Tattoo Timing - Page 1

Hello all experienced breeders! I have a question. What is the best time, in your opinion, to tattoo? I know that some breeders provide their 8 wk old puppies with tattoos, but don't we risk interferring with the first "fear imprint period"? Also, couldn't it be done when the dog is sedated for Penn Hip and/or OFA certification? I wonder if growth of the ear would effect the visibility of the tattoo? Also wouldn't want to interfere with ears standing. What are your thoughts? Just curious...

I do it when they are 45 days old. Normally one sells pupies when they are 8 weeks old so when they are ready to go they should have tatoo, papers, shots etc.

You can find a vet who tatoos and do them when under for OFA's, PennHips. The pen tatoo can be done in the ear at that time. Our dog who has a Pen Tatoo is extremely clear and very easy to read.

Hi Blitzstrahl, while i would not consider myself as a very experienced breeder, this is how its done here in Germany ( this is as far as i know) : Around 6.5 weeks the pups get their basic immunication abd a exam by the vet. As per SV Regulation a pup can be tatooed not earlier than the 50th day of live. My 1st litter was done the same way(at 50th day), and believe me, they protested but then it was done and the pups were just fine. As to your question that tatooing could interfere with the ears standing : If it is done the way it should be, no harm can be done. Out of a litter of 5, all of them have standing ears and no " fear imprint" at all. Your question if the visibility of the tatoo vanishes with groth of the ear..... no, the tatoo pliers have a set of needles that are pinched into the ear. So when the ear grows, the holes pinched are just moving a little more apart.Of course, the ears have to have a certain size, if not you would wait for them grow. Now, sometimes breeders wait a little longer with the vacination and therefore have to wait with the tatoo also. Here in Germany pups can only be tatooed if vacinated. Hope i was able to help out. Regards Ulli Dresbach

Breeders have been doing this procedure that Ulli described, for MANY DECADES, and it is considered the norm. I personally do mine at 7 weeks old, at their last vet visit, before they leave my home. My vet puts them under before the procedure is done, and won't do it otherwise. Fine with me, I just want them tattooed. I don't know what the general practices is here in the states, but the breeder is not allowed to tattoo the pups his or herself, under the SV system. That is why my vet does it for me. Ideally, if you were a member of a dog club, a designee in your area would do this for you. Stephen

Here they can be tatooed from 45 to 120 days, I agree with Stephen the best time is around 7 weeks, its harder when the ears are bigger and thicker. I also agree with him and Oskar1 that I have never seen a puppy negatively affected by the process, they squeal, yes, but within seconds they are running around playing again as if nothing had happened, and i have never heard of ears not going up because of tatooting, in fact someone once told me that it can actually stimulate them to go up because it increases blood flow to the ear, don`t know if thee is any truth in this, but there is nothng to worry about tatooing, jsut make sure the ears are well cleaned with alcohol first, the ink contains an antiseptic so they don`t get infected.

I agree with Ulli and Stephen, as about seven (7) weeks of age is the time when I apply tattoos. From what I observe the puppies have virtually no recall of the pain after a few hours, and are usually approachable within a few minutes. After a week or so of recovery, I have an outsider perform the temperament test while I hide and watch. Dogs can also be tattooed while sedated for an O.F.A. examination and can be part of the identification for the dog. But, be careful if you are submitting the x-rays for evaluation by the S.V., as the dog is already supposed to have them before the x-ray. So, don't advertise exactly what you did. As far as long-term effects of the tattooed ear, it is my experience that the tattooed ear usually stands first and best. I suppose this is from the trauma and additional blood flow to heal the ear. The growth of the ear from a puppy to an adult does cause the size of the characters to increase a bit, but the shape of the characters does not really change. Bob-O

Stephen, following what you said as who is allowed to tattoo the puppies. Per S.V. rules, the first recommended choice is a tattooer recognized by the S.V.. If this person is not available, then it is supposed to be done by a licensed veterinarian. In this last case, the identifying characters can be of the breeder's choice as long as they are unique. If the tattoos are applied by the S.V.'s recognized tattooer, then the number format is generated prior to the tattooing and the tattoo identifies the kennel as well as the sex of puppy, the number of the puppy, and I think the region in that it was born. I am not sure about the region in regards to the U.S.A. as the region does apply in Germany but may not be the same for the U.S.A.. Bob-O

6-7 weeks

Hello, as always, the info from Bob & Stephen are as accurate as accurate can be ! Thank you guys, my english is a little limited, so your input is always very wellcome to cover the rest i am missing out on ! And yes, Bob is right, here in Germany it should be done by a certified and SV recognized tattooer. He is the one who has to submit all the nessecery paperwork to the SV. The paperwork will be : 1. Wurfmeldeschein ( this states info on Sire & Dam; littersize, gender of pups & names of pups,colour of coat, aswell as info on deadborn. It also states when the breedwarden checked on the litter. The breedwarden has to check on the litter within 3 days of birth and then 1 more time before the litter is tatooed. He has to be present when the tattooing takes place.) 2. Deckbescheinigung ( Certificat that this mating took place.This cert. will be handed over by the owner of the Sire, original for owner of the dame, copy is send by the Sire owner to the SV. This is how the SV keeps track of all studs performed and how the "Decknachrichten" are generated.) After the Tattooer match all the paperwork, he will then link a tatoo # to a pup, starting with the male pups. This is very important and has to be done correctly, as of now a pup has his very own identity ! One more thing i would like to add, after the tatooing seperate the pups from the bitch. Sometines there is a little bleeding of the ear and mum will lick the ear clean, not only removing the blood also the ink, you dont want that. This sounds very technical and like no fun, but i do enjoy it, because you have basicly friends come over that give you opinions on your pups. My breedwarden does not breed anymore, but is very experienced so is the tattooer. So it is an event that i always look forward to. The tatooer submits the paperwork to the SV and with a little luck i will recieve the pink papers from the SV 2 weeks later. Kind Regards, Ulli