Hi
i would like peoples opinion on the pros and cons of microchipping or tatooing.
My take on it is,  it would be better to tatoo your pet than microchip as 1.chips can migrate 2. pet thieves can get chips out from under the skin.
Where can you get tatooing done, i had my bitch chipped at the vets, however I must admit the first time the vet did it the chip came out straight through her neck and landed on the table & he had to do it again.Does tatooing hurt a dog like it does a human, are they sedated or awake>
Thanks

This is a subject that comes up very regularly. Infact it was mentioned only the other week. Please run a search and you will find lots of past threads on this subject, including several in the FAQ Forum :)

Thanks admin
had a read of past posts(didnt realise you could search for a topic)

Just seen the pictures on tatooing website and dont think i like the look of tatoos on the ears after all.
Micro chipping it may be.

:rolleyes:

why are you rolling your eyes at me?
LOL

Which is more important - your dog's security or whether or not you like the look? What breed is your dog?

well of course my dogs security but you cannot guarantee security with either choice, as you must have read the pros and cons for both choices.Reports of pieces of dogs ears being cut off rather more easily than finding a random micro chip in the shoulder area of a dog.
It just depends on personal choice dont you think!!!
Ther is always something that tips your choice to one or another.
My dog is a doberman and she carries her ears in both floppy down and 'bat ears' upright positions.
She is actually microchipped but hopefully will have a new puppy in the coming months.

There are no substantiated reports of a single NDTR tattooed dog having its ear cut off.

Ex-racing greyhounds which are killed and the bodies dumped often have both ears cut off to remove evidence of ownership, but a dog with an ear cut off is worthless.

I have four dogs tattooed and one microchipped as well. As far as I'm concerned a visible deterrent is more important than the guesswork of a chip.

I didnt actually say they cut ears off but pieces of ears. Like i say it is down to personal preference.
I think i would prefer to have my new puppy microchipped.
Thanks for all your responses.
It is good to have other peoples views on the Post.

The only piece of ear they could cut off to remove the tattoo is the whole ear. ;)

We seem to be getting into some sort of debate here which was not my intention.
I think whatever sort of sick peverted person that steals someones dog for whatever reason will not mind if the animal is chipped or tatooed,as their mind is only on the resale value of the poor animal and will not hesitate to mutilate it in whatever fashion they chose for their own personal gain.
If you read my original post you will see i was in favour of tatooing but have since changed my mind after reading past post as suggested by the admin.
Going to bed now
Goodnight all

No resale value to a dog with a missing ear, it would lead to too many awkward questions.

BettyBoo - The answer is that there is no absolute "better" way.  If you want to protect your dogs the best you can, you would probably have BOTH done.  Personally, I don't do that.  Both microchipping and tatooing carry some physical discomfort for the dog and I choose just to microchip, but have nothing against people who tattoo or do both.

I have all mine tattooed.  My youngest and her Mum are both champions and only one overseas judge ever noticed the very easy to see tattoos.

I have them chipped to comply with Pet passports, but on balance prefer the visual deterrent of the tattoo.

On Saturday I heard of one of my breed in the Dogs Trust Kennels near where I sold a dog pup, and the age was right.

I asked them to have a good look for a tattoo, and there was no sign (they were good tattoos when the pups left and would still be visible as the sisters is).  The Lady was able to get back to me and confirm it wasn't tattooed, much to my relief.

Don't know if she could have confirmed a chip number with me due to data protection.

Why wouldn't she be able to confirm chip number? Surely data protection would apply to both, if you can't give out a chip number then you wouldn't be able to give a tattoo number.
Becky

Well she could confirm one way or another if the dog was tattooed, and I gave her the number for her to say yes or no.

If it was chipped she would have had to go and get the chip reader scan the dog and write the number down, the chances are the dog would have had a chip as they chip them anyway.  So unless I had chipped the pup myself and kept a note of the number I wouldn't have been able to confirm the pup wasn't mien.

I also think the lady would have been less likely to have bothered to check for me.  Checking the ear for the tattoo was easy peasy.

Also with the tattoo registry I would have been contacted if the owner wasn't available, and in most cases the tattoos are still in my name anyway, as I don't really push the owners to transfer the paperwork over, and few do.

No sedation & yes it hurts,but for a second only. It's not done using the same method as human tattooing

You can find your nearest tattooist here

Mine are all chipped and wear tags but I have always wanted them tattood too but for one reason or another have never actually done it - mainly the worry of them struggling while it's being done and ending up with huge ugly blobs of ink in their ears :D  Do they use some sort of stamp then? Have any of your dogs struggled while it was being done?

Tattooing is done with a caliper - all the letters and numbers are put into a small frame so that they're all applied at the same time - a bit like the skin-test done prior to a person's BCG vaccination.

I've got my Boxers done (tatooed), and the one who'd I've have thought
would have made the most fuss etc didn't even flinch.
She hates her ears being examined at the vets.
I got my pups tatooed and my Abby's is still legible and she's five
and her mum was done at the same time and hers is still fine.

I personally don't have a problem if people also want to microchip.
BUT I want the choice/freedom of choice to choose the identifying
method that I want. Which I personally want to be tatooing :)

I was in the PDSA the other day helping an elderly friend with her cat and picked up their leaflet on Identification and they actually state they don't recommend tattooing, how high handed is that, they point out drawbacks of this method but make out there are no problems with chipping, which I have personal knowledge of several chip failures movement and reactions to broken chips.

At work we've just completed a pet passport for a dog and it says in the book that her chip has migrated and is to be found over her left scapula. Chips definitely move.

Mine has both..... a tattoo and a chip. We tattoo all our registered dogs in my country and chipping them is the law, so don't have much of a choice . He's not tattooed in his ear but on the part where his leg meets his belly. His ears are big and pointy so it would look kind of ugly......

How is the leg tattoo done, Ory? The ear tattoos are done all in one go with a caliper and it takes about 5 seconds to complete and no sedation is needed; I imagine a different method is used with the leg tattoos.

I have absolutely no idea ..... I've never seen how it's done myself. I know that it's done by an FCI agent that comes and checks the pups. My breeder said he never made a sound and neither did his sisters.

Our boy is tatooed and we had him chipped at about 4 months.  Our new pup isn't tatooed but will it hurt her more now she is older rather than getting her done as a wee pup?  I am planning on getting her chipped when she is a bit bigger but i like the visual thing aswell.   The chip needle is awful big and it does hurt them, but i will get it done.
Yvonne

My bitch was tattooed at 2½ years when her litter was done. She sat and wagged her tail while it was being done, so I wouldn't think any discomfort is negligible. :)

Both mine were tattooed earlier this year (just shy of 3yrs old) - I didn't see Remy being done as he was taken away while I filled in Opi's form, but I was assured he was a star :D Opi wasn't happy - mostly because she's not keen on being handled by strangers beyond having a fuss, but she did behave well.  It certainly hurt her - but only for a moment, and to me that outweighs the lifelong ID and visual deterrant.

They are both chipped as well - and TBH I think that caused them just as much pain, so I don't think there's much difference between the methods in that respect.  I get the chips checked annually at the Wag & Bone or the All About Dogs shows - so far no migration, and they were chipped between 4 and 6 months old.

I was told by a lady at the RSPCA that it is best to chip at 6 months - less likely for the chip to move if done later - don't know if true but I know one of my gordons has migrated and will need redoing - he was done at 8 weeks by his breeder.  She said that as they grow things change etc. so meaning the chip could move too?!

I don't know how true this is but aside from the size of the needle it is probably best to wait until they are bigger to have it done - although you can see that if a little pup is lost if it is chipped can be reunited quicker but then a tattoo can be done earlier and is not going to move!!

There's no need to have it redone just because it has moved.  It still works effectively, wherever it is in the dog's body.  There is a place in the new Pet Passports to state where chips have moved to, proving that they don't need to be redone just because they've moved.  Most people who scan for chips are aware that they can migrate and will scan the whole front half of the dog, just in case.

Unfortunately, one of my boys did an escape just after we moved got picked up and the local RSPCA couldn't find his chip (a nightmare day that was) - don't know if they scanned him thoroughly enough or not but luckily we had called the warden/police to log him lost.  Even when I picked him up and said he is chipped they said - oh we did scan him all over!  So what do you think - if he has his collar on it does say chipped?  Although he had been in the garden so wasn't wearing his collar in that instance.

Do we chance it that should he ever get lost/stolen without his collar that the place will scan thoroughly enough?  Guess we need to determine where it has migrated to first?

The escape route has been resolved!!  All the boys got out and of all the ones to get lost wouldn't have thought it was the one that did - he went the wrong way - the others went searching for the bunnies!

Must admit tempted to get the tattoo as well.

I think you should get your vet to scan him next time he has a booster or check up.  Mine are scanned at least once a year that way, and you're with the dog when they are scanned for the Pet Passport on re-entering the country, if you travel by Chunnel anyway, so can tell them where it is.  If these folk can find it, then I think you have to conclude the RSPCA didn't look very carefully :(

I've seen the leg tattoos done here when the DDA first came out and pitbulls were being done for that. A general anaesthetic was used and it was done the same way as a human tattoo, and took a few minutes.

The leg tattoo can be quite easily altered as they are done the same way human tattooes are, the now long defunct UK tattoo register(nothing to do with the NDTR)used this method & I remember a friends dog having scabs(or similar) afterwards over the tattoo site just as I am told human tattooes heal.

When a dog is tattooed it is the norm(actually a requirement)of the NDTR that the tattooist has an assistant to hold the dog whether it is a puppy or an adult. Because the person holding the dog is not the owner/breeder & experienced with dogs, the dogs don't struggle & it's only more difficult when the dog is an adult, if the dog has huge ears as an adult(like Basset for example)to get the tattoo into the centre of the ear.

The ear tattoo is designed to prevent anyone even attempting to alter the numbers-the 9 is an odd shape & the 5 has a flat top so they could not be altered to an 8 for example

As the main reason for dog theft is for resale removing an ear would make the dog unsellable-something the thieves that stole 4 Gayville GSD puppies found, they wwere recovered unhurt within hours of the theft

My BC screamed the place down when he was chipped(for his PP) yet he only squeaked  when he was tattooed & his tattoo was readable after less than 48 hours(have a look on his page on my website in my profile)one year on his tattoo is still clear & not very intrusive as his ears are not erect, he does of course have a an NDTR tag stating he is ear tattooed as well as his obligatory address tag, chip tag & missing pet bureau tag

My dog was tatooed by her breeder and I am pleased about that.  However, also had her microchipped at the same time she was under anaesthetic for her spey.  Dib Dib Dob ;) :D

Yep same here my lot have at least 3 sets of Id at all times (tattoo, chip and tag), and if you count the extra tag tyhat makes four.  I make sure the tags are on seperate split rings.