Permanant I.D. Choices For Your Chihuahua

[Romans Mom]

Tattoos for your furbabies

Has anyone ever thought of getting your furbabies tattoo'd? I've been checking in to it. The benefits of tattoos and microchips are a tag can be lost while the tattoo and chip are permanent I.D.

Never put the tattoo on the inside of the dogs ear! Tattoos should only be put on the stomach or thigh. It's better to tattoo a dog after it has reached it's full growth so the lettering can remain legible. After your pet has a tattoo, place signs and stickers in places like your fence, windows, car windows to warn theives that the dog is tattoo'd . They don't want a dog they can't sell, and many theives will sell our furbabies to laboratories. The won't buy a tattoo'd dog.

Places to get this done are at your veterinarian, or check with dog clubs other organizations.

The tattoo procedure's not painful to a dog at all, but the noise and how time consuming won't go over big with a squirmy or agressive Chihuahua, so it will need anesthesia. I know how hard it is to trim Roman and Elle's toenails. I know they would not allow this! LOL

After it's all done, you must register your Chihuahua with one of registries for it to be of any use. It's best to use a number in the tattoo that can't be duplicated, like your SSN or AKC reg. number. There are also computer-assigned numbers by the registry. Don't ever use birth dates or phone numbers since they can be the same with a large number of people.
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Microchipping

Microchips are also a way of permanant I.D. for our Chihuahuas 6 months or older. The best time to get it is during their annual vaccinations. Implantation is painless and no sedation or anestesa is required for this.

There are not batteries in these chips and will last a lifetime for the dog. A signal is only sent when it's scanned. The veterinarian will test it for code conformation and the name of the clinic that will be called before he injects it beneath the skin.

This chip requires registration too, but even if it's not, a shelter or laboratory can still locate the vet who implanted it.

Either tattooing or microchip will prevent your Chihuahua from being lost permantly if they escape out the door or out of our cars.

Here's some info on a couple registries:

National Dog Registry
Box 116
Woodstock, NY, 12498
(800) 637-3647
http://www.natldogregistry.com/


Tattoo-A-Pet
6571 S.W. 20th Court
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33317
(800) 828-8667
http://www.tattoo-a-pet.com/

[Luckys Mom]

thanks Barb for the info !!! Lucky is microchipped...so i don't think i'd do the tattoo thing too...

[chiwawagaga]

Both the girls are microchipped...wouldn't have it any other way!!!

[Amaze]

Heuser is microchipped but Tally isn't...There is a big debate going on between the AKC and dog breeders right now about these exact topic. The AKC wants to implement a new policy requiring ALL registered dogs to be microchipped and registered (for a fee of course) with them and breeders feel it is their right to decided wheither or not to microchip their dogs and it shouldn't effect registration status. We'll see what happens...
Lys

[LuKi]

Thanks Barb! I don't have mine tattoo'ed or chipped, but my ferret, Harley came with a tattoo in her ear. They all come like that from Marshalls, I hope this is ok for ferrets!??

[Romans Mom]

Mandi, I don't know if this would affect a Ferret, but the reason no one should tattoo a dogs ear is because thieves, oh I hate to say this, cut the ears off so there is no I.D. :cry: What a terrible thought!

[Romans Mom]

Oh, and here's the reason the tattoo doesn't hurt a dog. This is qouted from the Tattoo registry link I posted here:

"Pet tattoos are not like human tattoos, because there are distinct dimensional differences between the structures of human and animal skin. The epidermis, or top layer of skin, on a human is much thicker, and the lower skin layers are more uneven than the layers of canine or feline skin. The epidermis is the layer of skin that dries up and flakes off, so to tattoo effectively, the ink must be inserted just below it. On humans, the tattoo must go much deeper into the skin, because of the thickness and uneven shape of the epidermis. Canine and feline epidermis is much thinner and is very regular and even. As a result, the tattoo does not need to penetrate as deeply into the skin.

The epidermis has only tactile sense, the sense of touch that allows you to feel surface contact. There are no "pain sensors " in the upper layers of skin. Because the tattoo needle does not reach the nerve endings of a cat or dog's skin, it is highly unlikely your pet will experience serious discomfort. The only sensation your pet will feel is the vibration of the marker."

[LuKi]

Thanks for the info Barb. Geez, that is horrible that people would cut off the ear!!!!! The only dog that I ever knew of that had a tattoo was one that we grew up with, he was a stafordshire terrier that had tattoos on his ears.