Miso and Sake both have chips that are scanned at each visit. Miso's is Homeagain, and Sake has an AKC CAR chip. So far they have stayed in the same place.
I remember Pam (Ryu) saying that Ryu's chip (avid) had migrated and couldn't be found and he was chipped as a puppy.
Both my guys have a chipped called ResQ. We brought both of them to the shelter to get them scanned, and their 'cheaper' scanner could read the chip but not the 'fancy' scanner.
Tetsu's chip has traveled to his side, below the shoulder blade. I think mainly this was due to Tikaani grabbing his neck instead of from Tetsu growing. Since it did move, I'm going to get him rechipped with the HomeAgain
So far I haven't seen any issues with Tetsu and his chip (even though it the feeling of it is so weird to me), but I've heard that sometimes a chip can cause a tumor to form, though it supposedly would occur in all chips not just the travelers.
You can sometimes feel the chips in thin skinned breeds especially, beneath the skin with some tissue that has encapsulated it which would naturally happen with an implant, but chip migration is the only complication I have ever personally run into, with Avid friend chips specifically. I wouldn't consider this a threat to health, inconvenient yes, but not an imminent medical danger to the pet.
Tara-you can microchip or tattoo your Kai at any age. Being a rare breed with less than ideal recall rates, I would say sooner the better.
Akira was tattooed in Canada and micro chipped upon arrival in France. I feel safer that way because if people find him even if they can't read the chip, I can prove ownership with his tattoo.
Of course it's like branding but I'd rather make sure he's correctly ID'ed than run the risk of Akira being stolen.
I unno you guys, I can't quite equate tattooing to branding. I mean, I only have tattoos on my ankle and foot so I can't say for certain yet but burning myself is a lot more painful than my tattoos ever were.
Rina I will disagree with you on that. A number of my friends perform branding as well as other means of scarification. Branding is done with VERY hot irons and the nerve endings are burned instantly therefore it hurts for less than a second. It is a 3rd degree burn (a burn destroying surface tissue, as opposed to 2nd which just bubbles, and first which just suck). 2nd and 1st degree burns hurt a lot! Third, not really, you are just more prone to infection so you have to care for it. Unfortunately I have had all three kinds of burns. None from branding, all just from the worlds most dangerous oven when I lived in NYC.
Tattoos hurt considerably more than a 3rd degree burn.
Thanks Jessica for the interesting info. That's why I said I couldn't say for certain, I've never had a 3rd degree burn. Can I ask you where your most painful tattoo is?
I was horrified when I kept seeing Montana farmers bring their hounds and hunting dogs in for GSWs/bear maulings/vaccines who had enormous brands on their sides. There were a few with freeze brands, but a couple ranchers opted for hot iron cattle brands with their ranch insignia. It looked painfull.
First I should say I feel like my pain tolerance has diminished since entering my thirties (or maybe I just have less to prove). I used to be able to sit for HOURS. I did my right sleeve in 5 ten hour sittings. I try not to sit for more than four hours now.
But without a doubt the part that hurt the most for me (and it varies from person to person) was my waist/ribs. I actually wept during the tattoo. I mean straight up ugly cry.
Then again my artists nickname is hammer-hands....I started my Moto/Piglet tribute tattoo about 2 weeks ago and my arm was SO bruised.
Tattooing the ID information on pets is a suggested method by AKC. I think it's because some of AKC dogs don't wear collars very often, esp. if it's a show dog, it serves a immediate way of id the pet if it gets lost. However, I don't think tattooing is necessary since there are microchips and the usual pet owners.
There are from what I gather two ways to 'tattoo' an animal. The one done on the abdomen/thigh is more like the kind done on people, which are usually done at the vet's office under anesthesia. The other form is done on the ear with a machine that punches small holes through the ear that form the shape of numbers (found a picture of a cat getting done). So each way would have a different form and duration of pain.
The idea of it being like branding, I feel, is not comparing the pain factor but more devaluing the pet. We brand cattle and pigs, mostly animals that we would kill and cook. We don't want to think such things of our pets.
And here's something else, an ad slogan for a pet tattoo site:
"Valuable personal property have serial numbers. Why not our dogs and cats ?....Your TV set, VCR, bicycle, and most appliances have serial numbers stamped on them. This was set up to identify goods and trip up the criminals who use fences and pawn shops to dispose of stolen articles. While these items are protected, one valuable item is not.... YOUR PET !"
Many people don't want to think that their pet is just another appliance, so the idea of tattooing kind of gives that feeling to them.
All very good information. Koda will be micro-chipped with Homeagain. That is what my vet uses. He does want some of that extra skin to fill in more before he will do it, probably around the time of neutering.
I also have ID tags that hang on a collar (or chain/fursaver) around their neck, but collars have the potiential to fall off or get chewed up. And if you're apart of my animal clan (cats) or pack (dogs)...that's exactly what always happens. I need to invest into more durable and sturdy collars...for sure.
We chip all our dogs, some are chipped twice since they were chipped in Europe w/ non-ISO chips.
Also the Akitas we got from Europe (maybe not Huna) are tattooed too. I have heard they use a local anesthetic to tattoo them so it is not overly painful.
Comments
I remember Pam (Ryu) saying that Ryu's chip (avid) had migrated and couldn't be found and he was chipped as a puppy.
Tetsu's chip has traveled to his side, below the shoulder blade. I think mainly this was due to Tikaani grabbing his neck instead of from Tetsu growing. Since it did move, I'm going to get him rechipped with the HomeAgain
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The tattoing reminds me a bit of cattle branding. [ tho I don't kno if it's the same pain level or effectiveness, etc. ]~
Tara-you can microchip or tattoo your Kai at any age. Being a rare breed with less than ideal recall rates, I would say sooner the better.
Of course it's like branding but I'd rather make sure he's correctly ID'ed than run the risk of Akira being stolen.
Tattoos hurt considerably more than a 3rd degree burn.
But without a doubt the part that hurt the most for me (and it varies from person to person) was my waist/ribs. I actually wept during the tattoo. I mean straight up ugly cry.
Then again my artists nickname is hammer-hands....I started my Moto/Piglet tribute tattoo about 2 weeks ago and my arm was SO bruised.
The idea of it being like branding, I feel, is not comparing the pain factor but more devaluing the pet. We brand cattle and pigs, mostly animals that we would kill and cook. We don't want to think such things of our pets.
And here's something else, an ad slogan for a pet tattoo site:
"Valuable personal property have serial numbers. Why not our dogs and cats ?....Your TV set, VCR, bicycle, and most appliances have serial numbers stamped on them. This was set up to identify goods and trip up the criminals who use fences and pawn shops to dispose of stolen articles. While these items are protected, one valuable item is not.... YOUR PET !"
Many people don't want to think that their pet is just another appliance, so the idea of tattooing kind of gives that feeling to them.
Also the Akitas we got from Europe (maybe not Huna) are tattooed too. I have heard they use a local anesthetic to tattoo them so it is not overly painful.
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