As some of you have read I had some people lurking around my new puppy. I was recommended tattooing which I'd heard of but never considered because I didn't know anything about it. I went on the official website and found a woman not far away who does it. She was brilliant, and it only cost £25.

Now I'm not saying microchipping isn't great but there are several reasons why tattooing could be the better option...

Microchips are invisible, a tattoo will be found easily by anyone who finds your dog. If your dog is stolen and re sold the new owner is likely to take the dog to the vet at some point. A vet wont usually check for a microchip but they will always see a tattoo.

Microchips can move or break, unless your dog manages to lose it's ear a tattoo isn't going anywhere.

Microchips don't work when your dog is too cold or too wet, a tattoo can been seen no matter what condition your dog is in.

Tattooing might not stop someone random stealing your dog, but from what I've read most dog thieves encounter you on a walk first to see the dog, you can casually show the tattoo to people you meet without sounding rude, but telling strangers that your dog is microchipped sounds a little weird.

The reason that vets and the kennel club promote microchipping over tattooing is because it is more financially beneficial for them to do so.

Microchips are great, but for £25 I will always get my dogs tattooed as well.

For breeders it costs the miniscule amount of £7 per pup. If breeders start tattooing their pups then fewer and fewer dogs will go missing and eventually tattooing will be the norm, and dog napping will be stopped.

I prefer Tattoos, but think belt and braces a good idea and have mine chipped as well.

Of course as the law requires they were tagged collars and on the reverse it states they are chipped and tattooed (another theft deterrent) and which organisations to contact.

All my pups are tattooed only and I suggest the new owners may like to have them chipped.

The reason I personally have my pups tattooed is if they ever turned up in rescue I could be traced.

I have several tattooed dogs, but none of them can be read any longer so it was a waste of time and money.

All my tattoos are clearly readable and the oldest is 12 this week.

If you have poor tattoos it is worth contacting the NDTR so the tattooist can be informed that they aren't doing them well.

It is important that the pups ears are cleaned, any fuzz clipped out, a must,a nd that the owner and breeder do not attempt to clean the excess ink away.

Like I've said before, the tattoos on my dogs have been done by several different people spread all over the country, so it isn't just one particular person. Hence I won't bother again.

My dogs' tattoos are still legible, even the old-style one on the 14 year old.

I also have my puppies tattooed before leaving my home.  It is reassuring to know if they get re-homed without being consulted, the NDTR will let you know.

i have never tattooed BUT  could the tatto not be changed? added to and made different like any other tattoo can be?

Not without it being very, very obvious.

> Not without it being very, very obvious

would it be obviuos to the general public though who has never seen a identity tattoo

Yes - the additions or alterations would stand out as being newer than the rest.

>but think belt and braces a good idea and have mine chipped as well.

belts, braces and buttons here ...... mine are chipped, tatooed and DNA profiled, all of this is on their name tags.  Must admit though i need to shave the insides of their ears again, although the tattoos are readable they are getting covered up with hair !

Does help that mine have sticky up ears with not much hair.

>Microchips don't work when your dog is too cold or too wet

Microchips work even when an animal is soaking wet and dead. That's how they identified the dumped corpses recently.

i am interested in tattoos for my dogs, does it affect them show wise?

Not in the slightest.

No it doesn't GSDs in Germany have been shown tattooed for over 30 years

if i was to have them done would it make their ears go scabby and sore for a while (thinking of shows)

the scabbiness is very minimal... just on top of the number, so not unsightly... and mine certainly haven't seemed sore afterwards.  The only thing they need to avoid for a week or so is swimming!!

great thanks that is good to know

It takes several days for the ink to wear off (it mustn't be wiped off) so get it done in a lull between shows.

Hers is a couple of days old now and there is no real scabbing, but her whole underside of ear is bright green still. You can't see it unless you flip her ear over though.

Never had any scabbing with any of the dogs I have tattooed & that includes thin eared breeds. It's not the same as a human tattoo as the letter/number die stamps go through the ear & not just under the skin & the ink is massaged into the holes left by the die stamps. I only use black in as I get the best results from it & the excess wears off quicker than the green & leaves IMHO a far denser tattoo

> I only use black in as I get the best results from it & the excess wears off quicker than the green & leaves IMHO a far denser tattoo

I only have them in black too, the first two dogs were in green and it wasn't good enough for me with my poor eyesight to read, but no trouble with the black.

I have never understood the logic behind using green???

It was (& still is) the original colour used on GSDs in Germany, the tattoo number is the dogs SV reg number. Rory asked a Human Tattooist what colour showed up on all types of skin & was told black, hence the change, some tattooists still use the green, but I find the black, dries quicker that the green & produces a better tattoo.

I have a black dog, the woman who did it pondered over which would be better but thought that green would stand out better since she is black. It looks pretty good, should stand out well when the excess has flaked off.

Actually the Black shows up better on dark skin. I had a BC who had black ears(on the inside ie colour of the skin)his balck tattoo showed up far better than a green one would have done