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?

If you aren't that fussed about laws and the risk your dog not being returned to you should the worst happen then don't get it chipped. Simple.

Alexa444 that's hilarious

nothing is 100 percent.

doesn't change the fact that there are hundreds of strays miles from.home in a shelter somewhere ir having been re homed that could have been reunited with owners if they'd had a chip.

it's one of those things, your ok until your not. amd wheb that circumstance presents itself your fucked and you will wish you'd done it

It's less invasive than taking a temperature ffs.do you think.vaccinations s are invasive too?

In reply to msmims who posted about her cat developing a fibrosarcoma near the site of the microchip, the same happened to my cat, only the tumour actually grew around the chip and was removed during surgery to remove the tumour.

But that's because that site (between the so shoulder blades) is the most common site in a cat for a fibrosarcoma to develop, not because she has a chip there.

I recall our lad bouncing (literally) off the walls of his rescue pen because he was so happy to see us. (The rescue manager didn't even bother to check details once she saw that. )
He was full of utter confidence that we would pick him up - walked out without a care in the world and his head held high.

But we wouldn't have been able to retrieve him if he hadn't been chipped.

Do you have pet insurance? It may invalidate your insurance if he's not chipped, or you don't have an exemption.

We had to pay for our chipping years ago, but a lot of Vets are doing it for free now.

I wonder why cats are exempt? The amount of lost cats posts on social media is getting rediculous, most haven't been chipped.

Op, I think you should get your dog chipped, or at least get an exemption certificate from the vets. I was amazed that the article you linked to went on to state only eight dogs had a reaction to the chip, out of how many? I wonder what the figures are for the amount of strays not being reunited with owners and subsequently pts?

I do hope that now it's now law, the follow up procedures are tightened, with regards to if you move house etc, not sure if this can be done online now? But I remember when we had a dog, we had a call from a vets saying they had our dog, nope, ours was lying right by me. Obviously huge mix up with paperwork somewhere and a poor dog who had been chipped not reunited

I wish cats weren't exempt.

Also once chipped if you move house /get a new mobile phone you must remember to update the chipping records or the chip will be pointless.

Would be great if the microchip had an App which allowed you to track lost pets. Something for the future no doubt.

Legally dogs in public have to have a tag listing their owner's name, first line of their address and postcode, with a failure to comply being liable for a fine of up to £5000 - this has been the case since 1992!

Microchipping is the law, and I've seen tiny dogs chipped with no issue, so I'd say you're being unreasonable!

OP YABU because it's the law, it's not optional. Either microchip your dog or rehome him with somebody who will comply with the law.

Cozietoesie She hates having it done and will grab them and refuse to let go. I had to return them the next day once because we couldn't prize her jaw open without hurting her so she carried them home and dropped them on the front step. She is a labrador too so we have these massive sad eyes to contend with while we wrestle her. It was hilarious though.

Suburban Are you saying that microchips don't cause fibrosarcoma and other abnormal growths? Because they do. They have been found in cats who have been microchipped between the shoulder blades but always vaccinated into the limbs, so only the microchip can be to blame in those cases.

We got one of our cats back after he'd been missing 18 months - because someone took him to a vet who scanned him. I found a lost dog on the woods recently and took him to our vet - who scanned him and located his owner.

I'm hoping that in making microchipping mandatory the government is starting to take animal welfare more seriously.

A huge benefit is that you can now take an animal's temperature via the chip. And if you've ever struggled to stop a Labrador sitting down while she has a thermometer up her bum, you'll know that's worth having!

Don't understand why you wouldn't get it done to be honest. Imagine for one minute losing your dog and then tell me you wouldn't wish you had him chipped. You'd be crazy not to...

No, I'm saying it's not always the case that a fibrosarcoma between the shoulder blades is due to a microchip there.

None of the reasons you've given for your decision have made me change my mind. I'm pro chipping and I dont have a problem with it being compulsory.
I wish health and liability insurance was compulsory, along with vaccines and routine worming, for cats as well as dogs.
Too many people dump animals, and this is going to make them think twice before claiming its not theirs and they just found it.

Metal There are a fair few exemptions though. Working dogs in particular.

Having a law which says all dogs should be chipped is quite invasive.. Most owners will love the idea some won't but can't see why this isn't up to them. It might help if you lose your friendly go to anyone pooch in the park.

It doesn't help with dogs killed on the motorway, dogs that weren't chipped cos the owner didn't care, ones with invalid details or stolen dogs

Just to clarify the position on lost dogs. They are taken to a local authority dog pound by the dog warden. If scanned they can be reunited with the owner before even entering the stray dog system. If not scanned, they will enter the pound (and go and take a look at your local one if you haven't before, and say honestly if you'd want your dog to spend any time there)and once there they have SEVEN days. After seven days the local authority may legally dispose of the dogs either by rehoming or permanently via the needle. Approximately 10-12% of dogs entering the system will face death. Usually the ones selected will be the ones less easy to rehome - older dogs, less pretty ones, ones that are stressed in kennels, Staffies, lurchers and greyhounds (so common another one will be along in a minute). If the dog is rehomed, and you then see it walking down the street with its new family ten days later, you will have no legal comeback. This happened recently with a family who went on holiday for a fortnight - by the time they came back their unchipped family pet had escaped from neighbour looking after it, had gone to pound and been rehomed - not a thing they could do about it.

Most responsible owners already chip. I'm heavily involved with rescue and I know incidents where the following have happened in homes where owners are devoted and wouldn't think to let their dog stray.

Dog peacefully at home. House burgled - dog kicked and beaten by burglars, dog escapes through open back doors and garden gate.

Dog escapes while workmen in the house, not closing doors/gates.

Dog let out into garden for ablutions. High wind has pulled down part of fencing - dog escapes.

If your dog escapes and is killed on the road, around half of local Councils will scan dead dogs for chips where possible so they can notify owners. It's the worst news but at least it brings closure.

Not everyone who finds a stray dog takes it to the dog warden. Many will take it to a local vet especially OOH on weekends. A vet can scan a dog quickly thus setting in train alerting an owner swiftly. If you lose your dog you can alert the chip company so if anyone scans and this chip comes up it's flagged as a lost dog.

The problem with the issue of owner choice is that if you could guarantee your dog would never stray this might be feasible. However, the externalities of irresponsible dog ownership are met by all of us. Substantial costs are incurred by local authorities, rescues, charities, vets, landowners and the police in dealing with stray dog issues. I looked at the figures just in Wales in detail for several years and in Wales it was several million pounds to support the infrastructure needed, and that didn't include things like street sweeping teams scanning dead dogs, or the cost of stray dog bites/accidents to NHS etc.

OP I too had a very needy dog who wanted to be close to me. Sadly as she grew older she became a bit senile and would often wander out of the garden if anyone had left the gate open, without really knowing where she was or where she was going. She had a collar and tag on but was quite nervous of strangers.

My vet said this is quite common in older, senile dogs. This was before chipping was freely available, and she wasn't chipped. One day she managed to get out and never came back - I was devastated. We never did find out what happened to her

So current Yamdog is chipped, as are all the Yamcats. Because it's a minor irritation at the time for them, and peace of mind for me.

That's my 2pworth.

My DD's partner's dog got out of their garden some years ago. They think he was picked up by someone who might have used him as a stud (they suspected this because of particular changes in his behaviour when they got him back). He was gone for a couple of months after which time he was dumped locally and picked up by the dog warden. When they got him back he was very unhappy and quite fat, so clearly had been penned up in some way with no exercise.

He was returned to them on the morning he was found. Obviously the person who had him had removed his collar and tag. If he hadn't been chipped he would probably have ended up being pts.

Thanks for the replies everyone - the responses have made me think and I will get him chipped. Chances are he'll never need to be scanned but I guess you never know. There was a time last year when I was at a beach rock pooling with the kids and a fellow beach goer pointed out that a man was walking up the beach away from us with my dog under his arm. I legged it after him and asked where he thought he was going with my dog, and the man claimed that my dog had 'looked lost' . He'd been happily jumping around in the rock pools, as were other dogs, so not sure why he thought that. But anyway, weird stuff like that does happen.