Dog chips are tiny microchips that can be inserted underneath the skin of a dog. Their purpose is for the useful identification of a dog when he becomes lost and is found by someone looking to return him to his owner. Dog chips are the next step up in technology from dog tags, and provide many more benefits.
How Dog Chips Are Inserted
When an owner requests that his dog be tagged with a chip, a simple surgery under general anesthesia takes place. There is nothing particularly painful or uncommon about this surgery, other than that a dog will normally not sit still long enough for the procedure to be completed. Therefore, it must be done under general anesthesia.
A small needle-like tool is slipped just underneath the surface of the skin between the shoulder blades of the dog. The chip is then inserted and is lodged between the shoulder blades so that it cannot move out of place. This surgery usually lasts no more than 30 minutes and there are no special recovery instructions, other than some basic pain medication if the site of insertion becomes bruised or sensitive.
Benefits of Dog Chips
Dog chips are an indefinite solution to make sure that a dog can be identified and returned to his original owner. Because of how the surgery is completed, the dog chip cannot slip out of place and it certainly cannot be removed once it's there. This is one of the greatest advantages to dog chips, because they help to ensure that a dog can be identified.
If a dog is lost and brought to a shelter or organization which has technology to check for the presence of a dog chip, the dog will have a much better chance of being returned to his owner. A simple scanning device is used and scanned over the shoulder blade area of the dog, and the information contained in the chip is displayed.
The scan will identify the name of the dog, name of the owner, address of the owner, a contact phone number and any special medical instructions that the dog requires.
Why Dog Chips Are Better than Dog Tags
While dog tags are certainly a less expensive way to make sure that a dog can be identified, dog chips have many more benefits than traditional dog tags.
Tags are only good for identification if they're kept on the dog. The problem with this is that sometimes the attachments of the tags can become weak and worn out over time, and the tags will fall off. Likewise, if a dog is lost and encounters some trouble from other animals, it is very likely that he could lose his collar and tags in the midst of a fight. That would do no good for anyone who eventually finds him, because they would be unable to find his owner.
Because dog chips cannot be removed, they will indefinitely remain with the dog and he can always be identified and returned to his owner. In addition, dog chips are great because they can contain any informational notes that an owner would want someone else to be aware of, such as the need for medication or special care instructions. This can help to make sure that until the dog is returned to his owner, his health conditions and medical needs do not go unattended.