Not to microchip my dog?

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

So the new law starts this month saying all dogs must be microchipped. I have a dog who is not microchipped and I am hesitant to do so because:

1. he is 12 years old and not the 'buggering off' sort. In fact, in 12 years I have never lost him (he is a complete mummy's boy and just wants to be wherever I am).
   
   
2. the microchipping needle is large and likely to be quite an unpleasant experience for him.
   
   
3. an article in the independent says that a senior vet advises people with puppies or small dogs (mine is small) to ignore the law as microchipping can cause problems. Not exactly sure what these problems are though. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ten-new-laws-that-come-into-force-in-april-2016-and-how-they-affect-you-a6964881.html
   
   It seems a bit daft to put my dog through it at his age when I can pretty much guarantee I'm not going to lose him. AIBU?

[fatmomma99]

I'm thinking you're probably not BU. Make sure his collar has a tag with your phone number and that should cover it, although that's not the law.

[Vintage45]

collar and tag.

[FuzzyOwl]

Richard Allport is a homeopathic vet who I haven't heard good things about, so I am reluctant to believe something based purely on his view and not of several vets.

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

I probably should get him a tag, good idea. He doesn't usually wear a collar as we live rurally and he's good with voice commands, so there isn't much need for one generally.

[SpeakNoWords]

According to the linked news article, it's possible to ask your vet for an exemption certificate if your dog is very old or unwell. I would pursue that option if you're very against chipping. The same article also states that only 8 dogs are known to have "suffered side effects" of being chipped - it seems like a very very small chance of an adverse reaction.

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

Thanks speak, I wonder what constitutes 'very old'. I'll look into that. He's 12 but fit as a fiddle, he looks about 100 but has done since he was young, that's just how he looks .

[MsMims]

Although I already have all my pets microchipped, I'm not comfortable with this new legislation being forced on owners and would think twice if I had a dog like yours OP

One of my cats had fibrosarcoma, which has possible links to both vaccines into the scruff and microchips. My cats microchip was removed as it was so close to the cancer. Not many people have heard of this as it's thankfully quite rare, however it is also rare to completely excise the cancer as good margins are hard to achieve in this area. So, microchips are not 100% safe and I think the decision should have been left up to owners. I am not feckless or irresponsible (even have my rabbits chipped!) but after experiencing this fast growing, invasive cancer in my cat I would weigh up microchipping more cautiously now.

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

Thanks MsMims, I got my cats done as obviously cats are pretty free range and have a tendency to sod off. I can't find anything online about whether or not him not being microchipped will cause a problem when I take him to the vets for something else, I don't know if vets will be obliged to ensure all dogs they treat are microchipped. That's the only problem I can foresee.

[WhoaCadburys]

I know the needle looks big, but I really don't think it hurts. Our puppy barely noticed.

[ImNotThatGirl]

YABU. My dog is a whinger about most things but he barely flinched at the needle. Your dog won't remember the injection (especially if he gets a treat right afterwards) but you will certainly remember if he gets lost.

[ImNotThatGirl]

I do get your reasoning by the way. My dog is no more likely to wander off than he is obtain a degree in law but you can't predict every eventuality.

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

I know he'd probably be ok if he had it done, but when my cats were done the vet advised to do it whilst they were under anesthetic being castrated, as the needle was big and can be quite painful for them. I have never actually seen it with my own eyes though.

[ImNotThatGirl]

Even if it is temporarily painful, I do think it's worth it. Just take a selection of cheese, ham and biscuits for him afterwards to assuage your guilt. Also, some wine. For you, not him. :)

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

Of course it's ok to disregard the law op. Crack on do what ever you want

[Out2pasture]

OP is your dog tattooed?
I have two dogs who both had microchips. At the latest vet check neither are working ;(
Either expelled, pushed out from under the skin, or an electronic issue. I gather this is common.

[dizzytomato]

It's a foreign body, it might be the size of a grain of rice but foreign objects can be rejected or cause problems like MsMims describes. I've heard chips can migrate to other parts of the body too which can cause complications or which means they cannot be detected on a scanner.
None of our pets are chipped but we live abroad in a small community. We don't have problems with dog attacks, baiting or theft. When one of our dogs got out we found him running with the street dogs and most people post escapees pictures and locations on fb or if they can catch them just take them back home, so chips would be useless anyway.
My childhood dog was chipped in the late 80's. If I lived in the UK I would have it done but I can't see why it's now law. It hardly protects dogs against theft and baiting and most attacks happen in people's homes anyway. Just seems an odd law to pass. An exception certificate might be the way ahead.

[Princesspeach1980]

I don't know about the wider health risks, but I had my tiny chihuahua chipped when he was only 10 weeks old and he squeaked a bit, but was absolutely fine. I wouldn't worry about the needle size.

[Rainbunny]

I don't like this law forcing owners, I think it should be your choice. That said, We microchipped our rescue dog when we adopted him and less than a month later I was bloody grateful that we did. We rented a holiday home with friends. One afternoon, DH and I left to get some supplies from the supermarket, we left him with our friends inside the house with clear instructions that he would be fine just don't let him out. Twat "D"H of my friend decided to do exactly that, let him into the back garden not noticing the open gate and without his collar on. The result was that we arrived back 10 minutes later to a missing dog that we spent a frantic hour searching the streets for. I can't begin to express my panic and I was convinced he would be hit by a car. Then I got a call from the local animal shelter, someone had seen him wondering and took him there. That microchip saved the day. Our dog is small as well, he weighs 17 lbs and it injection to place the chip hurt for a second but then he was fine.

[bulldogmum]

I've worked at a big animal charity and seen hundreds of dogs of all sizes be microchipped. It isn't as painful as you'd think. They may yelp once but that's it.
It is a legal requirement so if you're not exemption is the only way forward.
However it is only one vet who has raised concerns and with very little evidence to back it. Not sure I'd base my exemption or flouting the rules on one vet out of thousands.
That said its not a legal requirement for vets to check for chips but if he was to be stolen/bolt for any reason and got picked up, without a chip you'd get a big fine.
Also it is currently a legal requirement that all dogs have a collar with is tag (name, address and tel number) at all times in public. So def get that done asap!

[sashh]

My cat has just had her vaccination boosters. She is just over 3 Kg so small for a cat, you can feel her microchip and obviously the vet doesn't inject at exactly that point. She didn't notice the chip jab.

Do you vaccinate your dog OP? It's really no worse than that. My local vet are currently doing it for £10.

[daisychicken]

My dog is 15 and we had him microchipped last summer when we heard the date that the law would be in by. He didn't yelp or even seem bothered by the needle. It seemed daft to have an old dog microchipped as he's not in the best of health and like yours he doesn't go off wandering but he's lost his hearing and is almost completely blind so if he did go out of our sight on a walk (unlikely as he stays close and is on lead most of the time) or somehow get out without us seeing, then he wouldn't hear us calling him. Plus he's on various medications including ones for arthritis and heart disease and going with out because he got lost and anyone who found him wouldn't know he needs medication would make him very uncomfortable. From those points of view it seemed to make sense to have a microchip which had a contact number for his vets as well as us (and we have the vets number on his tag as well as ours). I have to add that he also now looks like a total scruffbag with lost fur and bald patches and I wouldn't want people thinking he was a stray or unloved for those reasons!

For £10-20 (was £20 last summer) we felt it was worth doing. (He wasn't done as a puppy as the local vet at that time charged a lot more and we always had dog tags on collars)

[toolonglurking]

Our puppy hardly noticed being chipped, and it has had no effect on her whatsoever. I think that it's silly not to do it because you don't reckon your dog will run away - there are a number of scenarios you can't possibly know will happen, why wouldn't you choose to protect your dog?

[revealall]

Surely if people steal dogs they are going to remove the micro chip? More especially now everyone has to have one.