# Can microchips be wiped?



## Grims

A Microchip is just an RFID module with a number on it right? I wonder how immune they are to all the other issues RFID have from magnetic interference wiping the data. 

If all a thief has to do is wave a speaker magnet over my dogs back it isn't going to help much.


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## allieg

Good question hopefully someone has an answer.


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## Grims

I was also thinking what would happen if a microchipped dog needed an MRI.


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## angelaw

Probably the only ones with the answer would be home again or avid.


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## DianaM

One way to test: go to the vet, have them scan your dog and confirm the location and read of the chip. Wave a very strong magnet over that area. Rescan. If you get a read on the chip, you know the answer. If you don't, call the chip company. 

Report here with the experiment's results.


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## Chicagocanine

If I still had my Golden I would've tried the magnet thing with her second microchip after getting the info from it.
We found out last fall that she had a second migrated microchip in her side... It's weird that we never found it before because they scanned her when I found her and when I had her microchipped and they did not find any microchips. Then last fall they took an x-ray of her chest and the vet saw this second microchip way down her side near her front leg... I was shocked! I found her as a stray 10 years ago... My vet had just opened a new clinic this fall so she didn't have a scanner yet. I was going to have it scanned later when the vet got a scanner or go to another place to scan it, but then Ginger passed away suddenly in October so we never found out who it was registered to... It may have not worked/been inactivated though, that would explain why the other microchip scans never picked it up. I remember when I first found her that they scanned over her sides and back so I would've thought it would have shown up.


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## Sherush

Well I asked hubby to research that question and he said a magnet would do nothing, but you can wipe it by microwaving it or breaking/crushing it, but really neither would work as it is inside the dog.


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## Timber1

Diana,

we scanned my rescue today at the Milwaukee Pet Expo. The dog was chipped in KC. but the scanner showed no chip. The person that scanned te dog literally did it over the entire dog's body. 

So another chip and new tag on her collar. I am wondering how something like the afore-mentioned occurs.


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## RubyTuesday

It's scary these chips aren't working. Does anyone have ideas as to what's up with that? Perhaps I should have Djibouti's & Sam's chips checked regularly...


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## AbbyK9

> Quote:The dog was chipped in KC. but the scanner showed no chip. The person that scanned te dog literally did it over the entire dog's body.


I have heard from a horse friend that it is possible (in horses) for the chip to migrate (we know they can migrate in dogs, too), and that, if a chip migrates to, say, underneath a muscle, it may not be possible to read it, because the scanner only has a certain range in terms of what it can read "through" (ie, thickness).


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## kelso

also, don't certain chip readers read only some chips? or is that a thing of the past..or something that I have just heard?

Could the chip reader completely not pick up the chip if it is not "compatible" with the reader?

hope what I am trying to say makes sense


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## Redbug

Great thread! Some good questions that I am wondering about, too. I do know that not all chips are compatible with all readers. But the magnetic issue is a good one, as well as migration and scanner depth.


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## maxsmom1229

i got max microchiped at the USDA vets office. they told me it was avid brand, but an international chip...since we were moving to germany. well i had my german vet scan him and it doesnt come up at all, ran it all over him. i had the american vet on-post scan it and it came up right away. so i also had a german microchip put in him in case he got away here, either the "international" chip they sold me was a crock of sh** or my german vet didnt have the appropriate scanner.

ah well, i just hope the 2 of them in him are OK


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## Grims

Well, I did a lot of research on the subject. As a previous poster commented a magnet shouldn't do anything because the chip is made primarily of copper and solder, non magnetic metals. Although an MRI could turn the chip into a little frying pan and melt it through your body....but that is unconfirmed. I'm a little curious though if the chips are read only, or read/write. If they are readwrite, then almost any home based computer RFID reader/writer could overwrite them. 

The chips are insulated by glass for sanitation reasons, I would think of someone stole a dog they could just pinch the chip real good and break it.


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## Redbug

If I had to guess...the chips are read only. When the chip was inserted in my shep, the person doing it said each was imprinted with it's own number. It was written down and entered into the system. Also just thinking about it some more, if they were read and write, it seems there could be problems with duplication at the various vet offices, etc. I would think the companies that make the chips have control over the numbers in the chips to stop that from happening.

I suppose anyone could buy a reader and use it to locate a chip on a stolen dog, so as to find and destroy the chip... Tattoos are ugly in my opinion, but probably not as easy to destroy. What do you think?


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## Chris Wild

Chips are read only.

The things aren't any bigger than a grain of rice and are very tough. Given their size and toughness, I think most people would be hard pressed to break one between their fingers on the outside of the dog. Managing that when its inside the dog would be nearly impossible. When inserted properly they are not just under the skin but also tagged in a bit of muscle. This keeps them from migrating. A reader will show you the chip's general location, but isn't going to pinpoint it exactly. And the chance of being able to feel through the dog's fur, skin and into the muscle to find it, and then break it is pretty slim.

Really just not something to be concerned about IMO.


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## Grims

> Originally Posted By: Chris WildChips are read only.
> 
> The things aren't any bigger than a grain of rice and are very tough. Given their size and toughness, I think most people would be hard pressed to break one between their fingers on the outside of the dog. Managing that when its inside the dog would be nearly impossible. When inserted properly they are not just under the skin but also tagged in a bit of muscle. This keeps them from migrating. A reader will show you the chip's general location, but isn't going to pinpoint it exactly. And the chance of being able to feel through the dog's fur, skin and into the muscle to find it, and then break it is pretty slim.
> 
> Really just not something to be concerned about IMO.


Chips shouldn't be inserted in muscle because the signal has a tough time penetrating it. The chips stay put from thin layers of connective tissue forming around them. 

That said I can easily feel my dogs chip above his right shoulder. I also have a few of the 12mm chips lying around at work, they can be cracked rather easily. After they are cracker it is just a matter of time before the body breaks the chip down. I bet a thief could simply use a pair of pliers and squeeze it...probably causing severe pain and damage to the dog...but some people just wouldn't care.


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## Chris Wild

> Originally Posted By: Axxel
> 
> Chips shouldn't be inserted in muscle because the signal has a tough time penetrating it. The chips stay put from thin layers of connective tissue forming around them.


Not fully INTO the muscle, no. But the idea is to catch a bit of the muscle when inserting the chip. Not just under the skin.

Instructions from the chip companies actually specify that.

If inserted just under the skin, without tagging a bit of muscle, the chips can and do migrate. Seen it happen more than once.


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## Chris Wild

As for the destructability of dog microchips.. had one fall out of the syringe once onto the floor, get stepped on and still kept working. So they are far from fragile things.

Nothing in the world is foolproof. Could a bad guy steal a dog and somehow deactivate or destroy the chip? Sure. Nothing is impossible. But the chances of that happening are pretty unlikely. Lost or stolen, the dog is still safer with a chip than without.


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## Chris Wild

> Originally Posted By: Axxel That said I can easily feel my dogs chip above his right shoulder.


Than it's likely the chip wasn't inserted properly. Having chipped more than 60 dogs I can say that being able to easily feel the chip is unusual. Only dogs I've ever been able to feel chips on are ones that weren't implanted properly and the chip had migrated.


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## Grims

> Originally Posted By: Chris WildAs for the destructability of dog microchips.. had one fall out of the syringe once onto the floor, get stepped on and still kept working. So they are far from fragile things.
> 
> Nothing in the world is foolproof. Could a bad guy steal a dog and somehow deactivate or destroy the chip? Sure. Nothing is impossible. But the chances of that happening are pretty unlikely. Lost or stolen, the dog is still safer with a chip than without.


I understand that, The reason I bring it up is from the ID tag thread where a lot of people specify their dog is chipped...and I'm just trying to figure out if that's such a good idea if it can be easily defeated.


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