Beth G Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 I had Avid put in for both Popcorn and Pepper today. The vet that put them in, told me that Avid is the best, longest lasting and the first checked for when they scan a lost pet. Don't know if this is true or not. My last dog, Reilly had a Home Again chip. But that was over 12 yrs ago and I think the only chip that existed...lol. What are your opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Mine has Home Again. And it works: haven't lost him even once LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileyzookie Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 I have no opinion but Riven has AVID Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 One dog has Home Again, other two have Avid. I don't have an opinion as I haven't lost any of them yet to find out. Only one Avid I put in, the rest come the way they came. Avid was what my vet had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat's Dogs Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Dazzle has AVID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 That's a good question. I was just thinking today that I should get Black Jack chipped. I don't think many places around here check for them yet but it never hurts to have it, right? I figured since I take him to the park pretty often you never know what could happen. Does it hurt them to have it put in? So does it really matter what kind of chip? Does one cost more than the other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie_Dog Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Has anyone heard of Idap? 'Cause when I asked our local shelter, they told me that they used to use a more common one like Avid, but have recently switched to Idap (it's a universal scanner, which is part of the reason they switched to it). I want to get a chip that our shelter is guaranteed to be able to read, but I've never heard of Idap before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexie Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 That's a good question. I was just thinking today that I should get Black Jack chipped. I don't think many places around here check for them yet but it never hurts to have it, right? I figured since I take him to the park pretty often you never know what could happen. Does it hurt them to have it put in? So does it really matter what kind of chip? Does one cost more than the other? Molly barely reacted when she got hers put in. It is a big needle and she bled some, but the vet promptly gave her a nice treat. It was on her first trip to the vet and she's been back since for booster vacc and was still excited to go in. I can't help with the types bit. I know nothing. I think Denmark has a national registry system for them, so we don't have to deal with types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 I have one AVID, 4 HomeAgains, and two 24PetWatches. Let me tell you something *a little perturbed*...I will NEVER have another HomeAgain chip put in one of my pets. Everytime I've had a HomeAgain chip put in one of my pets, the fee has gotten higher from the last one. It started at $12.50 for registration and went up to $19.50 by the 3rd HomeAgain chip. I just got Tank's chip put in a few weeks ago, a HomeAgain, and I was never more pissed off when I looked at his registration paper once we got home. Now HomeAgain is charging a $10 "activation" fee PLUS $14.99 per YEAR for the service! I'm sorry, but now they're just trying to make money. I did call to find out that any chips registered BEFORE their new stupid fees set in are still GOOD FOR LIFE under their original registration. I have not even registered Tank's chip yet, except with 24PetWatch which is a free microchip registration service. The only thing about that is, I've got to make sure he has a 24PetWatch tag on so whoever finds him knows to call 24PetWatch and not HomeAgain to get the message "Sorry, that chip is not registered." (And if he runs off, who's to say his collar will stay on?) I've debated going to get a different chip (AVID or 24PetWatch, which are both not only cheaper, but LIFETIME registration is included in the cost of the implant itself) put in, but I still run the risk of the HomeAgain chip being scanned first if he's ever picked up, and who would look for a 2nd chip if the 1st one found wasn't registered? It probably will still not do any good. Unfortunately, HomeAgain's scammed me into paying $14.99 per year to keep up at least on microchip, it looks like. And I am NOT happy about it. I strongly suggest if your pets are not microchipped but you plan to do it, look for either AVID or 24PetWatch chips and avoid the money-hungry HomeAgain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berocca Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Where I live in Sydney Australia all dogs and cats must be microchipped although you can get exemptions if your property is over a certain size and you can prove your dog is there as a working dog. Delta's breeder was able to get exemption for his dogs and didnt have to microchip the pups; however, I cannot register her with the council or take her to a vet without a microchip in (I had it put in a few days after I got her anyway). Without that exemption though it is illegal to sell a dog (puppy or adult) without a microchip. Its actually reduced BYBs slightly as they have to pay the extra $60-100 per pup for microchipping- hasnt stopped the accidental litters though; it just means that there are lots of "free puppies" ads in the paper. Ive never been given a brand choice though, I think they are all the same here. Usually the new dog will already have it in so it doesnt cost you anything (there are no yearly fees or anything here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted June 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Does it hurt them to have it put in? I saw Popcorn flinch but that was it. However when it was Pepper's turn she not only flinched, but whined and tucked her tail. All last night, she was shying away from being petted anywhere near her shoulders. She was still stiff today- yet ready to play ball...lol. I guess it just matters where they happen to hit when they inject? They say on the AVID website, that it is painless but also that it is a deep subcutanious injection. So pain or not, it is nothing major, and though I felt bad, it's definately worth a little pain to be reunited with your dog again if he or she is ever lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle K Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Dream, Pres, and Nykie have Avid microchips. The shelters in our area are supposed to scan every dog or cat that they pick up, but I was told by someone, who works for one of the shelters, that they only scan purebreds. IMHO, that is ridiculous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc friend Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 All of mine have Home Again except Katie who has AVID (chipped by rescue group). Ben's initial fee was $24 (2 yrs ago) and I have never had a yearly charge. Sara and Jazzy have the chip the longest (@ 14 yrs) and never had a problem w/it showing up on a scanner. I have known 2 dog owners whose dogs got lost and both dogs were recovered thru the chip in less than a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassidy Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Wow, I didn't even realize we got a choice? LOL (shows what a novice I am). I am definitely going to get Ladybug microchipped, but I am waiting because she is so young. She just turned 9 weeks today. How old should they be before microchipping? I never wanted to microchip any of my other dogs before, but I am beginning to understand how important it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
border_collie_crazy Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 only Leck has a chip(which came with her, I dont even haave it under my name yet, I cant figer out the stupid form lol) and its an AVID chip. am I happy with it? I dunno, Leck always comes when called, and doesnt go anywhere anyhow. the rest of my dogs all have Tatoo's, which I am quite happy with lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berocca Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 9 weeks old is fine. Like I said, in Australia all dogs must be microchipped before they can be sold so some breeders get them chipped as early as about 6 weeks when they take them in for puppy shots. When Cody was hit by a car they scanned his chip at the vet and I was contacted through the pet finding company that stores the information (cant think what its name is). He had a name tag on anyway so the vet was able to contact me directly. If they get out or lost somehow and have a name tag on with your number that will probably be called first; however, if they are stolen and someone removes their collar that chip may just be what returns your dog to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted June 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Get this: I would have chipped my two dogs sooner, but the first vet we asked to do it, refused, and told us we needed to wait, as our dogs were too young and since they were still growing, if we did it, the chip wouldn't stay in place, and it might migrate into another part of their bodies!! Alot of vets really seem to believe that out here!! (Plus I just have bad luck with vets) Anyhow, we did finally find a better vet. And the vet who did chip them the other day told us that was BS!!! I thought so too but we had a hard time finding a vet that didn't believe that, and that would chip them young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBC Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 All three of my boys have HomeAgain chips, and Kodah is actually double-chipped with an Avid as well. The Avid was done by his breeder, and then I put in a HomeAgain after I got him. That way if I ever forget to update the Avid info when I update the HomeAgain, he's still covered. Oddly enough, I can't get his Avid chip to show up anymore though. I don't know if it's migrated or malfunctioning or if I'm just somehow not scanning the right area, but I just always get his HomeAgain chip. Also odd, I can scan almost half of my boys' bodies, including their front legs, and still have the chip register. They're apparently Uber-Chips. All of the rescues are either Avid or HomeAgain, depending on in if they come from a chipping shelter or if they're done at my vet. I have to agree with Debbie. I'm not thrilled at all with HomeAgain's new fee schedules. Unfortunately, the HomeAgain luncheon at work was on one of my days off, so I missed the whole spiel by the HomeAgain rep on the new protocols. HOWEVER, my understanding is that previously registered chips are still registered, AND newly registered chips can still go with the "one time" fee for registration. If you don't pay the new annual fee, you just don't get the notification services from HomeAgain, where if you notify them that the pet is lost, they send out an Amber Alert type notice to area vets, shelters, etc with the pet's info and picture. They'll also do up little flyers. Blah blah blah. Really...just a waste of money in my opinion until I actually hear of people who have had this help. I know most shelters around here won't pay attention to flyers or lost notices placed by owners, so why would they pay attention to faxes from HomeAgain? So do the one time registration and leave it at that. Regarding one brand over the other, so long as you're using one of the Big Three, you should have pretty satisfactory coverage. Avid, HomeAgain, 24PetWatch. Unless a shelter or vet is using a pretty old scanner, the scanner should pick up the different chip brands. I have a scanner at home for the rescues, and it's picked up everything that I've tried it on. According to the company, it's supposed to pick up some of the non-major brands as well, but I haven't had any to test it on. I've also tested the HomeAgain scanner at work, and it consistently picks up the Avid chips in the rescues I've tried it on. And yes, it notes that it's an Avid chip too. I'm personally not convinced that there's really any advantage of one chip brand over the other in terms of actual chip quality or longevity. It all comes down to prices in each area. Each vet is just going to prefer the brand that they carry (naturally). The only chip I wouldn't recommend is a Banfield chip. I don't know if they've fixed the problem, but in the past the Banfield chips were on a different frequency from the rest that was NOT picked up by most scanners. They might have changed the chips or the scanners might have been updated to pick them up, but I'd triple check before picking that brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCBaxter Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 All of mine have Home Again except Katie who has AVID (chipped by rescue group). Ben's initial fee was $24 (2 yrs ago) and I have never had a yearly charge. Sara and Jazzy have the chip the longest (@ 14 yrs) and never had a problem w/it showing up on a scanner. I have known 2 dog owners whose dogs got lost and both dogs were recovered thru the chip in less than a week. Let me tell you about my experience with Home Again.. My Maltese has an HA chip. I registered on line, paid the lifetime fee and never gave it another thought, until we moved. I went on line to update his information and discovered his chip number didn't exist. Called HA immediately and spoke with a representative that said they lost all the client information when their system crashed and I would have to re-register him and pay the new fees. He told me that my dog had been without coverage for the previous 4 years and if he had gotten lost, there would have been no way to tell who he belonged to. (I made the point of asking if the number was registered to the vet's office that originally sold me the chip and he said, yes. So in effect, if the dog had gotten lost the vet's office could have been called and hopefully they would have been able to track what dog they put that specific chip in.) I told him I would not be paying the additional fees as I had already registered my dog and paid the lifetime fee, I had receipts to prove it and that they had better re-register his chip pronto! I got a substantial run around, spent a lot of time being transferred and finally had to send copies of my receipts to the company to prove that I had paid for the lifetime coverage. I will never use it HomeAgain...again. My other dogs have Avid chips. By the way, the chips will always scan, that's not the problem-it's whether the company that sold the chip recognizes the number and has any information on the dog. My Maltese's chip scanned every time...if someone called on it though, they would have said it didn't register. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Courtney, I actually called HomeAgain in reference to their new fee schedule because I didn't want to pay a ton of money to keep up Tank's chip. They never mentioned anything to me about the option of a lifetime fee as the "old" chips had. They DID tell me that the old chips registered were still good for life but that I could upgrade to the yearly fee if I wanted to. WHAT?! Okay, so maybe it has the "Amber Alert" perk, but my main concern is if my dog is picked up and scanned, that HomeAgain will have my information to give out. I will have to call them back and see if they still offer a pay-once-lifetime-fee for the basic registration. If so, that idiot I talked to before was lying to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBC Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 I don't think they advertise it as a "lifetime" fee. It's essentially just if you DON'T pay the next year, the chips stay registered but without all the new "perks". So if someone scans it and calls, they should still be in the system and notify you. If you hear differently, please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted June 4, 2007 Report Share Posted June 4, 2007 I am going to call again tomorrow to find out, but even if they do offer a regula registration fee, they ought to be a little more clear about that. I specifically asked the guy I spoke with on the phone about this and he told me that I had to re-register the new chip every year. Anyway, I'll let you know what I find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted June 5, 2007 Report Share Posted June 5, 2007 FYI, if you only activate a HomeAgain chip for $10, HA has all of your info to give to anyone who may find your dog. The $14.99 annual fee is for all of the "extra" stuff they offer now. But good luck getting a HA rep to tell you about this. I had to ask the guy on the phone no less than 5 times to get him to admit that my info would be given to someone who finds my dog if I JUST activate the chip and not pay for the $14.99 service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBC Posted June 6, 2007 Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 It's good to know that for sure. I was hoping that the run-around you got the first time was just the company's way of trying to make it seem like you HAD to pay the annual fee. But...that still annoys me since they shouldn't be essentially tricking their customers into paying extra fees. I've always preferred HomeAgain, but the new "annual" thing plus this whole charade is putting me off the brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted June 6, 2007 Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 Yep, I definitely got the run-around both times. Moreso today since I did know what was going on, I just had to get the rep to admit it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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