Microchip - yes or no?

[anevarez]

Yes... just be sure that the place you get it done offers the ones that are widely recognized. I believe Banfield Hospitals were offering microchips that were only recognizable by their equipment. I know that at times those discount vaccination places offer them for $25.

[yorkietalkjilly]

It is one more thing you can do that give you a better chance of getting your dog back than if not chipped. Tibbe has one and while it is no guarantee I will get him back should he get lost, it increases my chances. That's all I needed to convince me.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by jp4m2

Since you asked for any opinions I thought I would give an alternate view so you can ponder all the info....... I'm most likely in the minority here, but no I don't feel comfortable inserting a chip in any of my boys. I just don't feel anyone has done any long term studies as of yet to see if the benefits outweigh the risks. Until then I'll rely on the old fashioned way, tags, and I'm also very careful when they're outside. They're always in a fenced yard and never out alone.

Here are some links to browse through......

chipmenot.com-homepage

Are Micro-Chips safe and what is your alternative? | The Pet Whisperer?

HomeAgain Pet Microchip Implicated In Cancer

I think people should know, that commercial breeders are being required to microchip their dogs and they are fighting this tooth and nail. They have put out so much propaganda and outright lies. They've shown studies that show rats getting tumors, when the rats were especially picked for their ability to make tumors, so that scientists could study how tumors first develop. Of course propagandist didn’t mention this. I believe of all the millions of dogs microchipped, there are only two cases that may have something to do with the microchip, and that isn’t certain. Some dogs develop tumors with just saline water injected. Commercial breeders think if they can convince enough people that this is dangerous they won't have to do it to their breeding dogs. Sad to say, they are usually the people who care about their dogs the least, but yet they are now so concerned about their dogs welfare. Why are they fighting it, two reasons, cost and dogs will be able to be traced back to them. Talk over the safty of it with your vet, and be sure and have it tested and inspected yearly.

[LoriJC]

Yes i think its a good idea we recently had Isabella spayed and microchipped.

[jp4m2]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I think people should know, that commercial breeders are being required to microchip their dogs and they are fighting this tooth and nail. They have put out so much propaganda and outright lies. They've shown studies that show rats getting tumors, when the rats were especially picked for their ability to make tumors, so that scientists could study how tumors first develop. Of course propagandist didn’t mention this. I believe of all the millions of dogs microchipped, there are only two cases that may have something to do with the microchip, and that isn’t certain. Some dogs develop tumors with just saline water injected. Commercial breeders think if they can convince enough people that this is dangerous they won't have to do it to their breeding dogs. Sad to say, they are usually the people who care about their dogs the least, but yet they are now so concerned about their dogs welfare. Why are they fighting it, two reasons, cost and dogs will be able to be traced back to them. Talk over the safty of it with your vet, and be sure and have it tested and inspected yearly.

I see your point as to why a commercial breeder would not want a pup to be traced back to them. They certinly would not want anyone to see the amount of pups produced along the ill and dying pups ...I am a bit confused by the bolded statement. Are you saying scientists doing cancer research are in cohoots with comercial breeders?

This is why I don't feel secure allowing any implants at this time. One one side the chip companies and any one else who stands to profit from the sale of chips will state how safe they are, put it in and forget it, and you have the added sense of security that you'll get your lost pet back.

One the other side are the advocates for not chipping saying there is the real potential of health risks of cancerous tumors forming around the implant....

Without a definitive unbiased long term study this debate will continue because no study exists, as of yet. At this point in time *I* just can't do it and feel I did a good thing for my pets health..

[Valenie]

Tibbs and Bella both have tags always on outside always!

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by jp4m2

I see your point as to why a commercial breeder would not want a pup to be traced back to them. They certinly would not want anyone to see the amount of pups produced along the ill and dying pups ...I am a bit confused by the bolded statement. Are you saying scientists doing cancer research are in cohoots with comercial breeders?

This is why I don't feel secure allowing any implants at this time. One one side the chip companies and any one else who stands to profit from the sale of chips will state how safe they are, put it in and forget it, and you have the added sense of security that you'll get your lost pet back.

One the other side are the advocates for not chipping saying there is the real potential of health risks of cancerous tumors forming around the implant....

Without a definitive unbiased long term study this debate will continue because no study exists, as of yet. At this point in time *I* just can't do it and feel I did a good thing for my pets health..

I would chip and take the chance. After what I just went through with the woman there is no way I would ever change my mind. I cried when she emailed me to tell me she gave the dog away.

As for your statement they are never out alone~neither are my three. But a gate was left open and my son was outside. They were all GONE in the blink of an eye. What about the other member who opened the door and two of hers blotted and only one came back. She had taken the collars off for a bath.

If the dog with woman I was talking with would have found a chip the dog would have been returned to it's owner. But without she handed it over to the neighbors mothers friend.

[fufufashions]

Yes!! With all the dogs being stolen out of yards and homes, this is just another way to be able to ID your baby if they are found! All my girls are chipped except Kissy and she will be done when i have her out for dental. I would NEVER have the chip inserted while they are awake. I've seen it done on big dogs and it hurts them, i can't image the pain to these little ones. I had all mine done at spay/dental time.
I feel like the risks are so minimal that it gives me peace of mind knowing that if any did get lost or stolen, i would have one of the best avenues to getting them back!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by jp4m2

I see your point as to why a commercial breeder would not want a pup to be traced back to them. They certinly would not want anyone to see the amount of pups produced along the ill and dying pups ...I am a bit confused by the bolded statement. Are you saying scientists doing cancer research are in cohoots with comercial breeders?

This is why I don't feel secure allowing any implants at this time. One one side the chip companies and any one else who stands to profit from the sale of chips will state how safe they are, put it in and forget it, and you have the added sense of security that you'll get your lost pet back.

One the other side are the advocates for not chipping saying there is the real potential of health risks of cancerous tumors forming around the implant....

Without a definitive unbiased long term study this debate will continue because no study exists, as of yet. At this point in time *I* just can't do it and feel I did a good thing for my pets health..

No, I'm not saying that scientists doing the studies are in cahoots with commercial breeders. I'm saying that lots of articles out there that are against microchips include studies where "rats" have gotten tumors from microchips. This leads pet owners to think, “oh dear, if it causes a tumor in a rat, it will cause a tumor in a dog.” However, this isn’t true. The studies were actually done, with a special breed of rats that create tumors extremely easily. If scientist wanted to know if microchips cause tumors, they wouldn’t have used this type of rat. The reasoning was so that could study how tumors develop, not if they would develop, but how? They wanted to know what happened in the very beginnings of a tumor. Studying the very beginnings can help us learn about tumor growth. . Yet these propaganda sites scream out “Scientists find tumors in rats with microchips.” Duh no kidding! In some animals, just an injection can cause a tumor, and let’s not forget that a tumor doesn’t automatically mean cancer. For the sites I’ve read, that are against microchipping, there’s lots of fiction mixed with lies to cause hysteria.


There are definitive unbiased studies, here and in other countries. Here's what the American Veterinary Medical Association has to say about microchips and their safety. Microchipping of animals FAQ I'm not recommending anyone doing anything that they aren't comfortable with, but for me, the benefits clearly outweigh the risks. Furthermore, there is actual science to back up that statement.

[Nancy1999]

Here's a great study:

Introduction

Implantable microchips have become a well-accepted means of pet identification
in the global veterinary community. Over the last 15 years, millions of dogs and cats
throughout the world have safely received an implantable microchip that can quickly and
reliably document the identity of a pet. As a result of this life-saving technology, some
8,000 dogs and cats are successfully reunited with their owners every month.
While the ability of microchips to drastically improve pet safety is unarguable, a recent
veterinary case report associated microchip implantation with sarcoma development
in 1 dog.1 Furthermore, in the context of microchip use in humans, sporadic reports
of sarcoma development in implanted laboratory mice and rats have received recent
publicity in the popular media.
Unquestionably, veterinarians would not continue to implant microchips if they believed
the devices presented significant, scientific risk of causing malignant tumors in dogs and
cats. However, because recent publicity has raised awareness and concern about this
topic, a review of the relevant database of research regarding both laboratory animals
and pets follows.

Conclusions

The use of microchips in pets is a safe, effective, and
durable means of identification that has been used
globally in millions of animals for nearly 2 decades. To
date, the entire global database of sarcoma development
in microchipped dogs is limited to a single case report
involving 1 animal. Furthermore, though low incidences
of vaccine-related sarcoma development have been
documented in cats (even more rare in dogs), microchipassociated
sarcoma development has never been
reported in felines. In the context of millions of microchip
implantations spread over many years, this near absence
of adverse event documentation comprises an impressive
and expansive safety record. Therefore, the benefits of
microchip implantation with regard to the safety and
welfare of pets should they become lost or separated
from their owner have proven to be infinitely greater than
the remote and unsubstantiated risk of tumor development
associated with microchip implantation.

http://www.digitalangel.com/document...%2002%2007.pdf

[yorkietalkjilly]

Surprise! Surprise! Rats bred to easily develop tumors do! You could probably give them a series of injections and they would develop tumors from that. I think by now, if dogs actually showed a propensity to get tumors from chips, we would be hearing about it on sites like this and in veterinary peer review journals, wouldn't we? And if a rash of those stories start, we can have inserted chips removed.

Good info, Nancy. Thanks.

[gracielove]

Where I live there are people who come through every now and then and collect up dogs to sell to laboratories. They will find dogs that are running free but they also take dogs out of people's back yards and dogs that are tied out. In most states it is against the law for a laboratory to take a dog that has a microchip. That is one reason I had Gracie microchipped. She is never outside without being with me on her leash, but she has ran out the door when we were bringing things in from the store. She thinks it is a fun game. I always keep her collar with her ID tag on her in case she ever gets separated from us but I feel the microchip is also good to have just in case.

[jp4m2]

Sorry I had to disappear for a few minutes, I was in the middle of cooking dinner…..

I know we could trade links showing opposing views concerning safety in using a chip or the risks of cancer/tumor formation. The real problem is that we do not have a mandatory reporting system for these products. Right now it is strictly voluntary. I have seen stats concerning the reporting of adverse reactions of human products to be as low as 1% and at a high of 10%. Even if it is at the ten percent level this is totally unacceptable. The reporting for pet adverse reactions can’t possibly be higher than the rate for humans, so this is just as bad. As of now we really do not know how many cases are out there. Is it one or is it thousands?? At this point in time no one can really answer that, this is an unknown and depending which side the debate goes the numbers quoted will either be minimal or they will be large.

It would take a lot of time to investigate the studies and research papers to see if the author or researchers have any financial ties to the chip company, or if the chip company is funding the studies. That is why I specified that the research has to be done by unbiased parties. These types of things are very common in the medical field, it’s more common than not, sad to say.

I know many dogs have been returned to their owners because they where scanned and the chips where correctly registered. In those cases it worked as it should have. I would venture to say there is most likely many failures of returned pets even though the pet was chipped as in: chip not scanned even though the shelter had a scanner, chip migrated and the person scanning missed it, scanner not compatible with chip, failure of the chip because it’s defective, etc.etc. I am sure I read a couple stories of pets being adopted out and even euthanized because of these failures. I also came across articles raising the question as to what happens to a chip if the pet has to have a MRI , x-ray or a cat scan??? Has this ever been studied?......Are vets making sure they don’t administer any vaccines in the same area as the chip?? I’ve seen articles where this can cause an inflammatory process increasing the risks of tumors or possibly cancer forming. These sorts of things should be considered when opting to use chips.

All I’m saying is there are too many unknowns concerning this product. In the years to come I believe we will see more studies but until then *I* will wait….This is just one of those topics that is not answered with a simple*yes* or *no* answer. For each of us it will take a lot of thought and weighing of all the unknowns with the benefits in their use and then deciding if the reasons for its use is worth it for a our pets health and welfare…..

[trin7]

I feel better having Darwin & Mabel micro-chipped. It's like vaccines, some may have bad reactions to them, but most don't. I will take the chance and hope for the best. Knowing that they are micro-chipped, tattooed and collared makes me feel better. Mabel wants to buy a chopper now that she has a tattoo - she's such a rebel!!

[lil fu fu girl]

Originally Posted by jp4m2

Since you asked for any opinions I thought I would give an alternate view so you can ponder all the info....... I'm most likely in the minority here, but no I don't feel comfortable inserting a chip in any of my boys. I just don't feel anyone has done any long term studies as of yet to see if the benefits outweigh the risks. Until then I'll rely on the old fashioned way, tags, and I'm also very careful when they're outside. They're always in a fenced yard and never out alone.

Here are some links to browse through......

chipmenot.com-homepage

Are Micro-Chips safe and what is your alternative? | The Pet Whisperer?

HomeAgain Pet Microchip Implicated In Cancer

Excellent post, I also have deep beliefs against micro-chipping. As you have posted, there are studies which contradict what many of these digital companies and their subsidiaries promote as "tested safe". As you have so eloquently stated, only time will predict the true safety of this RFID technology.