To microchip or not to microchip, that is the question

[lovespandp]

Originally Posted by Cerise

too funny!!!

lol yeah I felt like a real do do bird

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by RachelandSadie

so if the vet scans your chip and gets an ID number, does that bring up your phone number and name too or how do they find out which ID belongs to which human??

i'm really confused about this

I believe that there are two major companies, and each will give vets free scanners, it's probably best to go with the company that your vet uses; there isn't much of a difference in fees. I know the dog's legal owner name comes up, and if the person with the dog isn't the actual owner, the company would be notified. You do have to inform company of your address and phone number changes, and also ownership of the dog if you ever decide to rehome.

You said that your mom is leery of getting the dog chipped because she thinks it might lead to other things such as children being chipped. I think you may be interested to know that many states are now requiring commercial breeders to chip their breeding dogs. In the past, they used tattoos that only they could read, but government officials would like to have an identifying number on these dogs. One of the reasons, is that they want to know who is responsible for some of the abused dogs they find. Some breeders, for example, will just starve to death any old ex-breeding dog, and there is no way to link the dogs back to them. Sometimes, they just let them run loose. Commercial breeders are fighting the legislation, it would add a few bucks to their overall costs, but mainly they don't want dogs linked to them. One of the ways they are fighting this legislation is through passing, misinformation and propaganda. They know that many people are afraid of the government becoming too powerful, and they also know that many Christians have read about the "mark of the beast" in the bible, and are afraid of doing anything that reminds them of that. So while I'll never be in favor for humans getting microchips for identification purposes, you do not have to worry about this with your dog, he can't buy and sell anything anyway. Remember, that people will use your faith to manipulate you, and always be cautious of their personal agendas.

[harleyyorkie]

So, if you have your dog chipped and don't register with a service like "Home Again", does that mean if someone finds your dog, takes it to a vet and has it scanned that no information will come up as to who the owner is? I had one of mine chipped at the Humane Scociety for $15.00, but never registered him with a "finding" service. Two of came to me already chipped, one was already registered and the other I registered him with Home Again, but they sending me notices that it's time to pay again for the year. I have two more to be chipped but now I don't know what to do? So, I guess my question is: Do you have to register the chip in order for information to come up when scanned?

[lovespandp]

Originally Posted by harleyyorkie

So, if you have your dog chipped and don't register with a service like "Home Again", does that mean if someone finds your dog, takes it to a vet and has it scanned that no information will come up as to who the owner is? I had one of mine chipped at the Humane Scociety for $15.00, but never registered him with a "finding" service. Two of came to me already chipped, one was already registered and the other I registered him with Home Again, but they sending me notices that it's time to pay again for the year. I have two more to be chipped but now I don't know what to do? So, I guess my question is: Do you have to register the chip in order for information to come up when scanned?

Well did you give them your information ( name number address) with the chip number?

[lovespandp]

You can take your furbutts chip number and take it to Home Again or AVID and have them register that chip number to YOU. You fill out this paper with your info on it.

[lovespandp]

I had my other yorkie chipped with AVID and long story short but I have to rehome in well I had the new mom call avid and re- register her info with the chip

[lovespandp]

Originally Posted by harleyyorkie

So, if you have your dog chipped and don't register with a service like "Home Again", does that mean if someone finds your dog, takes it to a vet and has it scanned that no information will come up as to who the owner is? I had one of mine chipped at the Humane Scociety for $15.00, but never registered him with a "finding" service. Two of came to me already chipped, one was already registered and the other I registered him with Home Again, but they sending me notices that it's time to pay again for the year. I have two more to be chipped but now I don't know what to do? So, I guess my question is: Do you have to register the chip in order for information to come up when scanned?

One more thing... If you don't mind paying the year fee with Home again then go with them The Avid chip only has a one time fee ( thats what I have)

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by lovespandp

One more thing... If you don't mind paying the year fee with Home again then go with them The Avid chip only has a one time fee ( thats what I have)

You only have to pay a yearly fee with Home Again if you opt for additional services, to just register, it's a one time fee same as Avid. I've been told to go with the company that most people in your area use because vets and pounds are more likely to have their scanners.

[lovespandp]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

You only have to pay a yearly fee with Home Again if you opt for additional services, to just register, it's a one time fee same as Avid. I've been told to go with the company that most people in your area use because vets and pounds are more likely to have their scanners.

Oh I didn't know that.. hmm I loved how Home Again offered all the extra things.. I thought that was really cool, but I didnt want to pay a yearly fee kinda sucks. Yeah usually the Vet's will have the flyers in the ofice what they use.. Avid or Home Again..

And I was told from Home Again that if I wanted to switched from Avid to Home again I can..but then they told me about the fee and I was like no thanks

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by lovespandp

Oh I didn't know that.. hmm I loved how Home Again offered all the extra things.. I thought that was really cool, but I didnt want to pay a yearly fee kinda sucks. Yeah usually the Vet's will have the flyers in the ofice what they use.. Avid or Home Again..

And I was told from Home Again that if I wanted to switched from Avid to Home again I can..but then they told me about the fee and I was like no thanks

I don't blame you, there are enough "yearly fees" when it comes to dogs!

[3PawsomeYorkies]

Originally Posted by Lee B

Tattooing IS an option, but I don't think it holds a candle to chipping.

Tattooing is usually done on the inside of a thigh, on the inside of the lip, or on the inside of the ear, all "valuable" areas ... i.e., you couldn't remove the tattoo without doing significant damage to the appearance of the animal.

The general trend of this conversation is whether or not the chip is painful upon insertion ... it's just a needle, a single injection - like a shot. Tattooing HURTS, *many* needle pokes with dye injection, not to mention the incidence of infection. Further, WHAT would you tattoo? Your telephone number? Your SSN? What would you do if you moved and the information changed? Also, there isn't a central phone number you can call to find out what the tattooed information means. And it's unsightly ... can you imagine your baby with a tattoo'd SSN in his ear?

So yes, you CAN tattoo. The question is, WHY? Chipping is (almost) painless, is less invasive with virtually no chance of infection issues, less expensive, and has a central location for a vet to call. If you move, you simply call the sponsoring company and update your file with them: the chip doesn't need changing.

As far as I'm concerned (for whatever weight my opinion carries ) chipping is the single, most effective method to protect our furbabies.

When I bought my first Yorkie, I was looking online for info about Microchipping. In mist of the search, I was really suprised that there was something like tatooing for dogs but I never looked into it. When I too my first puppy to get Microchipped (he was 12 weeks), the vet really reccomended to wait because the needle was very long and it was a painful process for the him.

Im sure if the option for tatooing is there, that there would be a system on how it works. I simply dont know what it is. Im also not sure which would be the least painful because Im under the impression that they would both hurt.

Anyway, I was unaware of the tattooing, so im sure there maybe other ppl unaware so i threw it out there if they wanted to explore.

[RachelandSadie]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I believe that there are two major companies, and each will give vets free scanners, it's probably best to go with the company that your vet uses; there isn't much of a difference in fees. I know the dog's legal owner name comes up, and if the person with the dog isn't the actual owner, the company would be notified. You do have to inform company of your address and phone number changes, and also ownership of the dog if you ever decide to rehome.

You said that your mom is leery of getting the dog chipped because she thinks it might lead to other things such as children being chipped. I think you may be interested to know that many states are now requiring commercial breeders to chip their breeding dogs. In the past, they used tattoos that only they could read, but government officials would like to have an identifying number on these dogs. One of the reasons, is that they want to know who is responsible for some of the abused dogs they find. Some breeders, for example, will just starve to death any old ex-breeding dog, and there is no way to link the dogs back to them. Sometimes, they just let them run loose. Commercial breeders are fighting the legislation, it would add a few bucks to their overall costs, but mainly they don't want dogs linked to them. One of the ways they are fighting this legislation is through passing, misinformation and propaganda. They know that many people are afraid of the government becoming too powerful, and they also know that many Christians have read about the "mark of the beast" in the bible, and are afraid of doing anything that reminds them of that. So while I'll never be in favor for humans getting microchips for identification purposes, you do not have to worry about this with your dog, he can't buy and sell anything anyway. Remember, that people will use your faith to manipulate you, and always be cautious of their personal agendas.

Thanks Nancy! that's exactly why my mom hates this type of thing so much, she worries it will lead to the "mark" and while i agree that daily we draw closer to that time, i'm with you, it's a dog not a person and it's for my benefit that i can get her back from a thief or crook if she's taken or lost.

[RachelandSadie]

Originally Posted by 3PawsomeYorkies

When I bought my first Yorkie, I was looking online for info about Microchipping. In mist of the search, I was really suprised that there was something like tatooing for dogs but I never looked into it. When I too my first puppy to get Microchipped (he was 12 weeks), the vet really reccomended to wait because the needle was very long and it was a painful process for the him.

Im sure if the option for tatooing is there, that there would be a system on how it works. I simply dont know what it is. Im also not sure which would be the least painful because Im under the impression that they would both hurt.

Anyway, I was unaware of the tattooing, so im sure there maybe other ppl unaware so i threw it out there if they wanted to explore.

i've seen a dog get a microchipping and it didn't even flinch. so i'm pretty sure in terms of hurting the chipping is much more comfortable and safer. inking a dog doesn't give the dog a way to be returned to you unless you put your name and phone number or something and who wants that all to be tattooed on a dog...??

[Wylie's Mom]

Both of my boys are chipped and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[deneene]

do it, i got Bella Rose done when she got spayed