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Do you microchip your goldens?

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5.1K views 54 replies 38 participants last post by  Willow52  
#1 ·
I just don't get when people opt to microchip their golden(s). I understand the pros of implementing microchip, but I simply can't stand it. Dogs are living beings afterall, and I am sure they don't like some tracking device implemented under their skin. What do you think?
 
#5 · (Edited)
I did. I would just be heart broken if Murphy was lost or stolen. Our vet told me that 5 years ago they only had about 1 or 2 dogs per year brought in by people that had found them, wanting to get it checked for a chip and there by locate the owners. But now he says that they get 2 or 3 a month. So I thought that I would hate it if he was lost and could be id'd but wasn't able to. Plus I know a lady who had her dog stolen but returned from almost 500 miles away, when the new owner took it into their vet and the chip showed up. New owners had bought the dog for a pretty penny, but had no idea it was stolen. But I do understand why some people don't like them. I was not totally comfortable with it myself. I fear next it will be people being chipped. But I don't believe that dogs know that they are being tracked. Mine doesn't even know his is there, and it was put in at the same time he was neutered. So he didn't even feel it.
 
#6 ·
my lab and my golden are both chipped and my beagle will be chipped as soon as i have some extra cash. I'm pretty sure my dogs don't care, and neither flinched when it was implanted. They flinch more when I clip their toenails. I don't know and reason why people WOULDN'T microchip. Its just another insurance policy to get your dog home if they get lost.
 
#8 ·
Yep..I'm with everyone else...both of my puppies were microchipped when they were neutered so they didn't feel a thing. The thought of my babies being lost and stuck in a shelter with no means of identification doesn't sit well with me.
 
#14 ·
All our dogs are microchip. We have it done when they are spayed/neutered. Our vet charges $10 to do it and I like the piece of mind that if they get lost and if they lose their collar the microchip is one more way of finding them.

Now our microchips are not a tracking device like GPS, when it's scanned by a vet or shelter the scanner will read the info on it and then they will be able to contact us.
 
#15 ·
They are living beings, but they are dogs and not people. They are probably more inconvenienced by wearing a collar than having a chip that, once implanted, they can't feel.

I did chip Scout within a few days of getting her at around 8 weeks old. And guess what? She wasn't even phased by that big needle, the vet was surprised!
 
#16 ·
The chip does not TRACK the dog. It's not Doggy LoJack. It's just a permanent source of ID that cannot be lost or easily removed like a collar.
 
#21 ·
Every four legged furbaby in my house is chipped. 2 goldens and 2 cats. Wouldn't have it any other way. I know for sure that they would rather be at home with myself and my husband if they were lost.

p.s. - Our golden boy Cooper was lost in Tennessee while we were on vacation. Doggy Daycare lost him. 400 miles away from home and I could think about was that he was chipped - we found him after a 5-6hr. search. The most difficult thing I have gone through and I would never want to go there again ! So YES every furbaby in our house is chipped.
 
#23 ·
... and I am sure they don't like some tracking device implemented under their skin. What do you think?
You mean, like they're worried about their privacy being violated? :uhoh: :roflmao:

It isn't a tracking device, it's an identification tool. Dogs can't talk after all and with that in mind, an identification tool that will help them be returned to their home is a definite plus IMO.

Both my goldens have been microchipped.
 
#27 ·
We were going to microchip Bauer, but he instead, got him a cell phone. As long as he doesn't rack up data charges and just sticks to voice and text, he will be fine. But if Data Charges start showing up on my plan, I'll take his phone away, get him microchipped and Circumsized!

Honestly, the breeder chipped Bauer. I registered him with Home Again prior to filling out his AKC registration.
 
#31 ·
We were going to microchip Bauer, but he instead, got him a cell phone. As long as he doesn't rack up data charges and just sticks to voice and text, he will be fine. But if Data Charges start showing up on my plan, I'll take his phone away, get him microchipped and Circumsized!
^^^LMAO!^^^

My golden was chipped just before adoption from the city shelter. He was also given great medical care (hernia operation), all his shots, neutured (sp?) and a license - all at ridiculously low price. They won't release adult dogs otherwise. I am glad that he was chipped. It gives me peace of mind.
 
#28 ·
Jamie was tattooed by the breeder. I was upset at the time because I felt his perfect body had been defiled. Now that he's grown more fur you can't see it unless you really look for it.

I had him microchipped when I had him neutered. At one time there was talk of microchipping children; they were going to glue it to a tooth. However, it is rare that a missing child can't be identified by a photo whereas many dogs look alike in photos so we need microchips.
 
#32 ·
We recently had situations here where dogs are stolen from inside homes being burglarized. It happened last week to one couple and their small dog was taken, along with the TV, blue ray and other valuables. News channels covered the theft and the couple pleaded for the safe return of their dog. The report mentioned that this is an increasing issue, especially among popular dog breeds because the dogs can be resold to unsuspecting purchasers. I thought when I heard this if the dog was microchipped the new purchasers would be in for a rude surprise if they took the dog to the vet for a chip! This couple was very lucky--a viewer saw the tv reports and called police when they got suspicious of a neighbor with a dog that looked like the dognapped dog. They were reunited yesterday.

I don't care what my dogs think about the chip--they have them. It gives me peace of mind that should something happen and we are separated and a good samaritan finds them and takes them to the vet to see if they are chipped, we will be reunited. To be honest they care more about their meals being given on time, their treats and their daily walks than whether a chip is in them. Our younger golden got a treat while he was being chipped. I doubt he even realized a needle had injected something in him!

Some states and cities are enacting laws/ordinances requiring good samaritans finding stray dogs to take them to veterinary clinics to scan them for chips before keeping them or turning them over to rescues.
 
#34 ·
So if microchipped dogs are stolen, it does no good, isn't it? (Someone here wrote that it is not like GPS....) How do you track then? Wouldn't that mean that microchipping is good only when they are rescued....plus what if this bad person who steal the dog take out the microchip and sell it? (people can do things that are beyond our imagination, in a negative way, isn't it?) I mean, there can be so many situation where microchipping a dog is a vain....I am not trying to convince people not to get it, but I just don't see the clear point. Anyways, thank you for your inputs, I was trying to actually convince myself to get one for my Pochi, and wasn't trying to hear some rude comments that I find here.....
 
#35 ·
So if microchipped dogs are stolen, it does no good, isn't it? (Someone here wrote that it is not like GPS....) How do you track then?
Actually, there are several documented cases where stolen microchipped dogs are reunited with their rightful owners after unsuspecting new owners (they are resold many times) take them to the vet for a chip and the first chip is found! It certainly does do good in those cases!

The Arizona Golden Connection rescue group featured a dog on their 2009 cover named Roscoe. He was stolen from his adopter and the dognapper actually took the dog to a vet in another city to get the chip removed. The vet got suspicious after he scanned the chip. They distracted the thief until police came to arrest the guy. I bet if you ask the adopter if a chip was helpful he will tell you YES!
 
#37 ·
My two oldie goldies, now gone to The Bridge, were both micro chipped and tattooed. I was concerned that since there's no uniformity among chip makers and machines when they read chips, that it would be good to tattoo the dogs.

My current golden Mac is chipped, and she didn't feel a thing when it was done. She was awake--it was part of her exam. I requested it. I feel better knowing she is chipped. It is one more piece of information that provides more data to ID her as mine.

I do have some friends that have some qualms against micro chipping, and have concerns about whether or not the information collected from the chip companies is properly stored, and kept away from government eyes; for example, if you live in an area that prohibits a certain breed, and you register it with the micro chip company, would that get filtered to the local authorities in some way? So I have had some people express reservations about micro chipping--but I've yet to run across the reason that it would hurt the dog in some way.