I would like to microchip my four month old cocker spaniel, but have been told by my vet that it is painful and that I should wait to have it done when I get him castrated.  I am now not sure if I want him castrated but still want him micochipped.  I have heard that the chip can move when they aren't fully grown.  What are your thoughts on microchipping now or should I wait.  Many thanks.

Jax

If I remeber correctly, Libby was micro-chipped at the same time as her second jabs, and she didn't make a squeak. I've always understood it is a pretty painless procedure, if done correctly; and lets face it, a young pup is more likely to run off and get lost, than an older, trained dog. Maybe consider changing your vet?

liberty :)

It is common practise to chip nowadays and certainly doesnt hurt the dog anymore than a needle injection. Even most rescue homes tend to chip these days
I was worried about the chip moving when Gus was having his done and the vet assured me that as they are "barbed" now there is less liklihood (although not inpossible) of it moving about.
Chipping is an extra measure for a possible safe return of your dog if it becomes lost

Edited to say that like Libertys dog , Gus was also chipped at his second lot of puppy jabs

Microchipping is a simple, quick & painless procedure.   :)

I think your vet is more interested in the castration bit! Cockers coats can be a nightmare once they have been neutered so think long and hard before giving him the chop!

Jesse

When I first got my Saffy I took her to the vets to be health checked and asked for her to be microchipped the vet said they didnt do it till the dog was 6 months due to the chip moving and to bring her back when she was 6 months to be spayed and microchipped at the same time.  I wasnt impressed because like we all know puppies are more likely to go missing in the 1st 6 months than at any other time.  I then went to another vet in the town who microchipped her at the same time as her first innoculation, she didnt even notice and this vet said he didnt advise spaying a bitch until after her first season. Different vets different advice!

I had a mini dax chipped before he went to Canada at 8 weeks. He didn't notice.
I have never had a dog castrated, never found it necessary and until recently (getting old) kept over 12 of a large breed mainly males I often get asked at what age they can be done, the idea of having them done as puppies seems wrong, but I really would like to know what the best age is

We had our last dog m/c when he had his innoculations, he didn't even notice.
Don't be rushed into having your dog castrated - the longer you leave him the better!

Don't listen to the vet!

At one of the local vets hey give a free mircochip to every pup on its second inoc.

I havn't had any of my dogs done but I have heard that it doesn't hurt tho they can move around sometimes but it is NOT common and also you can sometimes feel them under the skin. (well at least you will know it is there!!!)

Rox

I do micro-chipping & it is no more painful than an injection. Dogs can be done with their first injection. I have done many dogs with no ill effects, also been to cat shows & done it there, even the cats werent as bothered as you would think. So chip your dog when you want its just a quick prick. The dog is injected between the shoulder blades.
Diane

Hi Jax

With the amount of dognapping going on I think every dog should be uniquely identifiable.

I microchip pups at about 7 weeks so the chips have chance to settle down before the pups leave me.

Christine

When I was working, we microchipped at as young as 8 weeks, although we normally did it with the second injection. If we had a pup come in that was aggressive/fearful when having injections, we offered the owner the chance of having it done when they were neutered so it'd be under anaesthetic. Vets dont offer this to get you to neuter, they do it because lets face it, most pet owners neuter, and they assume you will and its a good opportunity (normally the only time a pup is under anaesthetic) to get them chipped while under. Personally I dont see the point of doing it under anaesthetic when theyre being neutered unless they have shown severe fear/aggression responses at the vets. Yes it hurts a bit, but its over in less than a second and having seen it done, I would liken it to the level of having your ears pierced, except it doesnt hurt afterwards as much if at all.
The problem with microchip migration happens at any age, so I'm not sure why the vet said that it'll happen with your pup unless you leave it til he's neutered. Seems a bit odd.
Good luck whatever you decide :D
Kathy
xx

I had both cockers microchipped at 14 weeks old and it was no worse than having their vaccinations done. I'd say the sooner the better if you can.

When i had my GSD microchipped she was about 12 weeks they put an ice pack between her shoulder blades for about 2 mins to numb the area then popped the needle and and bingo it was all over and she did not feel a thing or bleed.

Cordelia

Don't overlook ear tattooing either.

I own 4 sbt had them all microchipped at 11 weeks, they never made a squeek! the sooner the better.

Thanks all, I've called the vet and Barney is being microchipped next week. :)

I saw a poster at the vet's where we train (which is not our registered vet) - a new microchip with built in themometre (sp)?  So no up the bum, just run a scanner over the microchip site and doggy temperature pop's up - Cool!  I was too late, our pup was done at second vac!
Sarah

Mine were microchipped as pups and didn't show any signs of distress, our vet scans to check the chips still ok when we take the dogs for their annual boosters, I don't have a name tag on my dogs, instead I decided to get a tag engraved with "tracer microchip" 
I also got them tatooed and the NDTR send you a brass collar tag with their phone number on, so that anyone who finds your dog will be able to contact the tattoo register -  they did squeek a little bit when their tatoo was done.....but they soon got over it!!

Do you have a scanner at home or do you have take the dog to the vet to have his temp read?
Hmmm think a thermometoer at home will still be needed  ;)  :D

Christine, Spain.

I guess the scanner would be at the vet?  Your right though, one at home would still be needed :)
Sarah

I saw the same advert at the vets when I went,

I was asked by a lady a few wks ago about this chip and have to say I knew nothing so I rang the chipping company I did my training with and was told a) this is not a new chip it has been around for a long time b) it is being relaunched and to us as chippers it would cost approx £10 per chip c) it can't be read by the normal scanners it needs a specialist unit to read it  and a lot of vets aren't buying in the new unit. There was very little uptake when it was first developed because few people could see the point in it as only a vet would be able to take a reading and to be honest most owners as well as vets are pretty much capable of doing a rectal temp.  Oh and it's only available from 1 company, I was given the details but decided that it wasn't worth my time and effort to take it any further.

Just wondering if anyone can tell me if I should be concerned about my dogs microchip.Poppy was from a rescue centre and had already been chipped and spayed (she was 9 months old then -  now 16 months old). When the rescue centre tried to find her chip they had difficulty but eventually located it (I believe it has slipped to the shoulder area). Just wondering what I can do about this and if its likely to cause a problem.

Thanks for your help.

Best wishes,
Val :-)

You'll get a lot of people who tell you that this is impossible - that chips don't move. However, you have proof otherwise. There's not a lot you can do about that chip (unless you want her operated on the remove it) but the vet can rechip her in the proper place (hoping that won't shift either) - the registered details will be the same so there shouldn't be a problem there - just twice as expensive when you move to change 2 lots of details instead of one!

I thought every microchip came already programmed with a unique number???? 

If the dog is rechipped and the old one is left in place, then it would cause problems, and mean having to amend two lots of chip details every time your address changed, and am pretty sure wouldn't be acceptable for travel on the Pet Passport????

I dont think it will matter if the chip has moved, it has been known and generally as long as its not causing the dog any discomfort it will be ok. If its in the shoulder area that should be ok anyway.
I dont think you can re-chip if the dog already has a chip due to the unique number as mentioned in the last post, when my dogs moved and poked up in the skin it had to be removed and de-registered before we could register a new one.

My vet said that she would microchip my pup last week, she was only 6 weeks old and i said no that we would wait for a few more weeks. The vet then asked if i would be getting her spayed, i said that i probably would be and she said ok we will chip her at the same time. She did say that as the needle is very big it can be uncomfortable having it done but no differnet to her jabs.

Debbie