Microchipping your dog

Dogs must be microchipped, and the owner's details kept up to date.

This is to comply with microchipping law, and to help you get your dog back if it goes missing.

Find out about:

the benefits of microchipping
get your dog microchipped
the law around microchipping

What are the benefits microchipping my dog?

Microchipping is a permanent form of identification.

If your pet is found it will be scanned to find its unique ID number and the central database (which operates 24 hours a day) can confirm your details.

If your dog is microchipped and we find it - and your contact details (such as your phone number) are up to date - this makes it easier for us to contact you. This could avoid you paying costly kennel fees.

Microchipping your dog also means it is linked to you if it is stolen.

You could be fined if your dog isn't microchipped, or if you don't keep your details up to date.

Get your dog microchipped

We can visit your home and microchip your dog for a fee of £16 per dog, or £10 per dog for two or more. Your vet may also provide this service.

If you need to update the contact information on your dog’s microchip, contact either PetLog on 01296 336579 or Identibase (formerly Anibase) on 01904 487600. You can find out where your dog's microchip is registered on the Check a Chip website.

The company may charge a fee to pay to update the details. We can't do this on your behalf.

Microchipping law

The law states that:

all dogs over 8 weeks old must be microchipped (apart from certified working dogs)
if you get a dog you must make sure that it has been microchipped, and make sure that your full name, address and contact telephone number are recorded on the database (along with the dog's name)
you must not transfer a dog to a new keeper until it has been microchipped (this includes breeders)
if you import a dog you must make sure that it is microchipped within 30 days of importing it

If your dog is not microchipped or the details are incorrect on the microchip database:

If your dog is found running free in a public place without you we will pick it up.

If it doesn't have any form of identification, or if the contact details are incorrect on the microchip database, we won't be able to contact you. The dog will be taken to the kennels and could end up being rehomed.

Where we pick up a dog that hasn't been microchipped but manage to find the owners, we will issue a notice requiring the dog to be microchipped within 21 days.

Where we find that the details on the microchip database are incorrect we will issue a notice requiring the database to be updated within 21 days.

If a notice is not complied with the owner may be fined.