http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21345730

Responsible dog owners do this anyway, irresponsible ones don’t and this won’t change it,
a few vets might be getting a new Audi out of it though..

Yes, of course, then us. That’s an entirely logical leap to take… 🙄

its already law to have a collar with owners details on it, can’t see a microchip law changing the minds of those that currently dont have the whole collar situation sorted.

they’ll just encode all your medical history on them too, I expect and then Tesco can put RFId readers at the entrance to their stores so they can work out which products to push at you as you go round…

a few vets might be getting a new Audi out of it though..

Yeah right, it was skoda all the way….
There is a misconception that the entire fee goes to the person doing the job not running the building, paying the staff, buying the kit etc.

Back to the STW everyone is overpaid & ripping us off but me….

Anyway about time

There is a misconception that the entire fee goes to the person doing the job not running the building, paying the staff, buying the kit etc.

still, at a rate of what is often £2k an hour, it still feels a bit steep sometimes, to a consumer entirely trapped in a captive market

also agree about time on chipping our canine friends

500 for 15 mins, thats not normal rates. For every minute that makes money there a loads that struggle to. Compared to what a GP takes vets take bugger all and do a hell of a lot more.

I popped in and got my hand x-rayed a few weeks ago, try doing that down your local gp.

£2k an hour?

Don’t normally comment on this sort of thing but yunki – I think you need to check your sources. 2k per hour? Where on earth have you plucked that from?

And as for profit from microchips. Most practices do it for very little mark up and the dogs trust are apparently going to do it for free (misuse of donated funds?)
Still long overdue though.

its already law to have a collar with owners details on it

Is it?
My (wife’s) dog has an Avid chip, but no tag (it fell off). Will she get arrested?

One of my dogs recently had TPLO surgery for a torn anterior ligament, the surgeon had enough letters after his name to spell several other names, I can’t remember the exact breakdown but it was nowhere near £2k an hour for his time.

I seem to recall It cost me around £15-20 each to get my dogs microchipped, that was 3/4 years ago.

meh.. alright my maths is shit.. and it was a brutal tongue in cheek calculation 😳

I’m still smarting from £280 to have our much loved family pet put to sleep

To be honest, if it helps identify my dogs if they get stolen, I’m all for it. Which is why they are chipped.

Our local Blue Cross place will chip for £5 per cat or dog.

Vaccinations and microchip last week was £32.

I’d have considered 3x that reasonable.

£280 to have our much loved family pet put to sleep

there was more to it than you walking in with a live pet and saying ‘do the injection’ and walking out with a dead one though, wasn’t there?

The Control of Dogs Order 1992 mandates that any dog in a public place must wear a collar with the name and address of the owner engraved or written on it, or engraved on a tag. Your postcode is optional (but we would strongly advise that you include it), and your telephone number is also optional (but advisable).

You can be fined up to £5,000 if your dog does not wear an identification tag.

Exceptions

Dogs used on official duties by the armed forces, HM Customs & Excise or the police
Dogs used for sporting purposes and packs of hounds
Dogs used for the capture or destruction of vermin
Dogs used for driving or tending cattle or sheep
Guide Dogs for the Blind
Dogs used for emergency rescue work

from the kennel club

we dont have our address on our dogs, but both our contact numbers and a statement that he’s microchipped, the microchip has our address. hoping thats enough

I’m still smarting from £280 to have our much loved family pet put to sleep

which probably covered more than that too. Most vets have trouble properly charging too, so most people are getting off lightly. My missus had her cruciate done on Bupa and we got the bill/invoice through as a copy it was 4-5 times the price for the TPLO on our dog (even after she did all the x-rays) spaying, neutering and chipping is normally done cheaply and sometimes subsidised.

Not wanting to bang on about pricing & profit but as the missus is a vet imagine how dissapointed I was to find out she wasn’t loaded.

lies mike, lies! how else could you afford that fancy ‘p’ next to your username!?

mostly as I earned more till we escaped to Oz!!

My “Charge Out Rate” hit 98/hr at one point which makes lots of things seem cheap. Finally 10 years later I’m back there but guess what I only see a fraction of it.

From the article…

Tiny microchips, coded with the contact details of owners, will be fitted to dogs, which can then be traced.

When it takes 5 mins online to change the registered details this law helps nobody.

phil.w has a point – there seems to be enough trouble with cars not being traceable to an ‘owner’ to ensure they are taxed and MOT’d etc and the details of their registration is there for all to see 24/7.

well we might aswell not bother then shall we….

I’m all in favour of it.

It’s the enforcement side of it that’s going to be the issue though, just as it is with cars and tax, mot and insurance all being in place.

You appear to have missed the point. The whole point is to return lost dogs to their owners. Not to make sure they have an MOT.

The whole point is to return lost dogs to their owners

Which is great, exactly the reason mine is chipped. Selling this law as making us safer is misleading at best.

well we might as well not bother then shall we….

Responsible owners don’t need the law to make them responsible, irresponsible owners will always be irresponsible. A dangerous dog will always be dangerous, being micro-chipped with the wrong owners details wont help. All this law does is make the general public think the problem is solved.

The whole point is to return lost dogs to their owners.

No, the whole point is for Councils to avoid the £50 million they currently pay out for dogs who’s owners can’t be traced.

The sort of people who own dogs that can’t be traced back to them now will continue to own dogs that can’t be traced back to them.

The point is that cars are far more easy to tie to an individual but it’s difficult to enforce that law – with dogs it’s going to be imnpossible.

I’m with wwaswas on this.

so if a stray dog is caught and found without a chip, will it be killed rather than it hanging around in pound waiting for its owner to claim it or for it to be re-homed?

The point is that cars are far more easy to tie to an individual but it’s difficult to enforce that law – with dogs it’s going to be imnpossible.

Maybe they should try chipping cars and make dogs wear numberplates…

make dogs wear numberplates…

Can I get a personalized number plate for my Rover?

£2k an hour! More like £2k in 2 weeks after several years.

Quite depressing how little they earn compared to doctors. But same for engineers. So much so I’m tempted to go back to uni and re-train!

All our animals are chipped – far more reliable and safer than a tag which can get ripped off or removed. I’d prefer to not have to use a collar as they are dangerous for our dog but we are only exempt when working (gun dog).

First the dogs… then us?

If you were born after 1984 look for a small scar in the nape of you neck

I work with stray dogs, about 25% of the time the chip info is wrong, phone numbers are incorrect disconnected ect and in a good few cases nobody has registered the chip.
I also see lots and lots of lovely animals that clearly belong to someone but have no collar or chip and the owners are never found, I don’t think that making chipping compsery will make much difference to bad dog owners, but its got to be a good thing in the long run if it reunites pets and owners, and saves councils money.

Get out clause: Dogs used for the capture or destruction of vermin
We’re out chav hunting.

Nice lobbying by the veterinarians in their continued battle to guarantee themselves work.

As people have said, the people with problem dogs aren’t the ones who are likley to be getting them chips

in fact this law is no better than the old dog licence – what was the compliance rate on that?

as someone who’s also spent far more than enough time using these chips (in dogs) I can also assure you that the’re far from failsafe, and especially when implanted in the scruff as they are suggesting, can migrate and cause all sorts of problems – far better in the ear.

I’ve heard adverse things about chip migration in the past and as a result we have never done ours. Always tagged and collared though. If its the law then future dogs will have them but I doubt their benefits for any kind of safety or enforcement issues or as a money spinner for vets.

The vet next to me just confirmed its very rare for chips to migrate far (only 20 years experience though)

The vet next to me just confirmed its very rare for chips to migrate far (only 20 years experience though)

I’ve seen it loads of times.