WFT, vets on 2k an hr! chipping, a money spinner for vets. get a **** grip.
Both of ours dogs have been chipped, our staff was done at the animal shelter we got him from. The other through the vet for about £10.

And neither have had chip migration.

Zulu Eleven you do have some interesting opinions there.

Microchipping is never going to be a “Money spinner” for vets. Not the amount most charge for it anyway.

As for migration, it’s very rare for it to happen at all, and for it to get to the point where it actually causes problems is significant more unlikely (never seen a migration where I’ve actually had to do anything about it in 15 years. Chipping in the ear may make it less likely to migrate but would frequently need sedation and has other risks associated with it (plus easier to remove if you’re looking at all the potential problems)

Now, if they can just find some way of chipping the poop as it leaves the host so it can be scanned and the owner charged for cleanup, then I’ll be happy 😉

FBK – I’ve implanted a couple of hundred in the ear (and worked with many hundreds more) never used sedation (though to be fair we weren’t working with puppies) and we had very few lost (and if they were usually lost in first 24 hours) (- you can probably guess the context of this work 😉 )

prior to using the ear we saw a fair few migrate – and I’ve seen lots of migration in other species (and I’ve seen a few really weird ones), with enough tissue masses to notice and know its not rare.

regards the ‘guarantee themselves work’ comment – I’d put that in the context of other restrictions that have come through, like tail docking.

Ok, fair enough – I can see some plusses to it but, I don’t think a lot of owners would be happy with a pup being injected in the ear, plus you have the accepted standard of between the shoulder blades for scanning now. I also refuse to accept that migration is any more than an uncommon inconvenience which very rarely requires intervention in routine use.

I don’t follow your last comment though re tail docking – are you suggesting that’s a “lost income” now it’s been banned or that vets have to do it in the rare cases it’s allowed (a whole different argument!). Either way, I have only ever met a handful of vets who would even consider docking tails, before or after the “ban”. But then I guess we’re straying OT again.

For those wondering about the cost….All dogs in England to get free

Owners will be able to get their dog microchipped for free at any of the 18 Dogs Trust centres across the UK, and free microchips will be offered by Dogs Trust to local authorities, housing associations and veterinary surgeries.

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home have announced that free microchipping will be offered at their three centres, and the Blue Cross will also offer free microchipping to dogs and cats at their 16 hospitals and centres across England.