Identification Tattoos

edited June 2009 in General
How does everyone feel about tattooing their dogs for identification purposes? With microchipping being the norm nowadays most people don't look for a tattoo anymore but as with anything, it is an extra step to help reunite yourself with your dog. It would also help with keeping your animals out of animal testing facilities since they cannot test on marked animals.
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Comments

  • edited November -1
    I've actually never heard of this, although it does make sense!

    ... wonder if Keiko and I can get matching tattoos...
  • edited November -1
    Can you tell my mother that all my tattoos are for identification purposes and that if I get lost it'll make it easier for someone to reunite me with her?

    Thanks she needs that...
  • edited November -1
    Where would you tattoo a shiba? On the ear? Joe is thinking about getting a shiba tattooed on him.
  • edited November -1
    I've heard of that, but a lot of people find it very degrading for the dog. Like how a tattoo is more of a statement of possession (like as if the pups were a toy and not a living being), and some have even compared to being like the numbered tattoos used in concentration camps.

    I think it's an interesting idea, but would rather have some sort of fancy design put on my pups than a set of numbers.
  • edited July 2009
    usually the dog is tattooed on the abdomen or inner thigh, where there isn't much fur
  • edited November -1
    Yeah as said abdomen or inner thigh. The ear is too easy to cut off.

    LMAO @ Tara
  • edited November -1
    Personally with the advance in technology, and knowing very well how much tattoos hurt (remember almost the entire upper half of my body is covered), I consider tattooing an unwitting animal cruel almost to the extent of torture.
  • edited November -1
    Jessica do you still consider it torture if it's done while they're out anyway for something else? (ie neuter, teeth cleaning, etc)
  • edited November -1
    I thought they normally knock out a dog while tattooing them, as it's pretty hard to tattoo something that keeps moving
  • edited November -1
    If the dog is knocked out I wouldn't call it torture. However I still would call it excessive. Furthermore tattoos can easily become infected. I know many vets out here won't do it. And I in believe some places it is illegal. I still think it is needlessly cruel.
  • edited November -1
    In all seriousness, I would not tattoo my dog. I think micro-chipping is enough. If someone wants to return your animal, they will bring it down to a shelter and get it checked for a chip.
  • edited November -1
    No form of 'return' ID is fool proof. I have been hearing more and more stories of chipped dogs that were stolen and the chips dug out.

    And if you think tattooing a dog the same way you would a human is bad, you should see how they do it for show guinea pigs and rabbits. The animal has to suffer multiple spikes, that form a number id, simultaneously puncturing the ear. Followed by lots of powder and ink poured into the fresh wound. To prevent struggling, they would put the animal in a special sack, with a hole to pull the ear through, that keeps them still and allows for easy 'tattooing'
  • edited November -1
    I know many people that will watch out for lost posters and watch the newspaper and craigslist but will not go down to the shelter to check if the dog has a microchip. They feel that it is not their duty to go out of their way to find the dog its home.
  • edited November -1
    Also, I don't really count tattooing as a form of "return id" since most people wouldn't know how to look up a tattooing registry while a lot more people do know how to look up a microchipping registry. I consider it more of a proof of ownership.
  • edited November -1
    Rina is their a tattooing registry? Is it on the web?
  • edited November -1
    Yeah, there's 2 that I know of but I'm sure there are more. National Dog Registry and the AKC's registry system takes tattoo # along with microchip #.
  • edited November -1
    OK, so maybe it's the whole number sequence that is bothering me. I would never judge anyone for keeping their pet safe. If anyone felt the need then go for it. It does remind me a little too much of Nazi Germany though. It just hits a little too close to home. I couldn't look at my pet after I did that to him/her. Just a personal thing, and please respect it as that.
  • edited November -1
    But isn't microchipping just a number sequence? The only difference is that we either insert a chip into our animals or we tattoo them. I'm not understanding how tattooing is degrading them to numbers but microchipping isn't. Is it because we can't see the numbers?

    And you asking me/us to please respect it as that makes it seem like we're not already respecting you for your choice. Are you feeling attacked so far by anything I or someone else has said?
  • edited July 2009
    I didn't say it would degrade them. I wouldn't want to look at a tattoo that would remind me of how my Nonna and Zie suffered in WWII. That's all. Just hits home.

    I certainly did not feel disrespected or attacked by you (edit or by anyone else) in any way. I just meant that I would respect anyone's choices. I guess I didn't want to end up telling everyone my family story. I regret if I made you feel that way.
  • edited November -1
    Lynx has a tattoo in her ear. All my Malinois will have a tattoo identification. Currently only my cats & Shikoku have microchip Identification, however I'm still "debating" on the use of microchips.

    The cool thing about tattoos is that they are "stationary" it stays where it was put & doesn't require a scanner to look at it. Thus, your dog can be anywhere in the world and the tattoo can be easily identifiable. The dog ONLY needs 1 tattoo. The needles for "imprinting" are small.

    Microchips are "free floating" and end up relocating to other areas, other then were it was inserted. I believe Shoushuu's microchip is now "lost" somewhere in his shoulder or might be in his leg now. Microchips require a scanner. Not all scanners are "muti-readable". Even the scanners that they do make "multi-readable" won't work for other microchips that give off a higher or lower frequency.
    Microchips have the potiential to become "defective". Shoushuu had to be inserted TWICE because the first chip didn't read after it was inserted but thank goodness the 2nd chip did.
    My Shikoku have the Japanese Avid, which frankly is useless outside Japan...unless I have a Japanese Avid chip scanner. So I'd have to insert yet ANOTHER chip (a U.S. one) into my Shikoku & carry TWO scanners with me while traveling. The needle to insert the chip is BIG!

    I'd rather have tattooed my Shikoku. And in the future, I may do this. I think Shoushuu & Kotomi are "too old" for this now though (for me anyways). So they're stuck with microchips. I don't think the ear is an appropriate place for a Shikoku though, too small. It would have to be near the flank/belly on the "underside" of the dog.

    When I worked for the German Shepherd breeder, we tattooed puppies in their ears. There's NO sedation & it is done just once. I would just hold a pup in my arms and then temporarily restrain movement of the head. While the breeder quickly "crimped" an imprint onto the ear. By the time the puppy realized what had happened...it was already done. It literally takes a matter of seconds and then the puppy can be released.

    I believe you have to be a "certified tattoo I.D.er" even amongst canines.
  • edited November -1
    Sorry, my mistake. Beth was the one who said people see them as degrading. I got responses mixed up.
  • edited November -1
    Beth - One of my dog training buddies actually tattooed one of her working dogs with his name. Which I thought was interesting, I didn't know she could get it done like that.
  • edited July 2009
    I am starting to really distrust Microchips. Toby's chip migrated to his left leg. In one year. The vet was able to read it, but it took a while to find. It worries me, since he got out a few weeks ago. :( If he were to get lost, and people tried to scan him, they might not find it.
  • edited November -1
    I happened to have a microchip needle, thought id share for anyone that has never seen one. Its about the equivilent to an 8 gauge body piercing needle. I was going to microchip Akira, but im not going to use it. I dont have the heart to stab him. I know what an 8ga feels like, and ive seen the tiniest puppies jabbed with those. I think it is way to big a needle to use on smaller breed dogs. Im ot against them but as Corina said, they have some major flaws. I have never had a dog tattooed so I have no idea how it would be done on a dog, so I pass no judgment on them.
    image
  • edited November -1
    i don't think it would be something i would do with any dog of mine, but if i ever did i would never have it done in the ear or thigh but would insist on it been on the stomach or side. over here in the uk greyhound racing seems to be popular, all racing dogs have to have a tattoo'd id number in their ear, and i have heard that some evil thugs will chop off the dogs ears and dump them when their racing career comes to an end rather than find the dog a pet home or even pass them along to greyhound rescue. i've been told that this as also happened with stolen dogs and while i don't know if this is true i really wouldn't want to take the risk.
  • edited July 2009
    Ok, so everyone is entitled to their opinions and everything, just make sure you do all the research before you swear off on a particular method. I think it's important to use the method that is most commonly adhered to in whatever country you live in or plan to bring your dogs to. In the US, it's microchips for the more permanent id and they have largely replaced tattooing. We still see the majority of our retired racing greyhounds with litter ids tatooed into their ears (they are very ear shy by the way). Edit-it's true about the racers being dumped at tracks and killed. We have (rarely) tattooed during spay and neuters at owners request on the abdomen (the doctor did the tattoo free hand with a tattoo gun, but their is a clamp for ears and lips).

    From experience, Avid chips have been more likely to migrate in smaller breed dogs because of their anatomy, and when implanted in large breed puppies that were not yet adults. There are several other companies with better products, but the implanter needs to be properly licensed and trained also in correct implanting technique. Of note, MOST dogs notice the tiny vaccine needle way more than they notice the microchip needle. I decided against tattooing some of my current dogs because if they were to become at large, most people wouldn't know what to make of a tattoo and if they were to be killed and smooshed by a car, what good does a tattoo do? Animal control is still able to scan the remains for a chip, which they do when they get calls to pick up road kill. Just my thoughts.
  • edited November -1
    Yeah tattooing was popular more than 20 yrs ago when there wasn't another option. My dobermans were all tattooed as puppies.
    Know that nothing is fool proof. If you have chips its good to check them once a yr at check ups.

    So far we have had decent luck with the Homeagain chips.

    Investigate what your options are and by all means make sure whatever you choose you do it humanely with as little stress and trauma to the dog.

    Snf
  • edited November -1
    We microchipped all of our dogs. Corina, our pups have the Int' AVID too, but it's not Japanese only. Avid makes a Friendship chip (used in the states) and an ISO compliant one (which is likely the one you have) for use outside of the states. I'm not sure why the rest of the world largely accepts ISO compliant chips while the chips used in the states are not ISO compliant.. And thus many shelters, etc, don't have ISO compliant readers, either.

    As for migration, when we had the two pups done, we asked the vet to put two small stitches to hold the chip in place. When microchipping people, this is commonly done too (In people, microchipping is done for medical data purposes).

    I'm not sure if tattooing can be used in place of microchip for international travel, which is mainly the reason we got ours microchipped.
  • edited July 2009
    Hi Lindsay,
    You say "Avid chips have been more likely to migrate in smaller breed dogs because of their anatomy, and when implanted in large breed puppies that were not yet adults."

    What age do you think is best? I didn't micro-chip Bear until he was I think around 3 1/2 because honestly no one had recommended it to me before then and I didn't know that it was a popular method. By then he was full grown at around 180 pounds. His chip never migrated too far. My vet would scan it each time we visited to check.

    But the stories of having to get two kind've worries me.....I wouldn't want a chip to not be traceable (?sp). What age would you recommend for all of us who have puppies right now?

    (edit) Oh, and no problem Rina. :-]
  • edited November -1
    Dahmer has an ISO compliant microchip and a HomeAgain chip. Sassy just has a HomeAgain chip and Lumi has an AVID one since that's what the animal shelters use.
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