my dog has recently had a major reaction to a tracer /bayer animal health microchip .she developed a lump after having the chip fitted sometime ago. first it felt like a grain of rice in her neck ,it then started growing into a bit bigger than a pea size lump i started trying to make sure it was'nt growing to fast and make sure it was'nt connected to her bone structure the previous vet at winterswan in winterton near scunthorpe removed this, but at that point the chip was'nt within it . Maria the new vet has said that she thinks the same as i do that when i kept checking it the chip must of moved, this was in july 2008. Then shortly after that a few months after i noticed another mass in the same area .This time i asked maria to investigate the area ,she later informed me after the surgery that she had to remove a mass, at this point it was size of half a golf ball which the chip was connected to.Prin has since spent the past 6 weeks in swanbridge hospital in hull which the winterswan vets is part of. She has had to have anastetics everyother day to have her dressings changed the 20cm hole in her neck has stared healing up now thankfully, i was told on the 6th jan 09 that the hole was now 6cm by the vet philip who has also been treating her, it has taken this long because it was infected were the chip had damaged the tissue around the mass .she will also have to have her muscles rebuilt as she has sufferd muscle wastage as well because she has had to be laid in a vets for the past 6 weeks.we think we are doing the right thing by having our pets chipped but we dont get told what it can do to them if it goes wrong. it is 1 in a 1000 i have found out this happens to and it also causes cancer in some cases. i want anyone who has had problems to contact me on 07955989853. Had it not been for the vet Maria giving the level of care and treatment she gives to prin and my other dogs we may not of found this out. The company that makes these chips should rectify this before its to late. It is unfair that we have to unknowingly put our pets at risk like this ,the chips are a good idea but they are not as safe as we think as prins chip has proved. please consider the risks before you have your pet chipped there are other means of identification for your pet that are totally harmless.

i am sorry 2 hear of the trouble you n your little furbaby has gone thru my heart goes out 2 you.i have never had a problem so concider myself lucky.but i will still have eva chiped as i feel it is a good way of identification.they all have collers n tags 2.but due 2 your post i will keep a very good eye on the sight.i hope the little 1 gets well soon.do you know when they will be home? xxx

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]mummy 2 :_lucy x rescue,2 golfish & 3 gals, african grey parrot - mojo x

Hello and welcome
I am sorry to hear that your dog has had these problems with the chip - I have actually heard of this happening before - although probably not as bad as your sounds.
Unfortunately as you have said - these procedures carry risks - as do the innoculaions - but i suppose a way of looking at it is that the good they do outweights the bad - not what anyone wants to hear that has suffered this I am sure - Hope you dog makes a full recovery..
regards
DT

Which ID method would you recommend that is safer/harmless

i am now having a tattoo stamped prinnie,s ear as i am told by my vet that this is safe and as permenant as a chip apart from the fact it is harmless and has no side affects it is slightly more expensive but to me if it identifys her and is safe then its worth itthanks for yor reply. can i ask wherehave you heard of this before i am intresed in all infomation as i am trying to research the chip to build a case to send to bayer who make the chip to rectify the problems is is causing to pets.

So sorry to hear you your dog's problems with the microchip. I have heard it can happen but it is very rare - not much consolation to you though.

Tattooing is actually better than microchipping IMO although mine are microchipped. Not only does it identify, but in law, it signifies ownership too.

I considered having my dogs tattoed some years ago but changed my mind _ rdo you know what happens when should the animal be stolen of fall into the wrong hands?

It is often said that stolen dogs have their ears cut off, but the only ACTUAL cases have in fact been greyhounds that were disposed of by owners (to save vet fees) and did it to avoid detection.

The main difference is that if property (and a dog is property) is permanently marked (in this case a tattoo is a visable mark), then it MUST be returned to the owner.
There is no legal requirement to scan 'property' and as a microchip is not a visable mark, it does not count under property law.
Obviously that doesn't mean that a dog won't be scanned, but another thing to bear in mind is that there can be problems with scanners not reading microchips and chips moving and not being pickedup. I'm not sure of the exact details but there is also a 7 day window where a dog in a council home becomes their property to do what they want with if the owner is not found. Because a dog is considered 'property' and by tattooing you are 'marking' that property, the window is increased to 28 days which is the standard time marked property has to be kept

I will keep a closer watch on Bobby's micro chip site, thank you for enlightening me.
Is it the manufacturer at 'fault' or the chip going into muscle, rather than just under the skin?
I really dont like the sound of tattoos, too painful, tho I have no evidence, just gut feeling.

Iknow the chips do move - know of several people whereby they have been unable to find the chip but I am still dubious regarding the tatooing - but having said that I understand that you can also have the inner leg tattoed - it this correct do you know - as I would feel uch more comfortable having a tatoo there that the ear
regards
DT

OMG, that's horrible! I never knew that microchipping can go so wrong! Spud has a chip as well but thankfully he hasn't had problems with it.
Can problems arise later or once it heals, it heals?
When I was a kid our family dog had her ear tattooed. She never got lost thankfully. Died of cancer , poor thing...

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