The SV (the German GSD club) is now requiring chips in all the dogs they register.

I know that from working at the Humane Society and vet clinics, both places where many lost dogs end up, the chip plays a huge part in getting many of them home. Where I live now, in BC, tattoos are very popular, but the problem is - they are only helpful in BC, where each clinic has it's own code.

The website cited in that article didn't have very many case studies, and one of them was about paralysis from a botched chip placement, another about excessive bleeding. Those are procedural problems, really unrelated to the chip itself.

Animals get tumors all over their bodies, and no doubt a foreign object may play a part in that, once in a blue moon. As it stands now, I think the benefit of the chip, far outweighs the alleged risks... especially seeing as something like less than 20% of lost pets are ever reunited with their homes.

I would love to see a conclusive study done either for or against it.

Both of my dogs are chiped along with almost every dog I know in the area and I have yet to hear of any relation between the chip and any illness. I feel knowing that if your dog ends up in doggy jail or the vet you have a far greater chance of getting your dog back with a chip (rather than a tattoo) is well worth it .

Thanks for the input!

I agree that a chip is a great way to get a dog back if he/she looses a collar ID. The only reason I even searched for adverse reactions is because of some mouse micro-chip studies I remembered reading where 1-10% of chipped mice developed cancer over the course of their lifetimes. I had an appointment at the vet to get my dogs chipped today and ended up cancelling.

I'll do my research and make what is hopefully the best decision. Where I'm going, there would be only a few places a lost dog would end up without needing to be flown or shipped, so a microchip may be less necessary.

Many rescues that chip also early spay/neueter their animals. I think the health risks involved with early neuter are worthy of concern, but it sounds like microchipping may be quite harmless and worth the minimal risk of cancer or other adverse reactions.

The two dogs I own now are the first ones I've had microchipped, but I will probably always do it from now on, unless more definite links become known between the chips and possible cancers, etc. I did have some concerns about putting that foreign object in there, but like many others have stated, I feel that the benefits outweigh the potential risks at this point.

The thing that happened with one of my dogs, though, is that the chip has migrated. The vet that cropped his ears (not my regular vet, since they don't do cropping) talked me into having him chipped at the same time. Well, now, every time my regular vet checks, the chip shows up way down low in his right shoulder area. I can't help wondering if him being such a young guy at the time, with all that loose puppy skin, is the reason the chip didn't stay put.

I'm kind of paranoid about my dogs having ID on anytime they're away from home, so if we go anywhere in the car, they always have their collars on, but if there was ever a situation where he got lost and someone was looking for a chip, I just hope they look carefully all over his body and not just on top of the withers where the chips are placed.

Something to keep in mind if you chip, you should have your vet or someone with a reader check that the chip is working on a regular basis. NARA now accepts chips as a form of ID for French Ring competition, and every trial I have judged this year has had at least 1 dog who was chipped, whose chip we couldn't find. I don't think the chip "fell out", I think it stopped working or migrated somewhere that we weren't looking. Having had a dog who's chip migrated all the way down to her elbow though, and is now on it's way back up towards her shoulder, I checked pretty much everywhere. And these weren't old dogs, with old chips, each chip had been insert within the last year or two.

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

I'm kind of paranoid about my dogs having ID on anytime they're away from home, so if we go anywhere in the car, they always have their collars on, but if there was ever a situation where he got lost and someone was looking for a chip, I just hope they look carefully all over his body and not just on top of the withers where the chips are placed.

I obviously can't speak for everyone, but every time I scan for a chip, I do the whole back and shoulder area. It is common for the chip to migrate somewhat. Also, the readers to pick them up fairly well if they are present on the animal, at least most of them do.

I vote for chipping. RUby was chipped within two days of me bringing her home.

Regarding the mouse study:
The father of a friend, George Moore, MD, did a study once in which he implanted a dime in rats. (around l973)
All of the rats developed cancer. His conclusion, which was submitted in a formal paper to NIH, was that "Money Causes Cancer".
His point was that if you use the right type of rat or mouse anything will cause cancer.
(This is not helpful information, I just thought of it after reading your post re:chipping)

Love it! That is a really good reality check to keep in mind with ANY study.