> i worry about their ear not going up after ,ive met a good few that have a floppy ear

I have often heard the opposite with the tattooed ear going up first.  to be honest I don't think it is related one way or the other.

It was the GSD league that started the tattoo scheme, so if ti was an issue they would have known, I just think there are a lot of GSD's with poor ear carriage, and that is down to breeding.

It was the GSD league that started the tattoo scheme..........yes i know :-)

I just think there are a lot of GSD's with poor ear carriage, and that is down to breeding. ............ yes ive seen alot of same breeding lines with SOFT EAR ,i dont like the look at all ,i just worry LOL

>I wouldn't do it again though..... as I was really upset by how they "squeaked" when the chip went in. The effects of stress on young animals are well known and personally I feel now.....that 6 to 8 weeks is far too young when you consider that the puppy is soon to be leaving for his/her new home with all the additional stress that entails

That's really strange because I have my litters chipped at 7 weeks and they don't squeak and when put back with the rest of the litter just continue to play, but I've had my own girls chipped at 3-4 months and they make a lot more fuss about it than the pups.

I would agree with Sharon.  The only pup I had chipped at same time as tattooing not a squeak, but older pups/adults have been quite upset, and one bled a fair bit.

I'd like to see vets more actively checking for microchips, throughout the dogs life.

We had a rescue dog that was registered as chipped.  Our first vet didn't ever ask to check and I didn't realise that it was wise to rescan from time to time.  After we moved, our new vet couldn't find the chip so we had to rechip the dog.  It means you still need to know both numbers and make sure that PetLog do too.  Just in case the 'missing' chip ever turns up if he was lost/found.

Good breeders take the time to explain microchipping and tatooing, rescue centres don't always bother, and inexperienced owners may not realise how important it is to keep good records.  Vets could fill that gap for owners and receptionists could play a part in reminding owners to ask.  My vet scans at first vaccination but I like them to check again at 12 months too.  I wonder if this is routine for other vet practices?

Mine don't get scanned on a yearly basis(Think a good idea and for it to be logged at vets as to where chip is too), but when I moved across to my current vets when the youngest was a wee nipper then scanned him and when I eventually took in my eldest they also did a once over and a scan too, which I thought was brilliant.

My vets definitely scan at their annual health check, and I periodically ask for a scan if I'm in for something else and it's been a while.  My dogs are 13, 10, 6 and 3 and all of them are in the exact same spot they were when originally chipped.  The oldest 3 were all chipped at 12 weeks, and the youngest was around 16 weeks for hers.

If your vets don't do it as a matter of course, there's no reason you can't ask when you're there for anything else.