I have been reading up on this and I am highly considering it. How old does the pup need to be? When I take her in for her 8 week new home check can they do it then? How long does it take? Does it hurt the pup or just feel like a shot?

Is your dog(s) micro chipped? Do you recommend it or have any advice?

I'm not sure about ages of when to get it, talk to your vet, but definitely do it! Especially dogs with wander-lust, like huskies. Nikolai came chipped from the rescue - it doesn't hurt them, it's about the size of a grain of rice. It's a little extra peace of mind if he were to get out without his tags. (He also has a tag that has his Microchip info, too - we don't put it on his collar since it's a kinda wimpy tag and all the other info of how to contact us or the rescue is ON his collartag/boomerang tag.)

ETA: Also, check out some of your local boutique pet stores in the area - some have low cost vaccination, spay/neuter, and microchip services available. Here in Denver, you can go to one of these in-store "events" and the process/chip is $15 and registration with the service (we have Avid) is $19.

Edited AGAIN to Add: We also have our cat chipped, as he doesn't usually wear a collar... he's managed to make a break for it out the door and get up and over our fence a few times. We have Home Again for him.

Both of ours are microchipped. Koda came that way but we got Hailey done. It takes about 5 seconds (literally) to do. It feels no different than a pinch, or a quick shot. That's how they administer it and it sits right in their neck.

I believe they can do it at any age, but you should call your vet's office and speak with them about it. They will have the best advice. Hailey's was $45 and came with her chip, a collar tag (it lets people know that she's chipped and tells them which company to call for faster rescue) and the online account.

Koda wrote:

Hailey's was $45 and came with her chip, a collar tag (it lets people know that she's chipped and tells them which company to call for faster rescue) and the online account.

Jack came chipped and we had Sierra done. both also have the collar tag to say they are chipped as well. we use http://public.homeagain.com/index.html
as the service center to track our pets if they get lost.

it is a VERY good idea to do it

Dog can be any age. The humane society does it here as a part of there adoption. We adopt out as early as 7 weeks and they are spayed/neutered as well as micro-chipped.

Mishka, Cheyenne, and Odin are all chipped with homeagain. Mickey has a tattoo and Seamus wouldn't go anywhere if his lift depended on it LOL But i'm in the process of getting them all done.

The needle is a little larger than a regular vaccination needle as the microchip is about the size of a grain of rice. Doesn't hurt too bad, the girls kind of squirmed when they had it done but it doesn't hurt after the initial placement.

The only issue with the microchips is that some shelters or rescue facilities don't have the correct scanner to pick up the chip. There have been several reported cases where the shelter was using an "old" scanner which didn't pick up the "newer" microchip that was in the dog. I firmly believe microchips are good but they shouldn't be the only form of identification on a dog.

Ginger is also chipped from the rescue. I don't know of any friends with dogs that aren't chipped.

The way I understand it the initial fee gets the implant and the pet's name in the registery. Then I may choose to pay an annual fee which includes advanced services such as lost pet alerts and stuff like that. Is this correct?

We have not chipped Sabaka yet. Our vet recommended waiting to do it when he's under sedation for his neutering. Since everyone here says it's a very minor thing, I may go ahead and do it. The vet will do it now. I think she just wanted a few "good" experiences at the vet under our belt so to speak!

Nikki is chipped, but she's not much of an escape artist. I totally believe its worth it!

They can be chipped at any age.

Embry got chipped at 6 months when he was getting neutered. We did our cat at a Petco event and it took a few seconds. Zoey still isn't done yet, which reminds me I should!

Both of mine are chipped too. It's a really good idea. My mom does dog rescue, so she has the chips herself and gave them to my pups. Both of mine got them when they were around 3 months old. Neither of them acted like it hurt them at all. And don't let a vet tell you you need to shave the area first. I couldn't even believe that someone's vet made them shave a spot on their shoulder to get the chip. Granted, I've only heard of one vet requiring this. It's not necessary at all. I think vets are trying to make it seem like a big deal to make it something only vets can do and not people in rescue and such. Some vets just want $$$!

You pay for the chip and then you pay to register the chip. With some chips like homeagain, you can pay yearly to keep a pet profile, but your contact info will be with the chip's # for life.

Milo is chipped and they did it when he got his man hood taken away which was around 5 months old

One of mine is chipped and I will admit I have mixed feelings about microchips.

I love the concept and all but there are a few drawbacks that make me hesitant to have it done or to recommend them.

FWIW, our sibe was microchipped at the shelter the day we adopted him. It definitely hurt as I have never ever heard him yelp quite so loud as when he was chipped. He handles shots and blood draws just fine but not the microchip implant. Seriously, I will never forget the sound he made when they chipped him, poor baby.

I will NOT chip my chi girls and I honestly don't intend to chip any of my future dogs if I have the option. But just because I choose not to chip, that does not mean I am advocating for or against, that is a personal decision you'll have to make yourself.

One of my concerns with microchipping is the scanner issue that Kristina already mentioned. Certain scanners only pick up certain chips so a dog with one chip might not be recognized if scanned by a different scanner. Having a universal scanner and chip frequency would eliminate this problem but then it would make a lot of the chips already implanted essentially useless. How good is the chip if the person who finds and scans your dog doesn't register a chip because their scanner doesn't pick it up?

Another of my concerns is foreign bodies entering the body along with the chip that could potentially pose a health concern like a tumor, a reaction, or something at the injection site. It's not something that is too common but it has happened enough to make me take notice. I know of a number of people on other forums I'm on that have had horrible experiences with microchips and tumors or reactions at the injection site, just awful experiences. Again those are so few and far between when you consider the vast number of dogs who are chipped with no issues to speak of, but do keep it in mind as there is always the possibility. This one person I will never forget, she had her puppy chipped and her pup had a horrible reaction to the chip. After a few weeks of the site getting worse and worse rather than healing properly and numerous trips to the vet, they determined she had a non-cancerous growth at the injection site and had to do surgery to remove the growth and the microchip. Needless to say she will not ever be getting a microchip again!

Chip migration is another concern of mine. Again, this is another scenario that is not largely a problem but it can and does happen in a number of dogs. Basically what can happen is that the chip is implanted in the usual area (between the shoulder blades) and in the majority of dogs it stays in place. However in some cases the chip actually migrates to another part of the body. I know of people who have had their dog chipped and then months later it is halfway down the body or even in their leg. I know one person who had their dog chipped and 6 months later the vet scanned the dog for the chip and they couldn't find it. They started scanning all over the body and found the chip had migrated all the way down to the dog's foot!

I don't say any of this to discourage anyone from microchipping. I think they are great and a really good idea especially for high flight risk dogs. I just think everyone needs to make an informed decision and know the risks as well as the benefits.

Not all plans are created equal either, some you have to pay a certain amount annually...I think HomeAgain is like that but I'm not sure. Others you pay only when you need to update information, Avid is one that only charges $6 when you want to update info but otherwise there is no regular maintenance charge.

So my husky is chipped with an Avid microchip as required by the shelter we adopted him from. He was chipped in 2007 and the last time he was scanned was a year later in 2008 and the chip was still in it's original location at that time, and to date he has not had any issues related to the chip. If I had a choice I would not have had him chipped, and I will not chip my Chihuahua girls with whom I do have a choice.

Well, Kody came chipped, but Mya is not. I really want to get her done, but I'm not sure if its worth it. To be honest, my main concern is that my dogs don't wear collars in the house. This has been our rule since they were playing and Mya got stuck on Kody's collar and I ended up with many bites on my hand/arm to get them loose.

I don't feel comfortable with them being outside with no tags, but i'm like stuck in the middle. Put collars on them and take the chance of them getting stuck again or don't put them and take the chance of them (god forbid) one day sneaking out and not having our contact info on them.

I'm so confused!!!!

From what I have read and the info here as well. The biggest worry is what chip they use and what the "finders" scanner is. It seems the older chips depending on what brand could only be tracked by certain scanners. But they say the new scanners can pick up multi brands of chips just not every single one just yet. I think the ID tag for the collar is just to allow regular people to know the dog is chipped.

Can you track the chip yourself? Or does it have to be scanned by a machine? Thatz the part that lost me.


I called our vet office this morning and made an apointmnet. We were Hachi the 4th but she'd only be 7 weeks so we are waiting and are picking her up on the 10th since she turns 8 weeks on the 11th. The 11th is also a friday and I wanted to make the 2 hour drive the day before so I can make it to the vet within the first 48 hours due to breeder laws/ health contract and not be rushed to do it all in one day and still be late some how. (Vet office is only open 2 hours on sat. Plan is to pick her up on thursday and go to the vet friday morn apt at 10A.) Anyway she should be up-to-date on her shots so it's just a check up and hopefully she gets a clean bill of health. Jennifer said they would do the chipping that visit or the next depending on any issuses and the registration is the longest part. They chip and register it all for 52bux!

That's the good thing about the tag is that they let people know that the dog is chipped. The tags also have the dog's chip number on it, so god forbid the scanners didn't pick it up, they have the chip number and the company so that they can still contact you if your dog gets lost. The only time the scanner issue would come into play is if your dog got lost without its tags and the finders had an old scanner. I would think that in a few years, with new scanners, this will be an obsolete problem, like Val said.

For me, the benefits definitely outweigh the risks, but that is my personal opinion Clearly, it's whatever works best for you and your dog

I so didn't see your post at first VAL (sorry i totally repeated you some) I hadn't heard any of the health concern like the growths and tumors so thank you for pointing that out I will look into that. Our other 2 dogs aren't chipped but Pixie is scared to touch the grass with her feet so shes a house/porch picking pup lol and Dazyee always returns home after a 20min run around town. Plus she puts on a big show if she doesn't know you and acts all tough until you pet her, but her letting you pet her is the catch. She keeps her distance from strangers and she doesn't run far away just within a certain radius. When we lived in the backwoods she would go out run a while and come knocking on the door with her tail lol ...But anyway with huskys being known to escape and run and not return i figured it was just an extra safety step.

both mine are chipped - blaze was done when he got his second lot of jabs - skyla was already done when we got her (14 weeks old)