Can anyone recommend a vet in the North Yorks area that has the facility to tatoo my pup? I'm micro-chipping also, but this is a back up against thieves, which i am paranoid about. Also, if anyone has their dog tatooed, would they consider the best area to be inside the ear, inside the thigh, or elsewhere? I don't want to put my pup through any pain, but i'm hoping that it will be worth it, as it will act as a good deterrent. What are other peoples views on tatooing?

Depending on the breed and the coat colour I have heard they can sometimes fade

Tattoos do not fade especially now that they are done in Black ink When my 19 year old X breed died she had been tattooed for over 11 years & it was still as visible as when it was first done, my Import GSD bitch was 14 when she died & her tattoo was also visible. The ink does change colour(as it does with human tattoos)but they do not fade

Just one question why do you want a vet to tattoo your dog ? Tattooists do not have to be vets Also no one I know tattoos inside the thigh. This would have to be done with a different technique to the one used bt the NDTR, NGRC,Hunts etc

Use the NDTR site to find the nearest tattooist to you

Hi, my own vet, when asked said that he didn't have details of any other vets that tattooed, so i kind of presumed that it was done only by vets. He advised that the tattoo can be applied to the inner ear or inner thigh.  I have heard of Dr Swift in Malton, but don't have his contact details.

Have just looked on the NDTR site and found the details i'm looking for, thanks

NDTR tattoos are not done on the thigh & never have been

The first tattoos done on dogs in the Uk were done on the inner thigh but this register ceased to exist over 30 years ago & if he has seen any inner thigh tattoos within the the last 30 years they have not been done in the UK. Even the Pit Bulls weren't done on the thigh but on the front leg

If you go to the link & either use the map or e mail/ring jill(the registrar)you will be able to find the nearest tattooist to you

The RCVS & the BVA are aware of the NDTR & all vets should know too as it is the tattooist who should notify the vets in their area

This is probably a silly question but mine are micro-chipped but then i was told our old council didn't have the funds to provide a scanner and then with many being unreadable i was seriously thinking of a tattoo but how on earth would you keep a dog still for long enough?
If its not a vet then i presume they aren't sedated or similar? or is it like branding? :D i haven't a clue?

They're not sedated or anaesthetised, and my adult bitch sat and wagged her tail for the 5 seconds it took for her tattoo to be done. The NDTR use calipers and it's literally done in seconds.
:)

It is done using "clamps" which takes literally seconds quite a simple technique. The ear is shaved(if needed), cleaned & dried,  the clamp with the number/letter dies applied & the ink rubbed in. Nothing complex & nothing like a human tattoo. The nearest thing to give you an idea of the method is having your ear pierced ie one action

The dogs don't need sedating(the pit bulls using the human type techniques had to be under GA-they of course were not done by the NDTR)just to be held by the tattooist assistant

Ahhh thank you very much that explains it then!

(I was thinking similar to human tattoos :D )

LOL just imagine trying to tattoo 6 week old wriggly puppies like a human tattoo It doesn't bear thinking about !

God how naive of me :D :D :D thats the only reason i have never took it any further :D :D

I must not be so stupid in future
I must not be so stupid in future
i must not be so stupid in future

LOLOL take rolled up newspaper & liberally strike self on the head with it ;)

LOL @ Mygirl...I am having really disturbing mental images of puppies with 'Love' and 'Hate' tattooed acroos their paws.....

Yes ok so it was one of my senior moments :D

Now where did i put my common sense manual for dog owners?

I have a tattoo question.  My breed have ears that "stand up" and a tattoo would be very visible.  Does this not put you off ??

The more visible the better, it makes it more of a deterrant to theives and easily read if the dog is lost or stolen :-)

>The more visible the better, it makes it more of a deterrant to theives and easily read if the dog is lost or stolen

Unless of course the dog is stolen to be used for breeding, in which case they simply cut off the dogs ear. No amount of tattooing or chipping can beat care and attention when it comes to protecting your dogs from thieves. :( Sad isn't it?

>Unless of course the dog is stolen to be used for breeding, in which case they simply cut off the dogs ear.

Have you evidence of that, or is it hearsay? ;)

I'd imagine that a stolen dog used for breeding would be kept shut up in an outbuilding where nobody would see it anyway - no need to cut off its ear.
:)

Well they have been tattooing GSDs in Germany for over 40 years & I do believe they have stand up ears ;) It certainly puts off thieves as the resale value is nil unlike the microchip which is invisible & so the new owners can be conned !(that happened to my nearest neighbours when they adopted a dog from the RSPCA whose chip had moved & it was only found when he went lame & they had to hand the dog back to the original owners They were heart broken but the original owners kicked up a stink They now have another rescue to go with their patterdale boy, but it took them 3 years to adopt again-not from the RSPCA !)

Davy & Joan Hall got their stolen GSD puppies back just hours after they were stolen because they were tattooed

Anyone know the cost of a tattoo on an adult dog please?
Archer

£20-00

NDTR

<PUPPY TATTOOING - £7.00
LITTER REGISTRATION - £20.00
ADULTS - £20.00 (inclusive)
CHANGE OF OWNER - £20.00
CHANGE OF ADDRESS - FREE
HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION LOCATION - FREE>

That will amek doing my litter of 7 £69 with the tattooist coming to the house compares well to the fee for registering them with the kennel club which cost me £84!

Ah but Barbara if you send off all the transfers of ownerships you will get the money back for to tattooing & the registration so it will cost you nothing If you want to know more PM me If you were keeping a puppy it would coat you £7.00 ! Thats because the NDTR is run by dog people not a commercial company or the KC ;)

To be honest I don't push the owners to transfer the pups as I really want the tattoos for being able to trace me the breeder.  I have dound with pet pups that only about half do the KC or Tattoo transfers.  Both orgaistions must think I won about 25 dogs :D

You can include it in the price of the puppy & the puppies will always be traceable back to you as the breeder as even if they have been transferred if Jill cannot contact the owner she will contact the breeder if a dog is found Happened with a stolen GSD locally

My main worrynis if a dog should turn up in rescue that I would not know?

The NDTR keep a record of the breeder of each puppy, so if the owner can't be traced they'll contact you. Of course, not all vets or rescue centres bother to check for tattoos. :( Mind you, some don't check for chips either. :(

Nope you don't notice it from a distance, never had anyone comment, even though I can see Lexi's in photos.

Has anyone heard of pet dogs ears being cut off so they cant be traced ? I know they do it with racing greyhounds, to be honest this is the only thing that puts me off getting it done :(

Here we go again for the recordno NDTR tattooed dog has ever had an ear cut off or an attempt to do so to hide it's identity why ? because unlike NRGC dogs NDTR dogs are tattooed voluntarily & are 99.99% pets/show dogs. If they are stolen it is either for resale or ransom & they would have no resale value with one ear

NGRC dogs are mutitated to hide ID when they are dumped by their owners when they no longer race & when you compare the number of NGRC reg dogs & the proven cases of mutitation the % is tiny less than .01%

However the increasing number of stolen dogs who have had an attempt to remove a microchip is of concern

>Here we go again for the record

The sarcasm was uncalled for, it was a question I asked, I did not give a statement saying that is what happens.

It is just that everytime a discussion starts re tattooing the ear cutting off story is related it was an aside should maybe had a <sigh>as in I am resigned to the fact that microchip promoters always stress the NRGC cases forgetting that these dogs are dumped by the owners not lost or stolen so people believe that 100's od dogs have this happen when in fact there are less than half a dozen instances

I dont believe that, I know they do it to greyhounds when they dump them, I was just curious as to whether it had ever happened to pet dogs and im not a microchip promoter I would ideally like to have both for my boys.  There is a tatooist not far from here so I will get them done in the near future  ( I was thinking a shamrock would look good seeing as they are Irish ;)  )

Claire :)

I actually heard some one on the Petlog stand at Crufts last year telling a lady that "100's of dogs had had their ears cut off to remove the NDTR tattoo"only thing was the lady the PL woman was talking to was an NDTR tattooist who severely embarrassed the PL woman when she told her that she was a tattooist & asked for details of all these dogs Of course she couldn't even give one breed let alone details. The PL woman resorted to the well that's what I have been told garbage !

It's only done with dead, illegally killed, racing greyhounds when they dump the bodies, so that the culprits (generally the owners) can't be traced - a pet dog with one ear is noticeable and therefore unsaleable.

There was the case of the stolen hunt beagle whose kidnappers had attempted to remove his tattoos - he was the only one of the stolen pack that ever turned up.

The beagle of course was not tattooed by the NDTR

I had my old dog tattooed some years ago by the NDTR & it was a very simple operation with all of the needles attached to a clamp device. They had to shave the inside of the ear flap & my dog got far more distressed about having the clippers in his ear, than the actual tattoo. However, I would say that as he has hairy ears the tattoo is quite difficult to read & I do worry whether someone would see it if they just gave his ear a cursory glance - but clip the hair off again 7 it is easy to read.

The ear doesn't have to be totally shaved just enough to read a couple of the number & you don't need to use clippers good quality scissors will reveal enough(from one who has three cavaliers with very hairy ears)