Dogs must be microchipped before eight weeks under new regulations General Chat

Dogs must be microchipped before eight weeks under new regulations
Created: 05/11/2014



REGULATIONS governing the compulsory microchipping of dogs, which comes into force in April 2016, have been announced.

The new rules, which have been announced by DEFRA minister Lord de Mauley state that puppies ‘older than eight weeks’ must be chipped, when in fact this must be done earlier.

DEFRA confirmed to DOG WORLD on Tuesday that, in fact, the dog must be chipped ‘before they are eight weeks old’.

Under the new regulations a breeder is defined as a person who owns the mother of a litter of puppies regardless of where that person resides. For any dog that is not a puppy the keeper is defined as the person with whom the dog normally resides.

The Kennel Club has given an interpretation of the Microchipping of Dogs Regulations 2014 as follows:

For every keeper of a dog not currently microchipped they have until April 6, 2016 to microchip their dog and register with an approved microchip database;

From that date keepers must ensure puppies are microchipped and registered with an approved microchip database. The Kennel Club said this must be done before eight weeks of age – before the puppy leaves its mother – although the printed regulations say ‘older than eight weeks’;
Article. http://www.dogworld.co.uk/product.p..._regulations/5d4244d5bbe6eccd7797d2efb3167ecf

Going by the comments breeders are not happy, personally i think its far to young especially in small breeds .

My own vets have said the puppies must be chipped before they are rehomed by the breeder @ 11-12 weeks old.

Pepe the standard poodle was chipped before I got him. Chico the Chihuahua - same breeder - was not done, presumably because of his size. I shall ring her and see what she'll be doing in the future.

I do not know what the age is here or what the law is - just that the law is that all dogs must have their rabies shots each year. And the rabies shots are given by the Local Authority Vet - and he, Dr Vadim, chipped both Little One and then Pereg when he came to give them both their first rabies shot.

But of course there are always those owners who never bother...

It may be well intentioned, but I get rattled by the fact that year by year our personal freedoms are becoming eroded. I believe it was Max Weber who in the late C19 identified the creeping danger of 'the iron cage of bureaucracy'.

Sorry about the off topic philosophy - maybe I'm just becoming an old f***!

I must be an old fa#t too, sick to death of the legislation's being forced on dog owners especially as they will never be enforced properly and basically not fit for purpose as they will not stop the problems.

It will be interesting to see what (if any) effect this will have on BYB & Puppy Farms.

Phoebe has her chip but to phoebe it was nothing. I dont think ild want to chip a tini puppy as the gun left quite a hole and now with pet shops ect doing microchips i wouldnt want them doing it to puppies,

Georgina was chipped at 10 weeks old but Gwylim was done on the day I collected him from the breeder when he was 9 months old. Over her when you but a pedigree dog its normal for the breeder to include microchipping in the price of the puppy.

The puppy dealers will do them at point of sale, because it costs next to nothing, and makes them look like caring providers. However, this doesn't mean that puppy buyers are going to keep those details up to date. I'm not against the use of microchips - both of of mine are done - what I am against is the heavy handed use of the law as an attempt to make such young dogs traceable. If I was still breeding Cavaliers, I would think their last primary vaccination was a reasonable time to chip.
I also agree with Azz, vets should scan more often than they do, (mine have never been scanned unless I have asked them to check), and strongly suggest that any unchipped dogs are done.

Mine are checked every year when they have their Rabies vaccination which by law they have and for me are absolutely necessary as I never know when I might want to travel to the UK.

Vadim also checks before he gives the rabies shot - because chip numbers are registered with the Ministry of Agriculture under the owner's ID number. And the rabies shot is also registered under the owner's ID number.

Vadim has to register both chip numbers and rabies shots with the MoA. Private vets can microchip a dog [or cat] but are not permitted to give rabies shots. Only Local Authority vets can.

Does having to have an ID card - the number being registered just about everywhere, mean that I feel I am being followed or that my personal freedom has been taken?

I do not think so.

I actually feel safer because I have an ID number which nobody else will ever have.

Please excuse me if I sound a bit oopsy at the moment and I am not sure if I am explaining things very well at the moment.

All pets should be microchipped. It's law here for dogs, cats have finally been included in this law. Cats must also be desexed. Registration is a lot cheaper for those that are. The idea that if my dog was ever lost that she can be safely returned quickly is rather comforting. One of the few things that I agree with that councils do. Nothing more inconsiderate of owners of dogs that don't have tags with contact details on it.

Not sure about your country but in UK the MC does not prove ownership, so if your dog was stolen and (sold on) or found and the person didn't want to give it back you would have problems
The tags are already a legal requirement here but mostly ignored, once again if dog was stolen ect: tag can be easily removed.
There is no guarantee of getting dog back either way.

The law here is that all dogs must wear collars and tags and must not be let out loose.

But dogs are let out loose, not wearing a collar or tag.

And the law here is that all dogs must have yearly rabies shots.

But many do not.

"The Law is an Ass"

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-law-is-an-ass.html
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I know 2 of my cats {Billy Bob & Rosie May} chips have stopped working.
My dogs are no longer in the scruff of their necks, Ziva's, Skye's, Zeus's are in left front armpit, K9's is in middle of his chest, Dottie's as travelled down to her left back leg & Kobi's is on his tummy. so if any of my dogs do get lost then I know some rescue homes don't bother to scan & the dog wardens won't think of running scanner all over them they just run scanner around necks only.
I have had all 6 dogs tattooed {was done when they were spayed/neutered} because they were done by my vets they have the vets name/number on so if picked up they should be returned to my vets [fingers cross]

I've had microchips migrate too. I've never had one done, but there is a central tattoo registry which advertises in the dog press, which might be better in case the owner ever moves house. I think having it done when your dog is already 'under' is a great idea though. What I haven't heard is whether tattoos comply with the law - or does it have to be a microchip?

I have no idea Carole if they will count as law, I am just covering all options if my dogs do go missing, a alert will go out to all vets in the UK if my dogs are lost.

No tattooing is not an option MC only .

None of my dogs are chipped. three of the five cats are chipped only because I used the county's traveling bus( the neuter commuter) to get it done. They are cheaper than the vets. All dogs and cats have their rabies shots, but I give it myself. It's not illegal but since they don't have a county tag the powers that be do not recognize that they have had the shot. I don't tag my dogs because I feel it's just a way for some government entity to make money and it is not the governments business how many dogs I have even though my county has no limit on how many dogs you own. Here in the US the county will read the chip. They will call you but if you've changed your phone number you're out of luck. When your animal is chipped you are given the paperwork for a company that, for a price, will enable you to call in with any changes and they claim to be able to track your pet nationwide if it's lost or stolen. Animal control did get one of my cats once when he got caught in one of those humane traps. He was kept there overnight. Cost 77.00 to get him back. It would have been more as they tried to charge for a rabies shot they had given him before they read the chip and looked in their computer only to find they had given him the shot 4 months earlier.