Microchips not working????

[Stella]

We were at the vets last week and I asked them if they could scan our boys to make sure the microchip was where it was supposed to be and hadn't moved.  They couldn't get a reading from either of them!!  Both of my boys were microchipped by the breeder - we saw one of them get done for sure.  They are a year apart in age so it is unlikely that the microchips were from the same batch.  They are registered with the microchip company (M4S), we have the chip numbers for both of them.  The vet scanned another dog with the same scanner to check it was working and they got reading from that dog.

 

Has anyone else had this happen??  What should we do??  Should I try somewhere else with a scanner (?animal shelter) to see if they can get a reading?  Do you think it is worth contacting M4S to see if they will pay to have them re-microchipped?  We live in a rural area and sometimes when we take the dogs out off leash they go exploring (read they run off into the bush and come home whenever they like it..... we are working on this undesirable behviour!!).  They wear collars with tags on, but I hate to think that their microchips aren't working.

 

The vet wanted to charge us $85 per dog for new microchips, is this a reasonable price??

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Ouch $85 per dog is a lot.  Here in Atlanta area (which is know for high vet fees) we pay half that per dog.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

That is expensive, I would check it out elsewhere too. Also some shelters do it for much cheaper.

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

That happened with Pixel on his first vet visit (he was microchipped at the shelter before I got him). His microchip HAD moved, but they found it after they put a fresh battery in the reader. I'd be tempted to try somewhere else with a scanner and make sure your vet doesn't have a dodgy scanner before you pay to have them re-chipped.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Yes, especially since you know it's there and the likelihood of BOTH of them not being readable sounds funny. Not ha-ha funny.

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

Cooper's breeder had him microchipped when he was 6 weeks old.  When he was about 4 months old, I found a lump near the armpit of his front leg.  I took him to the vet and told them that I thought it was his microchip because it felt like a large grain of rice under his skin.  They scanned his neck/shoulder blade area but nothing showed up.  They scanned the lump and the microchip number appeared on the scanner.  We had the original microchip removed when they did his neuter surgery and because the vet said he didn't know where the original one would finally end up and if Cooper were ever to get lost, who was going to think to scan his entire body looking for it.  While he was sedated, they also implanted a second microchip in the correct spot.

He said that microchips migrating isn't very common overall, but it is more common in dogs that are microchipped at a very young age.

Our vet only charges $40 for microchipping so $85 sounds pretty high.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Our vet said the same, that it isnt very common for the chip to migrate, however, she does check it once a year, just incase. Which I find reasurring every time I hear the beep.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Calla's is near her shoulder, upper leg area, having migrated.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We pay $15 - $25 dollars for chipping.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

$85 is way too much! We always have clinics held that do them for like $25 but even at the vet it is less than $45

Also our animal control shelter does them real cheap too.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I just checked, the clinic that I had Bella spayed at is $20.00. And they do an annual event where it's free with other proceedures. Seems you can fine it for a more reasonable price.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Wow... I never thought of having it checked.  Sasha has a chip which I will have her vet check the next time.  Before you go buy a new one I would contact the manufacturer first.

[Meridith and Lola]

Lola (3 years old now) was microchipped at the breeder but this summer I was at an animal shelter walk and there were a few vendors there - one being Home Again which is the chip Lola had and was registered with.  I asked them to scan her and nothing came up.  They scanned all over.  They were offering free chips so I had them put another one in and then linked my Home Again account with the new chip number just in case it somehow shows up again.  Not sure why or how it happened but was certainly glad to find out before needing it.