# Yes or No?



## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Do you have a microchip in your Hav?


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Yes, and my puppies all get a microchip before they leave.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Yes, I got Tucker's put in when he was neutered. The chip is the size of a grain of rice, and my vet said if it was possible it was good to have it put in when they were under, because it is a bit painful, otherwise. 

But, if Kimberly has her puppies get theirs before then, it must not be too bad.


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## mckennasedona (Feb 20, 2007)

All of my dogs are chipped. They were all chipped before we brought them home from the breeders


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## Brady's mom (Dec 1, 2006)

Both of my boys have microchips.


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

Yes, both of my dogs are chipped. When adopted they both had chips, I just had to register them.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Why *wouldn't* someone chip their dog? I'm not asking to be annoying, I'm really curious. It makes complete sense to do it to me.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Sheri, my vet has asked me a few times why I don't do my own vaccines because the needle is much, much smaller than the microchip is. I know many breeders who will do vaccines, but won't do the microchip because of the size. It isn't not something I can do by myself and it takes a huge bonus treat to get through it!

Carolina, I've heard one concern about some worries about cancer from them. I don't think there are any studies that prove a link though.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

All three of my guys are micro chipped as well as my kitty.


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

i encourage all of my family members to chip their dogs.

i really can't think of a logical reason not to. it's inexpensive, and won't fall off like a collar will or tags. i just hope vets are scanning chips on all "new" patients...and rescues too.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Absolutely, he was chipped by the breeder before we brought him home!


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## LuvCicero (Mar 31, 2008)

Yes, Cicero is chipped...to me it's better safe than sorry.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Amy, I've asked my vet and they do not scan the chips of new clients and I told her that they should. (We have a good relationship and feel comfortable being direct with each other.) I was shocked they do not.

By the way, everyone should ask their vet to check the chip on your regular visits to make sure they are still working. Some microchips have failed after a while. I have a scanner and check my own dogs, but I also ask my vet to check them for verification on our health testing.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Our vet checked it the first time we brought Scooter in and they've checked it a time or two since then. He doesn't wear a collar unless we're out of our yard so it gives me a little bit of peace knowing he's chipped.


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## mimismom (Feb 15, 2009)

thanks for the tip on making sure the vet checks it... Mimi was chipped at the shelter.


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## MopTop Havanese (Sep 25, 2006)

Yes- all my dogs are chipped and I chip my puppies before they go to their new homes.


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## kelrobin (Jan 21, 2008)

After having a lab get lost for 9 days once (jumped _two_ fences), I can't imagine NOT chipping. Although he was not chipped, he was lucky to still have his tags which brought him home. Thanks, Kimberly, for the reminder to check it.


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## MaddiesMom (Apr 1, 2007)

Yep, Kimberly had Maddie microchipped before we got her. I had it checked when she was CERF'd at a dog show to make sure it worked and could easily be found.


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## karin117 (Mar 29, 2008)

All of my dogs have chip. I live in sweden and here we have a law that say that all dogs must have chip of tatoo. It is to make it possibily for the police to find the owner. The numer are registrated at a national register, kept by the Agriculture department and the Swedish Kennel club. 
The law make no difference for purebreds or mixed dogs.
You can say "Big Brother is watching you", but at the same time, if your dog are stolen or run away, it can make a big differens.


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## Milo's Mom (Aug 31, 2008)

Yes, absolutely, Milo is chipped!


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## The Fussy Puppy Gang (May 21, 2007)

All of our dogs are microchipped! Back in 2001 we even bought a universal scanner and I took lessons from our vet tech on how to implant the chips because we had so many unchipped dogs coming into our rescue.

However, I agree with Kimberly. Giving a vaccination shot is MUCH easier than inserting a chip. That needle is intimidating but it is SO sharp that, if you do it right, the dog feels very little - or no - pain. Even so I could not chip Pepper or April myself. They're just too small. I had our vet tech do it.

We do scan our dogs yearly to see if the chips are still in place, and we scan any strays that show up, too. We've been able to get two adorable dogs home by having that scanner handy!

What is the opinion of the various registries out there now? I'm very disappointed in Home Again's recently instigated 'blackmail' (my word for it) fee, an annual charge to keep your dog's info "active" in their database. 

We're planning on going back to AVID chips with our next dogs. They don't charge an annual fee. Only a one-time registration fee to put your animal into the database and a small fee for any owner generated updates.


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## tuggersmom (Oct 16, 2008)

yes, Tugger was chipped by the breeder.

But a separate question. I was wondering if the chip has helped anyone get their dog returned. I had my GSD chipped and tattooed and she ended up in the pound for the day when she escaped my yard. (She only went around the corner but they didn't know her) No one checked for a chip and they said the tattoo was too old to read. They didn't seem much interested in checking anything except for the city license which she didn't have as she wasn't wearing her collar. I found her there after I noticed she was gone from the yard and phoned them after looking around the neighborhood.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Tuggersmom, that would make me mad. Did they say why they didn't scan?


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## Hav a lot of pets (Apr 4, 2008)

I chipped Linus. I know pounds often do not check for chips. They often do not do a lot of things, let's be honest. I chipped in hopes that the probability increases that I get him back if someone takes him or he gets lost somehow. I know of vets who have scanned a dog, and the person that brought the dog in was not the owner. Hopefully a vet has enough emotional strength to really check and question.


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

Yes, both Benji and Lizzie were microchipped by their breeder. All her puppies have microchips.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

The Fussy Puppy Gang said:


> What is the opinion of the various registries out there now? I'm very disappointed in Home Again's recently instigated 'blackmail' (my word for it) fee, an annual charge to keep your dog's info "active" in their database.
> 
> We're planning on going back to AVID chips with our next dogs. They don't charge an annual fee. Only a one-time registration fee to put your animal into the database and a small fee for any owner generated updates.


I agree with you in regard to Home Again and will not use them anymore. My oldest Hav has their microchip and they grandfathered her into their program, so we don't have to pay the annual fees, but still. I use Avid and I am registered as the "buyer" of the chips, but I don't register my puppies unless I am going to keep one. I give the registration info directly to the puppy owner so they are the primary owner listed with Avid.

I haven't heard anything bad about AKC's microchip registry, but I haven't really heard much at all about it either.


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

Both of mine are chipped. Kodi is with Home Again, and I was never notified about this new fee. I'm going to get in touch with them to make sure he is on their list. Shelby has a different chip, can't remember the name and I am too tired to look right now.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Michele, you should be able to email Home Again with Kodi's number to ask. I contacted them almost two years ago and found out that we were okay (not being charged the annual fee), but I did complain that they were doing it and told them I wouldn't use their "new" service for any of my other dogs. I think they need to hear that it is a bad idea.


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

Absolutely will be doing it with their spay/neuter.


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

The Fussy Puppy Gang said:


> What is the opinion of the various registries out there now? I'm very disappointed in Home Again's recently instigated 'blackmail' (my word for it) fee, an annual charge to keep your dog's info "active" in their database.
> 
> We're planning on going back to AVID chips with our next dogs. They don't charge an annual fee. Only a one-time registration fee to put your animal into the database and a small fee for any owner generated updates.


Wanda & Kimberly, I have AVID in both of my dogs and they charged an "update" fee this year also


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Jill, can you provide more information on this? On their web site, they still claim there is no annual fee, but there is a $6 fee to change owner information. Source: http://www.avidid.com/faq/index.html


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

More great information, but complexing. When we have them microchipped, do we select the service or is that predetermined by the vet's office and device they use???


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

When I initially registered Tess (December '07) they had 3 plans:
PLAN A: Multiple Pet Registry. $50.00 to protect up to 5 pets.
PLAN B: Single Pet Registry or Owner Transfer: $18.50 per pet for a lifetime pet registration (ex. 2 pets = $37.00)
INFORMATION CHANGE: Enclose $6.00 (ex. change of address). Special Military rates available.

I received a letter a few months ago summarizing all of my information. My work phone changed so it cost me $6.

Kimberly, based on their website it looks like you're required to do a new registration (the $18.50 fee) for a change of ownership.


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

Evye's Mom said:


> More great information, but complexing. When we have them microchipped, do we select the service or is that predetermined by the vet's office and device they use???


Usually a vet works with a specific company.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Jill, I was sure you posted that there was a new "annual" fee, not an update fee, so ignore my earlier comments if they don't apply. I think Avid has always required an update fee. My puppy owners only have the new registration fee because I don't register the specific microchip under my name (only the initial bulk microchip purchase like a veterinarian does), so there should only be one initial fee for them. I buy and insert the microchips myself.

Sharlene, the service is dependent on the product purchased. If you purchase the Home Again chips, you need to use their service to be traced. If you purchase the Avid chips, you need to use their service. I'm not sure about the AKC chip/service.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Havtahava said:


> Jill, I was sure you posted that there was a new "annual" fee, not an update fee, so ignore my earlier comments if they don't apply. I think Avid has always required an update fee. My puppy owners only have the new registration fee because I don't register the specific microchip under my name (only the initial bulk microchip purchase like a veterinarian does), so there should only be one initial fee for them. I buy and insert the microchips myself.
> 
> Sharlene, the service is dependent on the product purchased. If you purchase the Home Again chips, you need to use their service to be traced. If you purchase the Avid chips, you need to use their service. I'm not sure about the AKC chip/service.


Kimberly, Is there a popular Microchip that is widely used by a lot of places?


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## Lunastar (Feb 9, 2009)

All mine have the AVID chip. I know our shelter here scans every animal that comes through. I can only hope the smaller shelters do the same.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Linda, the two most popular are Home Again and Avid, but a lot of people are no longer using Home Again since they started implementing an annual fee. These chips require different scanners to "read" them (the actual microchip number), but most scanners will see them and let the person who is scanning know there is a chip there. (I forget exactly how it displays, but it does display that there is something there if it can see it.) I have a universal scanner at my house, so it reads all the microchips and gives me the specific chip number so that I do not need multiple scanners.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/microchp.html

Finding interesting information concerning Microchips that I wanted to share.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Now, to find out the type of Microchip my Vet uses. The Universal Scanner is the way to go to read the microchips.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Kimberly, the site Linda listed says that the Avid can only be read by an Avid scanner, and that the Home Again is the universal scanner, and the better way to go. Am I reading that wrong? 

But, you are saying that you use Avid and the Universal scanner works with it, right? I'm concerned because Tucker has the Avid, and I want to make sure he's as safe as possible.

We even have a vet here in town that won't microchip at all, because he said the scanners don't work.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Sheri said:


> Kimberly, the site Linda listed says that the Avid can only be read by an Avid scanner, and that the Home Again is the universal scanner, and the better way to go. Am I reading that wrong?


Well, since I have a universal scanner and can read both Avid and Home Again, I'd have to say something isn't right. (I didn't go read the site again, so I don't know if it is your interpretation or if they are just trying to sell their scanners.)

Sounds like that local vet needs to buy a new scanner! LOL My vet found out one of her scanners (her favorite, of course) wasn't working when we went in for OFA testing. It said there was no microchip in either of my dogs. I told her that I had just checked them, so she grabbed another scanner that did read them. Having a scanner actually display that there is no microchip (when there is one) is the worst possible reading.


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

Posh is chipped with the AKC service...I have a cheapo for a vet, so I'm guessing it's a cheaper service. Hopefully it's easily read by all.


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Lina said:


> Why *wouldn't* someone chip their dog? I'm not asking to be annoying, I'm really curious. It makes complete sense to do it to me.


It makes sense to me also but some reasons people have is they worry about cancer from them, there have been infections in very rare instances, and sometimes the chips travel and on a quick check, nobody would know it's there.


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## herrick51 (Mar 4, 2008)

Brody has an AVID chip placed at the first vet check after we brought him home. The vet was very good, and stressed the risks of the puppy getting loose and lost or being stolen. I was (duh) ignorant to the need for regular scanning to be sure it is still in place and working. Thanks again, Kimberly! (I think you are terrific; you've helped me and Brody with so much great information.)


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

All 3 of my guys are microchipped and wear ID collars at all times. It's a good backup should they not be wearing their collar or it falls off. Bella escaped the other day and I was lucky she had her collar on! She was returned within minutes of getting out and running around the neighborhood! In the minutes she was missing, I was glad she was microchipped as a backup.


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

Thanks for the info Kimberly. I'll do that.


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## AKathy (Mar 15, 2008)

Absolutely.


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## Janet Zee (Mar 16, 2007)

Both Bacci and Bella were chipped by my Breeder. Home Again was the service she used.


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## PattyNJ (Sep 19, 2007)

Yup, Buttons is chipped. She is the first time I ever had any of my dogs chipped and I will certainly do this again. 

Actually, for as many times as I get lost, I should get myself chipped!


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

PattyNJ said:


> Yup, Buttons is chipped. She is the first time I ever had any of my dogs chipped and I will certainly do this again.
> 
> Actually, for as many times as I get lost, I should get myself chipped!


I know, would somebody please chip me !!!! I get lost driving a mile to our closest grocery store.


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Tori has 2 microchips implanted. Here's why:

_"Currently, most pets in the US who have a microchip, have one with a radio-frequency of 125 kHz. However, many other countries have transitioned to a 134.2 kHz ISO microchip, and recent Congressional action suggests that our country may do the same in the near future. Until an official national standard is in place, we recommend to our clients that their pets get two microchips, both an unencrypted 125 kHz and a 134.2 kHz ISO chip. With both chips implanted, as long as the shelter is using either scanner to scan for microchips today, tomorrow or in the future, the pet will be protected."_


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## Nina (Jan 10, 2009)

We microchiped Ollie on Thursday, 03/19/09. We decided on a Bayer, resQ ISO chip. The cost was a one time $80.00 fee. I registered him via www.PetLink.net (there was no registration fee and there are no annual renewal fees). The vet did it when he was being neutered.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

I've never heard of that brand, Nina. Are they readable by other scanners?


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## Nina (Jan 10, 2009)

My vet said that it is an ISO chip, so it mets international standards. This being said, I am assuming that any scanner that can read an ISO chip will be able to read it. Bayer (maker of aspirin) is quite a large company, so I am comfortable with it.


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## Carefulove (Mar 20, 2009)

Mine will be.


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