HELP Animal micro chip or tattoo?

Question

I AM THINKING OF HAVING MY PET MICRO CHIPPED BUT MY VET PREFFERS TATTOOING. I WANTED TO KNOW SOME OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCES WITH EITHER. AND WHICH YOU THINK WOULD BE BETTER?
THANKS

Answer 1

I prefer microchipping. My grandmother's dachshund was tattooed as a puppy before she got her. When the dog ran away, they had a hard time finding her - why? Because as she grew older, the numbers distorted, plus the fur grew there and was just hard to read. My dog and two cats are microchipped through our local animal rescue which is better. The microchip is injected through a needle - very quick, painless procedure. Normally your dog will get another ID tag that can be put on the collar with its number and the website - or at least 24petwatch has a website. If someone finds your dog, they can type in that number and find you. If your dog loses that tag, they can take the dog to a vet or shelter to find out - a lot of vets have both readers. Even if someone doesn't know about microchipping, they will normally take the dog to an animal shelter who search for chips automatically whenever a stray comes in or someone brings a dog in that they found. I've never heard of health problems forming from the microchip or tattooing though. To me, I would just think tattooing would hurt (of course, I'm sure its different for every dog, the same as its different for every person).

Answer 2

I myself prefer tattooing as well. My SERVICE dog is tattooed on his inner thigh of his left leg. I did this because there are many reports out there that show problems with micro chips that tattoos simply don't have. And the tattoo DOES NOT hurt the dog (my dog almost fell asleep during the process). Microchips are sometimes "passed" (pooped) out of the system soon after they are put in, they can lead to the formation of tissue buildup in some area that MAY lead to problems such as cancer, microchips do not always stay where they were inserted causing a problem when trying to locate a chip with a "reader" (this is what i call the locater device). The biggest problem I find with micro chips is that there is NOT ONE single chip out there that ALL readers can locate. IF your dog has a (for example) type a microchip, and the person who finds your dog has a type b and type c reader (for example)...it will be useless.

Answer 3

My dog is microchipped, because he came that way when I adopted him from the shelter. Personally though, I think tattooing is even better because it is a visible mark on the dog somewhere. If who ever finds your chipped dog doesn't know about microchips or doesn't have a scanner, it isn't going to do much good. With a tattoo, all they'd need is eyes! Definitely get one or the other though, my dog got loose from the house with no collar once, boy was i glad he had a chip.

Answer 4

My dogs both have micro chips due to the fact I got them at a sheltar. The chips is very tiny and goes in with a needle just like a shot-versus tattooing which seems painful. Benefits of tattoo is that everyone can see it whereas with a microchip you have to take them somewhere that reads them to see if a stray has an owner.

Answer 5

They now have universal microchip readers that will read both kinds of microchips. Nearly all vet clinics now use the universal reader. I'd go with the microchip over the tattoo. It's easy for someone to claim your dog as theirs if it's tattooed since most people no longer look for it, whereas a microchip can be scanned easily. My mom had our show dogs tattooed back before microchips came out, but now our dogs are microchipped.

Answer 6

Your DVM didn't go to college for 12 years just to find a wife/husband so maybe he/she learned something I didn't about the insertion of a silicon chip into your pet's body. Personally, I am sitting here with the lung I just coughed up resting in my hand because I have a lung disease related to the fact I inhaled silica dust from computer chips I laser marked for 6 years in a poorly ventilated environment. If you plan to live in the same area and retain the services of the same doc for the life of your pet, go for the less risky tatoo, as I have had a couple of those decorating my bod for more than 25 years, and look Ma, no cancer or emergency surgery because a dislodged eTronic device broke free and is heading for the remnants of my brain.
Recently I have heard of a website www.homeagain.com which says one out of every three pets get lost and they can find them...also they say talk to your vet about them. Don't know if they are tatoo or microchip advocates, but they have no pending lawsuits and you are asking for information.

Answer 7

Hi!
The registered database for the micro chip is much larger than the registered database for tattooing. There are two types of microchips. In our hospital we do have both microchip readers for this reason. We have reunited several pets with their owners as a result.
Best wishes!
Pam
www.protectthepets.com

Answer 8

I have my dog micro chipped. Either is good. The benefit of a tatto is that any one can find it. The benefit of a micro chip is that the information can be changed easy and if your dog is picked up by animal control or turned over to a vet that is the first thing they check for.

Answer 9

This is something that I have never heard of other then on rabbits. Our dog is micro-chipped, and all of our rabbits are tattooed. It depends on what kind of animal we are dealing with. I would prefer to microchip, because then you can find it through satellite detection, and a tattoo is not connected, so you couldn't detect him, you would have to hope someone find the dog with the tattoo and knows what it means and how to notify someone. I hope that I helped, so my opinion is if it is a dog, then microchip, cat microchip, and rabbits, tattoo.

Answer 10

Chip all the way. Its less painful and easier to identify. On a chip you can fit your name, address, several phone numbers, the dogs name, etc. Tattoos have become so obsolete that many shelters don't even check for them anymore. Our older dog has a tattoo and when she wandered off, we found her at a do-gooder's house, the tattoo didn't help at all. The chip is the way to go.