Hi All...I am on a roll with making several posts already....

But I want to see what people here think of spay tattoos. (Dog or Cat)
And if you think it is a good Idea maybe suggesting it to your vet will help it catch on.

What it is...
In America (where I come from originally) it is routine to tattoo a small letter X or the symbol for female on the belly of a bitch who is spayed. This enables rescue centres or new owners to tell for sure with no guessing or need for un-needed invasive surgery. It is a simple and painless thing that would help many. Sometimes you can tell if a bitch has been spayed by feeling for a scar but this does not always work.

Jus a survey to see if its a good idea to try here.

cheers

Personally I think that's a very good idea - it would make it easier for rescues for sure, and possibly it would discourage theft of bitches for breeding, assuming the thieves have the mental capacity to understand the tattoo!

Ditto, think it's an excellent idea.

M.

I currently work for a rescue and I know we spend a fortune in spaying (even if it has already been done) and neutering....just thinking of the money that could be spent elsewhere and more inimportant areas if already spayed bitches were easy to identify.

Cheers

I think it's a brilliant idea - and so simple!

Great idea! I'd certainly be in favour.

same here, great idea!!!

I also think it's a great idea - would surely stop some thefts.

Excellent idea - all for it.

I have a couple of questions - is the tattoo done at the same time as the spay (so only the one GA needed - ear tattoos are done with a clamp so no anaesthetic required, but a thigh or belly tattoo usually involve a GA), and is it done right near the wound? I could imagine it would otherwise be hidden by hair with coated breeds, but if it was very close to the wound I'd be concerned about infection.

Good point. Ear tattoo would probably be the most easiest to access. Less stressful to the dog to have a look in the ear rather than having to try and find a tattoo on the belly.  Someone told me that some breeds such as Dobes do not like exposing their bellies as it makes them feel vulnerable. Like you say it would be particularly difficult with hairy dogs esp large hairy dogs.    Not like my dog who is always lying on her back and the only glimpse of GSPs I saw on TV Sunday showed one doing the exact same thing :D

Until someone steals the dog and cuts it's ears off.  :(  From what I've come to understand it's the reason many vets don't tattoo the ear.  Too easily removed (as disgusting as that is).  I've also heard of just rubbing a bit of ink into the incision site.  Don't know if that's rumor or truth however.

I have heard of dogs having ears cut off but they do that to remove the ID tattoo.  How many dogs has that happened to exactly as one eared dogs would be rather conspicuous?  It doesn't make sense to cut off an ear to remove the ID IMO.  No one goes round looking in dogs' ears as a matter of course.  It has been made clear on this forum alone that the police are not interested in stolen dogs, so I imagine that cutting off dogs' ears remains a very small minority.  I mean, if a neighbour of mine turned up one day with a dog I wouldn't assume it was stolen, but if they turned up with a dog that had an ear chopped off I would be suspicious.  Am I missing something?

I can't for the life of me think of a reason to cut off an ear just to remove a tattoo that indicates the dog has been spayed.

Oh Please don't start the 100's of dogs with there ears cut off stories again

Lets get the facts correct All the dogs found in the UK with their ears damage to prevent ID have not been done by thieves but by the owners of the Racing Greyhounds to prevent them being traced back to them

There has been no NDTR tattooed dog that has been stolen that has had it's ears cut off

The fact that the dog is tattooed makes it unsellable & hence of no value to the thief(this is why Joan & Davy Hall got their stolen to order puppies back with hours of the their theft-with their puppies ear intact & untouched)

& what is this rubbing ink into the incision site ? That's a new incorrect statement

Hi MM, when did this happen , had never heard this.  Better keep my baby under lock and key!!  (At least that way he can't eat my dressing gown :D)  Poor Joan and Davy, glad to hear they got them back though!

Paula

I think it was 2004 & the puppies were back within hours way too hot to handle.They know there stolen to order as they were from two different litters !(a pair from each)It's a bit hard to hide a tattoo on a GSD !

I've got the NTDR signs on the gates & boundary walls

Dunno.  Just making mention of something I had heard...didn't say that it makes sense.

And as I said regarding rubbing ink into the incision...could be truth or rumor.

What incision The one to cut the ear off ???? The dog would either be dead or unconcious to cut an ear off

BTW if a dog is tattooed, stolen/lost & found in the possession of someone other than the registered owner it is a serious criminal offence either handled stolen goods or theft by finding, both of which can result in a term of inprisonment. The same does not refer to a microchipped dog

From what I've come to understand it's the reason many vets don't tattoo the ear.

Most Vets don't tattoo because they make more money from chipping

Thanks for making that clear MM :)  It made no sense to me to cut ears off stolen dogs.

I've also heard of just rubbing a bit of ink into the incision site.
What incision The one to cut the ear off ????

The way I read it, I thought the poster meant the incision for the spay?
Debs

The cutting-off of stolen tattooed pets ears to remove their ID is a myth. How many one-eared dogs have you seen walking around?

As for rubbing ink into a fresh spaying wound - no way! Putting a non-sterile substance into immediate access to the abdominal cavity is just begging for infection. Surely no vet would take such a risk?

Putting a non-sterile substance into immediate access to the abdominal cavity is just begging for infection.

Oh I absolutely agree.  I was just saying what I thought the other person meant by his comments. :)

Debs

Why couldn't the ink be sterile?  They use coloured inks up an down the various tubes inside the body for investigation procedures, in humans, at least.

I was thinking the same, it could be difficult if it was done on the belly. A tattoo on the ear would be good though.

In Australia all dogs get a tattoo when they go in for 'de-sexing'. A 1.5cm symbol for the sex of the animal with a cross through it.

It has reduced the number of thefts for breeding, people have broken into kennels and left the dogs with the tattoo behind. I know some breeders have taken up the practice of tattooing whole bitches with the symbol in the hope that it will deter their theft, its worked in a lot of cases.

>I know some breeders have taken up the practice of tattooing whole bitches with the symbol in the hope that it will deter their theft, its worked in a lot of cases

.... and there lies a problem as it defeats the object although perfectly understandable as to why they do it.  I expect in the order of things tattooing entire bitches is a small price to pay as these are less likely to end up in rescue generally.

I have always found it quite obvious in an adult bitch from the size the vulva shorinks to after spaying that she is entire as at least in mine they are tiny as in puppies.