hey, y'all! :--)

freeze-branding to deter and solve theft is quite popular in the UK [i wish it were so in the USA, but that's another story...],
however dogs are *not* freeze-branded, they are tattooed or chipped - or both.
* a tattoo can be read by anyone; it needs no scanner
* tattoos need to be in areas that are not hair-covered -
this may mean some maintenance on very-hairy dogs

* chips must be scanned
* a chip CAN [tho its rare] move -
scanning a struggling or frightened dog who is can be a challenge; a full-body walk-thru scanner allows even
highly-aggressive or defensive animals to be scanned without worry of missing a chip, or of injury to staff,
and the dog remains calm - minimizing stress. it is also very fast - the dog walks thru, its a rapid yes/no;
no restraint, no waving a wand around, no humans in close proximity. obviously, at $1k-US vs FREE hand-held scanners,
shelters and vets cannot justify the cost without high-volume.

vet puts ID on * EAR *
YouTube - Ingo's first tattoo
note that this dog is gas-anaesthetized.

why Not to tattoo ears as ID:
YouTube - Dougie - The Mutilations Continue
Greyhound in UK: ears lopped off, electrical tape wrapped around his legs, he was dumped;
it is recommended to tattoo the belly, where haircoat is sparse + the tattoo cannot be cut-off, only obliterated.


PERU:
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dogs are tattooed with national-register
YouTube - Kontroversy 19 May 2010 Part1 Dog ID number tattoo in Peru
to combat Theft For Ransom -
* feel free to MUTE THE AUDIO -
the 3 presenters are as noisy as parrots, and add little to the video of dogs, vets, owners, etc,
as they allow NONE of the soundtrack from the video to be heard anyway, and talk over, around, and thru it.

* how would this deter theft for ransom?
they already KNOW who owns the dog; thats the entire point, extortion from owners.
* this is CLAMP tattooing, anaesthetized -
the only places that can be clamp-tattooed are extremities; Bad Idea.




USA:
Tattoo-A-Pet national-registry
video:
http://tinyurl.com/2blccks
this dog is not sedated; the tattoo-unit is all in one piece, the ID-number is unique and the dog only tries
to pull the rear-foot away twice; no whining, no stress-panting. the dog is apparently more-bothered by the restraint
than by the tattoo process.

obviously, if U are hand-printing numbers on a dogs belly, the animal *must* be still for the numbers to be legible.
scheduling the ID-tattoo after a good romp and a potty-trip is suggested; it takes less than 10-mins.
see the Tattoo-A-Pet home-page for more info.

cheers,
--- terry

__________________
terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

I have greyhounds bred for racing so they have ear tattoos , i opted to get them chipped also as if lost i can't guarantee people would bother to check the dogs ears and would know who to call for information. The tattoos on some greyhounds can be difficult to make out some letters/numbers either due to poor intitial marking or just effects of time.

I have seen the ear tattoos being done on 12wk old pups and they squealed/wriggled at the time it was clamped on and were fine straight after and played like normal, i imagine it feels much like human ear piercing. UK Racing greyhounds are now chipped as well as tattooed and those that are irish bred are DNA tested to prove parentage so they can still track the owner down

Trouble is, over time tattoos can become unreadable. Even in greyhounds and Hancock lurchers who are also tattoed.

I know of a dog breeder who was very much against microchipping at first, and decided all the dogs she bred would be tattooed instead, as is done in many European countries. (For cats and rabbits as well - it's very strange seeing cats with tattoos in their ears, more so than rabbits).

However after the first litter, the tats became unreadable so she reluctantly decided to chip instead.

I have considered a tat for Merlin but after learning this, have reconsidered - also in uppy-eared dogs I consider it somewhat unsightly. If they could be tattooed on the groin (as Pit Bulls and other Type dogs are done under DDA here) I'd agree, but they need a GA for that, and so it becomes an expensive and unnecessary medical risk.....

__________________
‎

I wouldn't have a tattoo, and i wouldn't want my dog to have one either. She is chipped and on the DNA register, so i think thats enough.

__________________
He who laughs, lasts
Charlie - Shaded Red, Female Dachshund, Miniature, Smooth Haired.
Danni - Chocolate/Tan, Female Dachshund, Miniature, Smooth Haired.

did U watch the video from Tattoo-A-Pet, sue?
http://tinyurl.com/2blccks

the dog is being tattoed in the right-abdominal quadrant with no anaesthesia - the audio is live, and the dog
is not even panting, there are 2 times when this dog tries to pull the rear-paw out of the handlers grasp;
i would not say any panic, or even serious distress of any kind - just impatience or frustration.

one person restrains the dog, the other does the tattoo - it starts with letters indicating the state of origin,
but obviously if U move to another state, the dog's file must be updated - and the tattoo will no longer have
the dog's state-code of their residence, but the state-code of their tattooist.

cheers,
--- terry

__________________
terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007