other injections, shots and stuff, I would microchip her, it's really up to you, though.

It's a personal choice. Personally, I would do it. If your dog gets lost or stolen, you can prove ownership with the chip. I work at an animal shelter, and we have never had any problems chipping animals. It's very rare for something to happen with it. :) Just do whatever you're comfortable with.

I have had so many problems with microchips, I honestly won't microchip my puppies anymore. Tattoos are alot more reliable.
Re tumors -- we've had various discussions about microchipping causing tumors etc on the Belgian list I'm on. Some people did have issues, but the majority didn't. It's not something I'd worry too much about.

How are they more reliable? :confused: What if the fur grows over the tattoos especially on a long-haired black breed?

My dogs are "naked" in the house and out in the fenced in back yard. They only wear ID when we go out for a walk or in the car.

When Sugar found a new way out of the back yard last March (? Maybe late February?) I took comfort that she at least had the microchip.

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Originally Posted by luvofallhorses

How are they more reliable? :confused: What if the fur grows over the tattoos especially on a long-haired black breed?

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The tattoos are generally done inside the ear, or inside the leg near the belly where the fur is thinnest.

I will always microchip.

Only one of my four animals is NOT microchipped. Two came to me with their chip already and I got my first dog done after we brought home the second one.

I understand the risk, but I think the benefits out weigh the risks. One member here on Pet Talk has been on both ends of this. She had a cat that wasn't microchipped and got out of the house and was too late to save him. Then she had another cat that got the tumor from the injection site of the chip and lost her as well. Hopefully she'll see this thread and give her opinion.

I would tattoo before I microchip. It may be rare, but I've met two people in the last few months who's dogs had to have them removed because they had reactions and grew tumors.

I just had Logan microchipped during her lump removal surgery. The vet said there's a risk in every procedure, but she seemed pretty knowledgeable and hasn't seen any problems. I'll keep checking on Logan. But, although we're fenced in, anything can happen. I'm glad I did it.

Thanks for all your opinions and replies. I am thinking I will skip the microchipping. I am with Lily just about 24/7 and we don't have a fenced in yard so she is always on a leash walking when outside. There is little chance anyone is going to steal her. I am just not willing to take even the smallest risk of a causing a tumor with something I do to her. Thanks again for your replies.

Sharon:)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...43/lilyj08.jpg

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Originally Posted by luvofallhorses

How are they more reliable? :confused: What if the fur grows over the tattoos especially on a long-haired black breed?

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The tattoos are done in the ear or on the belly where there is no hair, so they're easy to see. Tattoos don't need scanners.. They're plain to the eye. I have had so many problems with the few microchipping experiences I've had, I'll personally never do it again. Let's just say if my micrchipped pups ever got lost, they'd never be found from their original chips. I paid a ridiculous amount of money for nothing. Not to mention the microchips are surprisingly painful, my puppies get over being held down and tattooed for several minutes WAY better than being quickly microchipped.

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Originally Posted by wolfsoul

I paid a ridiculous amount of money for nothing. Not to mention the microchips are surprisingly painful, my puppies get over being held down and tattooed for several minutes WAY better than being quickly microchipped.

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We didn't have to pay for any of our cats (6) being chipped. Our Vet gave us a credit for everyone of them :) And it caused them no pain, as they were chipped while being spayed/neutered.

Lucky, over here the cheapest is $70 per puppy. I pay $10 per tattoo. I don't have the option of chipping OR tattooing when they're being spayed neutered as CKC requires the permanent identification to occur before the puppy goes to it's new home, otherwise they can't be registered. I find the tattoos are alot easier on them -- you wouldn't really think so, but my puppies find it alot less traumatic. The only time I had bad luck with tattoos was when I went to one place who did a poor job and they needed to be re-done, but the chips were a nightmare, they can't be read, Tandem's can't be reg'd so it's useless, his sister needed to be re-chipped etc.. I really feel like I wasted money for nothing. Even if the chips could be read, I find alot of times the shelters don't bother scanning. My friend does Belgian rescue and finds chips in the majority of dogs she takes in (at the vet) but the shelter never bothered to scan. Unfortunatly so many of the chips can't be read, so they're useless.

Chips aren't always "useless". We have chipped dogs that got reclaimed and they end back with us at the shelter and we can get ahold their owners. If you properly chip them; there should be no problems with reading the chips and you have to have a good scanner also and know how to scan for chips in the right place...

My dogs are chipped. I had Layla chipped and the shelter Jake came from chips them before they leave. Layla was four months old when hers was done and she didn't even flinch when it was injected into her.
Our shelter will chip a dog or cat for $20. I have the vet techs check my dogs chips when they go in for their appointments. So far, so good.;)

I've always gone with tattoos myself because of the problems I've seen. I guess it depends on what a person prefers.

I don't have none of my dogs microchipped....Pepe has a tattoo because he came from the HS...they don't wear their tags inside the house (I'm afraid of them choking on the harness from playing, I don't let them wear collars beacause of their small tracheas), only if we go out...just my preference, I'm also afraid of tumors and whatnot.

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Originally Posted by luvofallhorses

If you properly chip them; there should be no problems with reading the chips and you have to have a good scanner also and know how to scan for chips in the right place...

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Unfortunatly this isn't always true, and too often. My puppies were properly chipped with the ISO chips that CKC requires. When Kira went to CO, her new owner registered her chip. When she went to have it read, the vet couldn't find it with his scanner. Kept looking and looking. So she went to another vet. The vet tried his scanner. Couldn't find the chip anywhere. Tried a different scanner. Couldn't find the chip. Tried his third and last scanner -- Found the chip, but couldn't read it. Useless. She had the dog re-chipped.
In Tandem's case, the vet clinic filled out the paperwork wrong, so I don't have his chip #, therefore it can't be reg'd. Useless waste of money. :( I have no perm. identification for him now.
My friend in Belgian rescue has taken in one terv and three malinois in the last 5 years -- they were all chipped, but the shelters never bothered to check. Two of the chips were unreadable.
I also have a friend who went through nightmares trying to register a litter after using the wrong chips, and then chipping a puppy after it had already gone to it's new home. Took her two years of fighting and paying fines to sort it out.
That's why I like tattoos -- they are universal. As long as you go to a vet who can tattoo well, they should always be read by plain sight. Visa is 8.5 and her's is still dark and legible.
If someone is microchipping, I would use whatever chip most vets in the area use, that is compatible with most scanners in the area. If they're doing alot of traveling, I wouldn't rely on a chip if the dog was to be lost somewhere far from home. There are too many factors to microchips, scanners, whoever takes them in, etc etc. If you must chip, I'd chip AND tattoo. Especially if it happening when they're being altered, no reason not to do both since tattooing is so inexpensive.

Sometimes, the chip can fall out too.

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Originally Posted by wolfsoul

Even if the chips could be read, I find alot of times the shelters don't bother scanning. My friend does Belgian rescue and finds chips in the majority of dogs she takes in (at the vet) but the shelter never bothered to scan. Unfortunatly so many of the chips can't be read, so they're useless.

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Are you out in the boonies or something? The first thing our local Humane Society does when a stray is brought in is to scan for a chip - I've seen it in action.

And our Vet checks for the chips every time we take one of the cats in for a yearly check.

Guess I'm just lucky where I live :)

Tattooing isn't an option in my home country, so Taggart is microchipped. Tiki was also microchipped and it never caused any problems for her and the chip worked fine for 12 years.
So yeah, since I don't have any experience with tattooing (except on myself :D) I'll stick with microchip since that has worked fine for my dogs.

So in tattooing.... you just put phone numbers on the dog? Wouldn't the belly area be real sensitive? :eek: How long does it take? I have never had a tattoo, but I have heard they can be a bit painful on humans. Do the dogs mind it as much as humans? My Lily, I THINK is a real drama queen, so she would probably act like she was being slaughtered... *sigh*... I wonder how many finders of dogs look for tattoos? Who does these tattoos? The vet or a real tattoo artist?

Thanks for any replies,
Sharon

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...43/lilyj08.jpg

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Originally Posted by Grace

Are you out in the boonies or something? The first thing our local Humane Society does when a stray is brought in is to scan for a chip - I've seen it in action.

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No I'm in a large city, though none of these dogs came from the same shelter, and I don't think any came from our local shelter. I believe all but one came from the Vancouver area though Icould be mistaken. It's not just us with bad luck -- we posted about it on FB and came across several angry breeders/rescuers who were frustrated by the lack of shelters checking for chips. It may just be that they don't have a scanner, or only have one kind of scanner (not all scanners are the same, like the problem with my Kira -- 4 different scanners and not a single one could read it and three couldn't even find it). They should have stuck with one type of chip & one type of scanner. Instead they had to go and make things complicated!

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Originally Posted by Sharon_FL

So in tattooing.... you just put phone numbers on the dog? Wouldn't the belly area be real sensitive? :eek: How long does it take? I have never had a tattoo, but I have heard they can be a bit painful on humans. Do the dogs mind it as much as humans? My Lily, I THINK is a real drama queen, so she would probably act like she was being slaughtered... *sigh*... I wonder how many finders of dogs look for tattoos? Who does these tattoos? The vet or a real tattoo artist?

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The number that goes on the dog depends. For my puppies, because they are CKC registered, they need get a designated CKC number on their belly. It starts with the number/letter code that CKC gave my kennel, the puppy's number in order (of how many puppies I've bred), and the letter for that year.
If the dog isn't registered, or didn't get tattooed by the breeder, then usually the vet will do it, and the vet uses their own designated code. They can be done by anyoen though. I've had pups done by the vet, a tattoo artist, and a local breeder. The local breeder does the best job, the quickest job, and is the least expensive. The tattoo artist was terrible and the tattoos needed to be re-done.
In the past we've had three tattooed dogs come in (in the old grooming parlour I worked at).. Two of them had CKC tattoos so it was really easy to track them. We just called CKC, and they were able to tell us immediatly who the breeder and owner/s were. One was tattooed by the local animal control, so that was easy as well. I'm not sure how easy it would be if the dog came from another province or out of country. I imagine there must be some sort of database but I'm not 100% sure of who you'd call if the tattoo was from another country.
Re pain -- I put some numbing cream on their belly area so it doesn't bother them as much. Depending on the puppy he/she might squirm or cry, but mostly it's because I have dominant little puppies that don't like to be held down lol. After it's done, they don't even look at their belly -- no licking or scratching. It's like it never happened. That's one thing I didn't like about microchipping.. It took several days before anyone was able to touch my puppies around their neck/head without them freaking out. I felt terrible. It didn't help that the vet tech did NOT know what she was doing and my poor puppies suffered for it because she was incompetent.. I was so angry. My breeder friend said the same thing -- It took her a few litters to find a vet who microchips well, in a manner that is less upsetting to the puppy. I'm sure if I chipped with my regular vet that I wouldn't have had nearly as bad an experience, but she doesn't carry the ISO chips that CKC requires. :(

I don't live in the boonies and shelters/HS still tattoo dogs for id.....actually not many people know about microchips and wouldn't even know to go to a vet and check for one if they found a lost dog.....Pepe's tattoo was done while he was under, they usually do it when they are getting fixed, and some places put a tattoo on the belly to id the dog being spayed....Pepe's tattoo has HSBC (our HS intitals) and his id #. Its on his inner hindleg.

Most of mine are microchipped, have never had any problems out of 4 dogs 2 cats. When the dogs got out years ago now the vets rang me to say they had Harri (had scanned his chip and rang me strait away).

I have not heard of any cases of tumours, or reactions to being microchipped. And would prefer to have 'proof' that i was the actual owner of an animal. By law registered breeders in our state have to chip puppies/ kittens before they go to their new homes.

Mine are all chipped, caseys original didn't scan after a few years so I had them give her a new one. She barely even seemed to notice they were doing it.

All the vets around here will scan any stray you find I haven't heard much about anyone checking for tattoo's so I would be afraid they may not even look.

Wallace couldn't get tattooed. He's a cocker spaniel and covered with hair from top to bottom. There's no spot even inside his ear that hair doesn't grow. He has an unregistered chip from his rescue group.

Autumn has nothing. Chips were too new when we got her. There was no use since scanners were few and far between and nobody had the right one for the right chip. I haven't reconsidered as she grew because she's always had a collar and tags and has never been lost so it never really came up.

I'm glad this thread keeps getting bumped, because it is reminding me to have the dogs chips checked each time I take them to the vet. Which I will do next week to get their weights and I'll have them check. :)

I met someone at the dog park that had to have the chip removed because it floated around. It said it was a rare occurence, but he had a new one put in.
I've also never heard of anyone I've met having them tattooed, but I think either one (or even both) are good. :)