We've decided to microchip every pup that leaves here from now on.  Why?  First, it's an added benefit to our clients.  Most of the dogs that get lost without ID do not make it home.  Some of the reason is selfish.  We want our pups to come here if something happens to them.  We'll take any of our pups back, no questions asked (we'll ask, but you don't have to answer) at any time.

Anyway, you would think this is an easy thing to figure out, but it isn't.

Just so everyone understands what we are talking about, all microchips are basically the same.  A little radio frequency identification (RFID) chip is implanted in the dog's body between the shoulder blades.  The chip is about the size of a piece of rice, and encased in glass (I believe) so it doesn't react negatively with the dog's body.  The chip does not normally transmit data; it doesn't even have a power source.  Instead, when a scanner is held near it, the energy from the scanner activates the chip, causing it to broadcast the information on the tag.

The chip has some advantages over a collar and ID tags.  Your standard collar has some advantages over a microchip.

The collar and tags are easily read by anyone.  They are relatively cheap and reliable.  A tag can hold a lot of information.  You can change the information on the collar at any time for any reason.  I have special collars that we put on the dogs to visit the folks we regularly visit when we travel out of state. 

The problem comes when the collar and dog are separated.  This can be accidental, or on purpose if the dog is stolen.  My brother's dog, for instance, is on an electronic fence.  They do not wear their ID collars when they are wearing their fence collars.  Well, one of the kids, at toddler stage, let the dog out while the fence collar was charging, and Emma disappeared with no ID.  She was returned a day or so later.  Some folks had taken her home, fed her, let her sleep in the bed.  He was awfully close to losing her.

The microchip is permanent unique identification.  It would be very difficult to remove one for nefarious purposes.  They can't get lost or fall off.  Most importantly, the laboratories absolutely do not want a microchipped dog to wind up in a medical experiment.  Dogs are rigorously tested and checked for any identifying marks before going to the lab.

There are a lot of problems with the microchip.  First without a collar, there is no way to tell if a dog has a microchip without looking for it.  If nobody looks for the chip they can't find it.  It is also subject to human and scanner errors.  Not all scanners read all chips.  Finally, the information is very limited - a string of numbers and letters.  You need to cross the database information with the number on the chip.  And one more thing, that data has to be kept up to date.

Chips can also be hidden by deception.  Dr. Amanda is supposed to scan pets for chips.  She uses the tale she is told to decide which ones need to be scanned.  Got it at the shelter?  She scans it.  She's found several newly acquired pets actually had owners looking for them (shame on the shelter).  Tell her you "found" your stolen dog?  She'll scan it and you'll be screwed.  Tell her you got the dog from your brother who couldn't keep him any more (and no, he never took her to the vet) and she might not whip out the scanner.

I think the combination of a chip and an ID tag on a collar is the best you can do for your dog.

So let me tell you a little about the process.  The scanner is smallish and I have seen several shapes, but think something like the metal detector "wands" they use at the airport.  You hit the button, move it over the dog and it tells you the number and the chip manufacturer (presuming the scanner can read that particular chip).  So far the process is so easy, I can do it.

Now the person has a string of numbers and letters which aren't very useful on their own, so they get in touch with the manufacturer to find out the last known information on the owner.

There are several places to "register" a chip other than the manufacturer.  I don't think they are worth much.  OK, you get a code that might say AVID*017*543*218.  You are going to get in touch with AVID.  Most folks would not see AVID and think "I guess I'll check the AKC website."  One site that is probably worth at least what you pay for it is www.k911.com.  It's free, but few folks know about it.

Right now there are basically four chips worth considering for folks in the US.  I'm not talking about folks who take their dog's to Europe.  If you travel to Canada a little, you will need to rely on tags.  I'm talking about 99% of the dogs who remain in the US of A all the time.

One of the newest is the Bayer ResQ.  The nice thing about this chip is once you buy it, it is free to own.  You don't pay to register it.  You don't pay to change your registration.  This is truly awesome.  What's truly awful is most new and existing scanners will not read their chip.  Why?  For some reason, they thought ISO compatibility was more important than compatibility with the readers that have been on the market for 20 years.  You should not care that their reader reads all chips.  You need a chip that is read by all scanners.  Their site and advertising seems to try to confuse the issue.  If the ACO (dog catcher) in your town doesn't have a Bayer scanner, he can't read the ResQ chip.

Your vet is likely to sell you a Schering-Plough Home Again chip.  Home Again is only available through veterinarians and veterinarians like to carry exclusive products.  The Home Again chip operates on the 125 kHz frequency that is the standard in this country and most scanners will read it.  After purchasing the chip, however, you are subject to not only registration fees, but an ANNUAL fee.  If you don't pay each and every year (and they charge your card automatically) they dump your dog out of the database.  This chip is expensive to own, especially if you have a lot of dogs.  If you are tempted to register it with the AKC instead (which you can do) keep in mind that the person with the scanner knows your dog has a Home Again chip, not an AKC chip.

Brutus and Iris actually have these.  I never registered them because of the annual renewal.

The best option I think is the AVID chip available through Microchip ID Systems.  These chips are 125 kHz and only 9 digits.  That means any reader can read it, no matter how old.  They do charge a registration fee (I will be pre-paying this for our clients) and a small fee to change the information, for instance if you move.  There is no annual fee with AVID chips.  I will specify myself as the "alternate" contact so if the dog ever winds up lost, at least I will be able to retrieve it.

The AKC also has their own chip.  It operates at 128 kHz.  It looks like it's cost is similar to AVID, but there's the whole scanner compatibility thing again.  It doesn't matter if other manufacturers CAN make a scanner that reads their chip.  Honestly it doesn't matter IF all new scanners will read their chip.  You have to convince every veterinarian, shelter, animal control officer, etc. to go purchase a new scanner, when their existing one works perfectly well in their opinion.

The AKC site says they handed out 20,000 Home Again scanners (when AKC was associated with Home Again) to shelters that will read the new Trovan chips.  OK, I'm doubt the shelters in the areas where I hunt are likely the targets of the free scanners.  In addition, I doubt the shelters threw away their old scanners.  They likely are using both scanners, or whichever one seems easier to use.

Again, I don't care if the scanner can read every dog, I want my dog to be read by any scanner.

To me the criteria are chip readability, advantage goes to AVID and Home Again.  Then it goes to database "quality" and the advantage goes to ResQ, then AVID and AKC.  AVID is the best as it is most widely read, and has a cost effective registration system.