Microchip Query

fiounnalbe

I was at the vet the other day with one of my dogs to get a passport made for him. The vet needed his microchip number so scanned him to get it.....it took forever to find the microchip, he was questioning was he actually chipped and only that I was adamant that he was Im sure he would have given up. The chip was injected into the back of his neck but now it is down the front of his chest.

I guess my question is...is it common for the chip to move around like this? It's never happened any other of my dogs as far as I know.

And secondly is it safe from the point of view of him going missing etc. I've never witnessed how much a pound or that scans for a chip, but on tv programs they always just seem to scan the top side of their neck and their backs....in the hopefully unlikely event of him going missing/stolen would they even scan his chest and see the microchip? Is it normal practice to scan the whole body? Or should I get him done again??

I might be over reacting but I'd be distraught if anything happened to him merely because no one found his chip!!!

muddypaws

In my experience it is a major problem, when I got passports for my dogs, the vet marked where the chip is on each passport, and a few of them had moved away from the shoulder area. We had a husky girl come into us that we knew was microchipped, but it had moved, and was found in her armpit (if dogs have such a thing). We only kept scanning because we knew there was definitely one there, a pound would have given up long before finding it.

I don't know what the answer is unfortunately

fiounnalbe

I guess the answer is that people start doing all over body scans....but will that happen...

Might talk to my vet about getting him redone....although how can I be sure that that one wont move as well, sigh!!

SingItOut

My terriers has moved down to her front aswell. The best thing you could do is have an extra dog tag with the microchip number on it. Fido.ie supply the "please scan me I am microchipped" tags

Pumpkinseeds

It's worrying alright, it happened with Felix's chip. It makes me wonder how many lost chipped pets are given a quick scan, the chip is missed and it's assumed they aren't chipped:(

muddypaws

We've had a good few dogs in from pounds that weren't chipped - until my vet took a lot of time going all over them with the scanner and found the chip. Never reunited one though, usually had the breeder's details on, most of whom didn't seem to understand my question about taking them back, as they are responsible for the dog for it's whole life.

borderlinemeath

SingItOut wrote: »

My terriers has moved down to her front aswell. The best thing you could do is have an extra dog tag with the microchip number on it. Fido.ie supply the "please scan me I am microchipped" tags

Or get a tag saying chipped but chip has moved - please scan (right/left) chest area. Identitag have chips that you can put loads of wording onto - up to 106 characters per side.

http://www.identitag.co.uk/productcart/pc/Round-Brass-Pet-Tag-Large-4p9.htm

DBB

My GSD was chipped on the side of her neck, not too far under her ear
My own scanner doesn't pick her chip up (she's hairy! And my scanner is old), prompting me to have exactly the same concerns as you op... what if she ended up getting lost, and the person scanning her just didn't run their scanner over the right part... why would they bother scanning under her ear?!
I gave a lot of consideration to getting her microchipped again (yes, I know, two chips... I know one dog with three!), but having tested a couple of other scanners, they pick her chip up reasonably easy. So I'm going to leave her be, in the knowledge that the chances of her going missing are very slim.
Still though, there's always a little nagging doubt there.:(

boomerang

You could state the location of the chip on one side of her ID tag, DBB? That's what I'd do... I know tags get lost but I always have a few extra ones just in case. I get the largest tags from Identitag - they are the size of dinner plates, you could fit a novel on them.

Pumpkinseeds

I've never known a cat like Felix for getting collars off. We've tried lots over the years, always with the break away safety clasp. But he can get rid of them within hours. There's a vacant house with a totally overgrown garden, the house has been empty for at least 7 years, I'm guessing it's a cat collar grave yard:D

DBB

boomerang wrote: »

You could state the location of the chip on one side of her ID tag, DBB? That's what I'd do... I know tags get lost but I always have a few extra ones just in case. I get the largest tags from Identitag - they are the size of dinner plates, you could fit a novel on them.

It's kind of moot, because my address, phone number and the first 12 chapters of War and Peace are written on her Identitag already, so if she was found with her collar and tag on, she wouldn't need to be scanned at all!

boomerang

Haha, my tags include just about everything too, bar their food and toy preferences, lolol.

fiounnalbe

Thanks guys! going to get a big tag with the location of his microchip on it and hope he never loses his collar