To microchip or not?

[luvofallhorses]

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...

[chocolatepuppy]

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.

[Asiel]

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

[Candy317]

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.

[wolfsoul]

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...

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.

[luvofallhorses]

Sometimes, the chip can fall out too.