Ok I have two question dealing with tattoos

1 . I had my puppies done around  10 weeks of age. Lady came out and did them. Well, Sunday I showing a person the tattoo and there was no sign of it. What went wrong?

2.  I have a female I just got and her tattoo is only three numbers is that normal?

first of all no pups should be taatooed after they are 8 weeks old  after that age sedation must be used  . I am sure you have not been aware of this but for next time have them done at 7 weeks old.

So I would have to guess this was not an official USA tattooer ..  USA tattoo's are 7 digits 

u might not see any sign of it because the  ear is still covered with the ink   ?? If the ink starts wearing away and you don't see nothing at all then the lady might of not pushed the code in deep enough so the ink could not fill into the tiny holes and  the result would then be no tattoo

any breeder can tattoo their pups and use their codes  some 4 others 5 or 6  so  for that breeder using a 3 code system is her/ his system.

Pia

PIA

Thank you for the information as I am new to tattooing. I normally do micro-chips but saw for SchH you have to have Tattoos or a micro chip scanner ($$$$$).

No mine was 6 digits and a  breeder came out and did me a favor.

No ink is all gone and so was the tattoo. I think it is want you said not hard enough to fill the holes.

EK,

as I can not comment on tatoo procedure in the US, the info you got from Pia seems good to me. I just would like to ad one thing :

Do not leave the pups after tatooing with the bitch. What happens quite often when you do s, is that mum tends to lick the ears clean again ! There is often a little bit of blood involved and when mummy smells that, she will lick and the colour will be gone ! Seperate them at least for a couple of hours.

Regards Ulli Dresbach

Pia-  Since the USA requires tatooing to be done by an official USA tatooer then what happens in a situation where the pup is beyond the 7 week age??  If someone else like a vet does the tatoo does this mean it would not be "official" or allowed when entering a trial?  I just want to make sure I understand what is required since I have a 5 month old pup I want to have tatooed and since I'm planning to do sport with him I want to make sure it's done properly.

SchUSA has a special on a microchip reader for $225 that will read just about anything, even foreign chips.  We used it for our local trial and it worked fine for about three different types of microchips.  You used to have to spend $1000 for a reader that read everything, but now this reader is available.

Sometimes owners wash the ink out of the puppy's ear too, instead of letting it wear off.  That erases the tattoo also :-)

Veronica

The above mentioned information is incorrect. Puppies can be tattooed without sedation until the 12th week. http://germanshepherddog.com/regulations/breeding_regulations.htm

My husband and I have been a USA -tattooer/breed warden team for the past 12 years or so. A tattoo is almost immediately legible. So, something went terribly wrong. The process is as follows: You put together the assigned number,  "dry-tattoo" the slip and then the ear (which should be clean and shaven). Then (not before but after the actual tattooing), you put in the ink and rub it in very good. That is extremely important! Our tattoo needles actually punch through the ear, as they are very sharp. My husband sharpens them from time to time to ensure that. Dull needles cause unnecessary pain, while sharp ones are hardly felt, just like a surgeon's scalpel. the most painful moment is when we rub in the ink, as it stings a bit. A good ink is a must, and I have to say that we have better results with ink we personally purchase in Germany (from Hauptner), rather than the one USA supplies. That one fades quicker!

Chris

Veronica that about the cost of the chip reader. I know when they first came out they were $$$$ I guess it like everything else after the new wears off then the price drops.

I had purchased a dog at 7 months old and the breeder did his tattoo at this age. I am doing sport with me dogs so the male got his tattoo at 7 months old plus he is microchipped also. My female was done when she was i guess about 8 weeks old. The tattoo number the breeder puts on them is their kennel initals and whatever number they want. My male has 6 numbers and my female has 5 numbers. I couldn't see it at first but now I can.