To microchip or not to microchip?
 

Teddy is getting neutered in a couple weeks and the vet asked if i would like to micro chip him. I think its a good idea, but recently I've read where dogs have been developing infections because of these things and now I'm not sure what to do.... Any advice or opinions on this???:confused:

Mine are chipped.

Mugzy was microchipped, no problems. I figure it can't hurt, the cost was so low, I'd go for it.

i think the positives of microchipping far out way the negatives. there is a very slim chance of that chip causing a problem.

I just read in the paper last week where a study of these chips implanted in rats have caused a small percentage of them to develop cancerous tumors around the implant.

That being said, mine have been chipped for 5 years now with no problems. That doesn't mean I'm not worried now.

I hope this helps.

We have friends that live on their boat & they're down by South America right now. Last Spring their Maltese/Yorkie needed her international microchip updated. The vet that did it re-used a needle. She developed an infection at the site. They made it to Panama and found a vet who did surgery to see what was causing the problem. It was localized to the path that the needle touched. The microchip itself was fine with no infection around it. He left the incision open to heal and they had an ointment that they applied several times a day with a clean dressing. She's fine now. That's the only time that someone I knew had a problem.

One of mine is chipped, when dakota gets spayed she will be chiped. No porblem with Aubreys so far.

I had mine microchipped when she was spayed. She never gives any indication that she is aware of it, not even the day I brought her home from the vet. I hope it will be the best money ever wasted. But I am paranoid that I will lose her, especially when I read about all the yorkies being stolen.

I had both of mine chipped 2 yrs ago and havent had any problems

Lacy and my cat are both microchipped with no problems at all. There have been no known problems with microchips so far, except for mice getting tumors (and mice are very sensitive and get cancer easily). So that study that came out is really just a bunch of hype. Dogs and cats have been microchipped for over 15 years and if problems were going on, we'd have already heard about it. I think it's definitely worth it. If your dog is ever lost or stolen, you have a lot higher chance of getting him back.

Izzy is also microshipped with the Home Again and was done at the same time she was spayed - which according to our vet was a good thing to do since she wouldn't feel it. No problems to date.

What is the average cost for the microchip?

I am going to have both of the girls spayed before the end of the year. Micro chipping is an option...I have chosen NOT to do it. I have read too much on how they can end up with cancerous tumors at the site of the chip. Also I have heard that the chips can move. My husbands Aunt just had her little guy neutered and chipped. He has been whining and acting "different" since the surgery. He has pain around the front of his shoulder where they inserted the chip. Back to the vets for Mr. Dibs!

Personally, I feel (IMO) that where these little ones are being stolen from peoples yards, not to mention them being taken right out of their homes, that you would have to have a very honest person that would want to find the animals owner. I feel where this breed is so popular right now that people would just not return them. My girls are NEVER outside unattended.

this is just my OP.

Thanks for all the help. Although I never leave him unattended outside either, I think i will probably go ahead with the micro chip.

Thanks again, everyone!

I say microchip, positives far outweigh the negatives.

We just had our almost 6 month old female, Nina spayed and microchipped last week.

We too, thought hard about both procedures.

We felt the benefits far outweighed the risks, when it came to the microchip.

She has escaped from our yard a few times, right under our noses. She squeezed herself under the privacy fence so fast!
Now we spent the weekend drilling boards into the bottom of the fence, so unless she digs a hole, or learns to climb a fence, there is no way out!

She also uses her ID tag as a chew toy. We are on our second tag. Almost ready for her third because she makes them unreadable!

Because of the tag chewing and bolting out of our yard, we felt this made her a prime candidate for the microchip.

Of course, I realize that bcuz she is so cute, and people know that this is an expensive dog, that if she goes lost & found, the finders may not opt to return her. However, we feel we have done everything in our power to make that happen if the finder were inclined to do so.

Lastly, we plan to visit Europe with her many times in the future to visit family we have living there. The European Union requires all visiting pets have the microchip.

I should also add that there are no guarantees in life.

We spayed our last girl, only to have her die of cancer of the liver at age 11.
We took the best care possible for her, only to have something like that happen. We took her to the MSU oncology center and had 2 respected vets tell us there was nothing we could do for her.

So you can do one thing to avoid something, but then something else will mushroom up just as bad or worse.

We feel we are protecting our new girl to the best of our ability.

It's true a microchip won't help if someone steals your dog or just doesn't want to return. But it is positive identification if you find your stolen dog and they refuse to return it. But should all my efforts not prevent me from losing her, and someone finds my baby who would keep and treat her well because they couldn't find me, I would mourn her forever, but I could live with that. But the security of knowing that if someone finds her and decides down the road that she is too much trouble and surrenders her to the shelter, the shelter will hopefully scan her and she could make her way back home at that point.

Ditto!! :thumbup: