I've been looking at Lost and Found Ads for Basenjis, and many times, people will post that the lost dog is microchipped. It is IMPERATIVE that not only is the dog microchipped, but registered to your name! (You might think, "Duh, Patty!" but hear me out…)

I just learned through experience about the Home Again microchips. When Home Again ships out their microchips, they will record the shipping destination on each microchip. If your breeder or vet received a shipment directly from Home Again, then your dog's microchip will point back to your breeder or vet, and if she escapes, you'll have a better chance of finding your dog if you never updated her registration.

However, what if the breeder could get a better price from an on-line vet supplier, and (understandably) purchases their microchips from ABC On-Line Pet Supply? If you get your dog from a breeder who says, "He's chipped", you may assume that the microchip is active and registered in the breeder's name... but do you know for sure?

This recently happened to a young well behaved dog, who was chipped, but when she went to the vet, the microchip simply recorded that the chip was sold to ABC Vet Supply. A Dead End.

Sadly, the owner probably thought, "Great! My dog is microchipped!", but never re-registered her, perhaps assuming that the breeder or vet could be traced? Although someone valued the dog enough to microchip it, she lost her "forever home" because the microchip has no useful information on it. :mad:

With that being said, if your dog is already chipped (the # is probably denoted on your vet records), and you aren't sure if (or where) it's registered to, you can look it up for free at http://www.petmicrochiplookup.org/. If it's not already registered, you can register it for $13- $25 (depends on the website; keep in mind they all share data.) If it is registered, then you have to go to that company's website to update the records.

Just a side note: I'm not pointing nasty fingers at any breeder, because I think they have the best of intentions when they microchip their puppies, and spend their money to promote all dog reunions.

The new dog owner needs to take ownership of his/her dog and make sure the registration is updated. Sometimes in the excitement of the puppy tails and sloppy kisses, the new parents may forget about getting the microchip updated, and it only becomes a priority when the basenji named Houdini does her magic trick and escapes… then, if they start questioning the registration process, it really doesn't matter if your Houdini has forever disappeared.

When I got L'Ox microchipped this year, the vet included registering the chip in the price and sent in the paperwork themselves. I am guessing they have started to offer this as part of the service because many people weren't bothering to register the chips themselves.

As a breeder, I always microchip my pups before they leave. I also include registering the microchip in AKC's Lost and Found program when I register the pups. If there is a separate fee for registering the chip with the manufacturer then I leave that to the new owner and include all the documentation with the puppy and explain how to go about registering the chip with the manufacturer.

I think that conscientious breeders follow your example and do register the pups, but as new owners, we need to ensure that the paper trail can be followed back to a concerned owner, breeder, or vet. Sadly, this dog was 3 years old and while she came "pre-chipped", the owner never updated her records.

As the vet tech was explaining how to register the dog, a woman with a beautiful bulldog commented that her dog was already microchipped, and that she "should probably register it too"….

Just think of the tears and heartache that happen when the dog goes missing, and the recriminating, "If only I would haves"... that follow. It costs about $20, which when you consider all the money we spend on these creatures, it's hardly anything.

I think more people need to understand that a microchip does not mean your dog will automatically be returned to you, especially if you haven't done your due diligence and checked its information on line.

Patty, good thread. I have a question. If I am buying a U.S. basenji (I live in Canada) would it be better for me to get the puppy microchipped in Canada? If a Canadian Humane Society scans the chip inserted by the U.S. breeder, will they pick up my name as the owner if I have registered my puppy?

I hope this isn't too dumb of a question.

If your breeder has your puppy chipped with an ISO chip it will work both in Canada and the US.

Thanks so much Ivoss. I'll make sure to ask the breeder if they can use such a chip.

@lvoss:

When I got L'Ox microchipped this year, the vet included registering the chip in the price and sent in the paperwork themselves. I am guessing they have started to offer this as part of the service because many people weren't bothering to register the chips themselves.

As a breeder, I always microchip my pups before they leave. I also include registering the microchip in AKC's Lost and Found program when I register the pups. If there is a separate fee for registering the chip with the manufacturer then I leave that to the new owner and include all the documentation with the puppy and explain how to go about registering the chip with the manufacturer.

Mine too Lisa (Vet registered the chips, I filled out the form)…. and I too chip before they leave.....

As always, lvoss's advice is right on. I found this on the www.akccar.org web site:

"AKC CAR’s new ISO microchip – the accepted microchip for pets traveling to and from the European Union and Canada - is especially important for veterinarians with clients in Canada, near the border, or who travel throughout North America and Europe with their pets."

Zoni has the AKC chip. Before I left her breeder's house with her, she had us fill out the registration information online to make sure we would not run into this problem.

I order my chips from AVID directly.
I now use the Avid Eurochip on all my pups.
They are registered to me when I purchase the chips.
If something happens to these dogs, ever, I will find out.

I also add the AKC CAR to each of my pups when I register them.
I've been doing the CAR thing for several years, and microchipping for a while as well.

Very good thread, and boy what a overlooked problem..I'm thinking.
I had Otis and Moses microchipped myself, well, what I mean is, my vet did it… but you are right, sometimes the puppies come already chipped..would be nice to rememeber this when that time comes..
Thanks for the info guys..

Tidbit of Microchip info.

Dogs in the US as we know are chipped inbetween the shoulder blades.

Dogs in Europe are chipped in the left shoulder

I read here that some chip migrate. Is that true of all chips, or just certain types or perhaps more likely depending on the placement?

Any chip can migrate. All vets and shelter employees that I have ever seen scan a dog, scan the entire body. Though dogs are "normally" chipped between the shoulders, that doesn't mean that is where it always ends up. The microchip needle is very large and it isn't uncommon for dogs to jerk and end up with the chip in a somewhat different location. L'Ox has his over his left shoulder because he squirmed as they injected it. Nicky, has his right at his right shoulder blade 'cause he also jumped at the needle. My girls' have theirs more or less between the shoulders.

And they can get "lost"…. Sophie's did when lvoss went to have her hips/elbows done. So any chip can migrate, good reason to have them checked every now and again... and there is no reason that you can't just run into your Vet and ask to have someone just scan and check the chip...

They can come back out the tract they are inserted into which is most likely what happened to Sophie's first chip. I would highly recommend have anyone have their dog scanned about 2 weeks after being microchipped to verify the chip is still there. Also, I highly recommend scanning them yearly at their health checkup to make sure that the chip is still functioning. My friend's mom found her dog's had stopped functioning sometime after she had been chipped. The chip was there on the x-ray but would not scan.

@lvoss:

They can come back out the tract they are inserted into which is most likely what happened to Sophie's first chip. I would highly recommend have anyone have their dog scanned about 2 weeks after being microchipped to verify the chip is still there. Also, I highly recommend scanning them yearly at their health checkup to make sure that the chip is still functioning. My friend's mom found her dog's had stopped functioning sometime after she had been chipped. The chip was there on the x-ray but would not scan.

Yes, your right about them "coming back out"… and yes it is a good idea to have them checked... My pups were done about a month ago, when we did rabies this past week, I had their chips checked at that time.

I know of an ACD who's chip was found in his left foot…. Yes really :).

Also know of another dogs found behind the last rib, too. Please remember to do a full body check on the slippery little suckers

Just one thing about Canadian microchips-they must be an approved one by CKC for CKC to accept them. While in the midst of getting Sugar's done, CKC changed their policies-and then sent out the info to it's members. I had to order one from the CKC-that was approved by them (they have a list of approved ones) and had to have her redone. She now has two microchips. To say I was less than impressed was an understatement.

Arlene - do you know what reasoning the CKC has used for doing this? It seems wrong to me. I'm thinking the intent of the chip is to make the dog as EASILY identifiable as possible and not to purely make differentiations between the CKC and AKC.