Surely, many pet owners here have already had their dogs and cats microchipped, with it being such a huge benefit in many ways! While collars and tags are helpful, a microchip helps you locate your dog and ensure that they have information in case any of their physical tags get lost. It’s helped many owners find their lost dogs that way!
So if you stumble across a dog who looks lost, one of the first things to do is to check if they have a microchip. But how would you know if they are? I’ll be showing you the steps to take on how to tell if a dog has a chip implanted!
How to Tell If a Dog Has a Chip Implanted
A lot of us have met many stray dogs, many of them who may be lost and finding their way home. While it’s easy to locate the owner through a collar or tags with the owner’s contact information, they most likely may have lost it or don’t wear one. Fortunately, microchipping became a solution to ensure that the dog’s location and owner information would be easy to access.
However, you can’t immediately tell if a dog is microchipped, so here are the five steps to follow:
1. Take Him to the Local Shelter or Rescue Group
The first thing to do is to find your local shelter or contact an animal rescue group who can help you out. You can ask them to scan the dog is they have an implanted microchip ID, helping you track down the owner information to let them know you have their dog.
Plus, if the owner is aware that their dog went missing, they will most likely head on to the local shelter immediately to find their pet. Ask staff if they have had any missing dog reports to help find the rightful dow owner immediately.
2. Call the Local Veterinarian
If you’re not comfortable in visiting the local shelter (some shelters may be unclean or poorly managed), then head on to the local veterinarian, who is also able to check if the dog is microchipped. They will scan the animal and check for information to contact the owner.
Or hopefully, the local vet is familiar with the dog and their owner, so they can check through their contact list for an even faster procedure. If ever you do find out that the missing dog isn’t microchipped, then it’s best to follow the next steps ahead.
3. File a Report and Post About the Missing Dog
If the dog shelter is poorly managed, don’t worry about leaving him there as you can keep the dog until his owners contact you. Make sure that you file a found dog report in the dog shelter and let the local vet know about it in case any dog owners contact them to find their pet.
You can also take action yourself by taking a photo of the dog and leaving details on both dog and your contact information. Post as much as you can, may it be fliers around the neighborhood and even online in local community groups.
4. If You Need to Take Him Home First
If ever you do take the dog home for temporary shelter, you need to prepare beforehand, especially when you have pets of your own. Check for any fleas or sicknesses that may affect the household. Also, if the dog or your pets aren’t fully vaccinated, then it’s best to keep the distance to ensure both dog and pets don’t get sick.
Besides that, wash your hands after handling the dog, clean his waste immediately, and be wary while caring for the dog, as he may feel aggressive or scared. Protecting yourself and the household is your top priority, but also make sure that the dog is comfortable.
5. Using a Stud Finder?
While this may seem like an odd way to tell if a dog has a chip implanted, several experiments show that a stud finder helps. It can identify microchip presence under the dog’s skin. However, it can’t show you the information inside that chip, so you’ll need to contact the vet or shelter once you find out that the lost dog is indeed microchipped.
If you’re interested to learn more about microchip implantation, here’s a short video guide to help you out:
Wrapping It Up
When you first spot a friendly, lost dog, it’s best to take responsibility to lead them back to their homes. Hopefully, they do have a chip implanted which helps you contact their owner to take them back home. If you have a dog, you might want to consider microchipping them as well to prevent serious cases, too!
I hope that this article on how to tell if a dog has a chip implanted helps you. So now you know what to do just in case you find a dog who needs help!