Q: My puppy was microchipped before I bought him - why is this and do I need to do anything?

A: Since 2006 all pedigree puppies have to be microchipped for Irish Kennel Club registration. This is done by the breeder's vet when the pups are about 6 weeks old and have to be done before the puppies can be sold with papers.

The chip itslef will work perfectly well but because it was the breeder that did (or didn't do!) all the necessary paperwork there is often a problem in that the chip is not registered to the pup's new owner. As a result if the dog strays and is brought to a dog pound or vets they will not be able to track down the owner of the dog via the microchip number - the microchip is basically useless.

So if you have a dog that was microchipped before you bought him it important to ensure that the microchip is correctly registered to you. Your vet can check this for you and if the information is incorrect this can be corrected by e-mail. If the chip is not registered at all you can purchase a registration pack for the main microchip databse in Ireland - www.fido.ie. Again, ask your vet who should be able to supply these registration packs.

In short if you did not have your pet's microchip inserted yourself you should check that the details on the databases are correct so that your pet can be reunited with you. If these details are incorrect your pet may as well not be microchipped. Ask your vet for help if in doubt.

See also this page on microchipping in general.