I told everyone I was going to be annoying <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Somewhere I posted how my 7mos shep/mal had broken his leg at 4 mos. Well, needless to say, he is a very expensive pup now. About 3k worth for a mixed breed, lol! Has anyone had experience with microchipping and do you think it is worth it? I am considering it for both him and my older shep/lab 7 year old. Opinions?

Anyone who spends $3,000.00 to fix a broken leg of their dog is a good person. Normal people dont do this. My hat is off to you and I would like to tell you how much I repsect you for doing this.

One your question about chipping. Go ahead and do it. It does not cost a lot of money.

Ed

Just make sure the chip can be read by the local animal shelter.
I don't know if it's still an issue, but when I was looking into chipping a few years ago the different chips were not able to be universally read by the scanners.
roz.

Roz you bring up an excellent point. Not only from the standpoint of your local animal shelter bieng able to read the chip, but to compete you must own your own chip reader to identify your dog. I'm in this predicament because when I bought my latest pup he was not tattooed. So now I'm faced with either tattooing him, or inserting a microchip and spending $300 for a reader. As far as spending money on my dog, I would put a 2nd mortgage on my house if I had to. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

By all means chip your dogs, it's well worth the 40 to 60 bucks (depending on where you live). And the two microchip companies that exist in the US (HomeAgain and Avid) have universal scanners that will pick up either chip. The only problem we foresee with microchipping is that Banfield (Petsmart vet clinics)have started to use their own microchip, unreadable by any other scanner. However, I have yet to pick up a dog that has one yet, they aren't popular and probably never will be since they will not give shelters and rescues the scanner at a reduced price, and they charge 400 bucks for their scanner.
We once had a Sibe stolen from one of our adopters, thanks to our microchipping him, we got him back 3 months later from a shelter in Minnesota (we're in NY/NJ), so I'd say it's well worth the cost <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> .

All my dogs are chipped and I will tattoo my GSD also.

 Quote:

Originally posted by Ed Frawley:
Anyone who spends $3,000.00 to fix a broken leg of their dog is a good person. Normal people dont do this. My hat is off to you and I would like to tell you how much I repsect you for doing this.

One your question about chipping. Go ahead and do it. It does not cost a lot of money.

Ed

Lol,
Not much seems to cost alot after that leg break, my local vet LOVES me. I have x-rays if anyone wants to see. Its amazing how much you'll finance to make something right. It wouldn't have cost so much, but it happened during Hurricane Frances over the holiday weekend. Poor buddy had to stay in the animal ER for a week with a morphine patch until the specialist got in to operate. The operation and 3 nylon pins was only about $1200. Pins are still in. They're leaving them unless they begin to "migrate"

As for not being normal, well I never have been LOL! I figured it was a human accident that broke him, a human had to fix him (during the storm puppy still had to be taken out, he got tangled up under my husband legs, tripped hubby and hubby fell on him)

He's a little trooper though. Cannot even tell he had a break. He's a holy terror. I feel like something went a bit amiss with his training though. The two weeks at the ER his housebreaking skills disappeared. Then when he got home he was on crate rest for a month, house rest for another month. He just didn't get to do/experience what most puppies do for 2 months.

Oh well, check out the picture page to see him. I posted the brat last night.

BTW, I'll be getting that chip done when he gets neuter this coming February.

Thanks <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Good for you.
Lots of people do not realize that dogs cost money to have around and will not take care of them.

I would get a tatoo as well as a chip. Lots of Animal Control facilities dont have readers or are lazy and don't use them.

A tatoo is obvious.
Good luck,

One note: chips migrate. Do not count on your chip being in the same place that it was last year. One of my dogs has two, her chip migrated to her chest, so we wound up placing another because no one could find it until I pointed it out.

It is worth taking your dog to the vet or shelter once a year to make sure the chip is in a place that is easy to find.

Even if the scanner cannot read the chip info, it will beep to notify you that there is a chip in place, at least the two that are most popular.

I believe that the newer microchips are now made in a way that they are very unlikely to migrate. They are rice-shaped (and sized) and now have little "spurs" that stick out as soon as the chip in injected - holding it in place. Pretty neat stuff!

Molly