Microchip Your Dog

Every dog owner wants to keep his or her beloved dog as safe as possible. You do everything you can do make sure your dog is well cared for and healthy.  You may not think that keeping identification tags is important, but it is. What if your dog gets away from you or escapes your yard and you search to no avail? What do you do, especially if your dog has no identification? Placing a collar with an identification tag is important, but collars sometimes become lost.  When you consider the fact that many animal shelters only keep dogs for seven days, you want to make sure that your dog is properly identified. That is where the microchip comes in handy. The microchip is a way to identify lost dogs and helps ensure that your lost pooch finds his or her way back home.

The technology of the microchip has become so popular that most animal clinics and animal shelters have the ability to scan dog for microchip identification. If you opt for the microchip, you should know that it is a painless procedure for your dog. Your vet will insert a tiny microchip about the size of a grain of rice directly under your dog's skin using a hypodermic needle. The microchip is usually placed behind the neck. The microchip contains a special digital number that has been entered on a national microchip database. That information will give the person your contact information. When you dog is lost, a veterinarian or animal shelter can use a special scanner to retrieve the microchip information. It is that easy.

Dog owners love the idea of the microchip because it is permanent. You cannot remove the microchip and unlike a collar or tags, it cannot be lost or destroyed. This is one of the best features of a dog microchip.

There are a few important things to remember about dog microchips. First, if your dog gets lost, you should never just sit back and wait for a call, even if your dog has a microchip. Not all veterinarians and shelters are equipped with this technology. You need to take the time to call around and place “lost dog” flyers around your neighborhood. In addition, you need to make sure you take the time to update your contact information should you move. It does little to no good to have your dog implanted with the microchip if the information on the national database is incorrect. Your veterinarian can give you information on how to update this information.

It is important to get your dog implanted with the microchip at a young age. Puppies can have the microchip at age six weeks. Even small breeds of dogs can handle this procedure. The insertion of the microchip is not painful and feels like a regular vaccination shot. You can have your dog implanted with the microchip at your veterinarian office for a very reasonable cost.