At Crufts I went and visited the International Sheep Dog Society stand, as I usually advertise eye testing in their magazine. I picked up a copy of the latest issue, and on the eye testing page, it says there are to be changes to the eye testing scheme.

" For example the UK Kennel Club, the British Veterinary Association, the Society and European Veterinary Opthalmologists are considering an international certificate. "
" However they require that dogs are permanently identified and this may limit broad acceptance by members. "

Is this the start of compulsary registration? If this is introduced will we be given a choice of how our dogs are "permanently identified"?

I would not want my dogs microchipped.

Hi
Why wouldnt you want your dog micro chipped ??
Tracey

Well chips can break and cause terrible side effects. this is not just anecdotal. One of my dobe aquaintances had this hapen to her chipped bitch. The chip had broken, leaked it's contents, and the bitch's system had reacted causing her an internal abscess and scarring across her whole shoulder. This had to be cut open and drains put in. she then had lumpy adhesions form, which very slowly subsided. This is a bitch with a CC and RCCs in a competitive breed, and being pulled from the showring may have cost her her title.

My dogs are both Chipped and tatttooed, but I think people should have the choice. As it is the Pet Passport scheme insists on Chips, but won't accept the tattoos as a bac k-up/secondary ID, which I can't agree with.

There are several reasons but the main one being that the chips do move. I had a micro chip reader at a session I was running with John. Of the seven dogs brought which were chipped, on the first dog we located the signal from the chip, but this was not at the shoulder blades where the chips are implanted, it was down by the thigh muscle on the right hind leg. In another the signal was found on the right fore quarter near the elbow, on another we could only get a reading half way down the back, on three the chip could not be found, (this included an imported dog), and on one only we found a signal at the shoulder blades.
I have seen a report from a famous dogs home which regularly micro chips all it's dogs for rehoming, and it said that there were problems with the microchips moving or becoming lost altogether.
Although the microchip companies say the old chips moved and the new ones don't, I recall them saying that the old ones would not move either. Personaly I'll believe they don't move the day a micro chip operator has one implanted in their own necks for a year or two! I really don't see why I should have a foreign body put into my dogs. I tattoo my retrievers.
Anyway this is straying from the point a bit, which was that there are to be changes to the eye testing certificates, and it might become compulsary to register and identify our dogs permanently, which I have no problem with so long as we can chose which method we want to use.

Hi
Just going back to the microchipping, I agree, I tattoo..too :)
It's the same as the passport, tattooing is not recognised and should be in my opinion.My dogs tattoo s are all as clear as the day they were done, but understand that some aren't and also when a dog has furry ears they're not always visible, unless looked for, but then a micro chip can't be seen unless the dog is scanned.Yes we should be able to choose which method of ID we use on OUR dogs.

Tracey