# Tattoo on spayed female!



## Cairnterrier (Mar 26, 2011)

Last Thursday, we took our puppy to be spayed. That evening when we picked her up, we tipped her over to see the incision and just below that, I saw they had tattooed her. I was surprised to say the least. I asked why they had done that and the answer was that although it is a relatively new procedure here in Maine, the reason is that if ever our baby goes astray and is picked up by the dogcatcher, the humane society will know she is spayed. Since having this reasoned out, I am now an advocate of all female dogs having this procedure done. Do you think it's a good idea?


----------



## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

The vet I went to tattoos ears. 

I have a Papillon and I really didn't want them to tattoo in her ears because they could damage her ear leather and she would end up with a floppy ear. They refused to listen to me and didn't give me the option of tattooing on her belly at all, since I couldn't wait another month for her spay, I gave them the go ahead. Honestly though she didn't need it at all because she's microchipped.

When she came back to me, the tattooed ear was tipped over and starting to flop and I was pretty angry at the vet for an unnecessary procedure. It did go back up in about 2 months though so I guess it turned out alright but still. They should have at least allowed us to tattoo her belly and not her ears.

I know some places do a dot on the belly (to prove spaying), I think that's a lot better than tattooing a bunch of numbers and letters but they use it as an ID.


----------



## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

A spay scar is essentially the same thing. 

My dog was spayed before she was mine as a part of a vet school training program (they use shelter dogs for practice). The student who did the procedure made an absolutely giant incision. Anyone who looks will know she's spayed.

ETA: I also advocate microchipping all pets, and it would be great if the microchip company kept records on spay and rabies vaccinations as well.


----------



## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

I think it's a great idea! I've heard it's being done around here too. My female's scar is almost invisible. I think just a small dot is sufficient; no need for something huge. Sorry about what happened to you, Michiyo. That would tick me off.


----------



## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

When my cat got done, she got the tattoo. I havnt ever had a dog done myself. So not sure what they do with dogs. and since I have a male that will be neutered, i doubt they will tattoo him, since it will be obvious he is neutered lol


----------



## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

GottaLuvMutts said:


> A spay scar is essentially the same thing.


Neither of my girls have a scar from their spay.


----------



## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

kechara has no scar from being spayed, I think a small tatoo on the bellie of a spayed bitch is a good idea to prevent the animal being reopened in the event she is ever dropped at a shelter.


----------



## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I think it's an excellent idea. I wish all vets would do it with all female pets who are spayed. On the belly, not the ear. . .I wouldn't think to look in the ear and even if I saw a tattoo I wouldn't know if it meant she was spayed or if it was just an ID tattoo. It's a real pain to pick up a stray and have to figure out whether she's spayed or not. Spay scars are rarely visible. It can't possibly cost a lot. All you really have to do is rub a bit of tattoo ink into the incision.


----------



## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

GottaLuvMutts said:


> A spay scar is essentially the same thing.


Nia doesn't have a spay scar at all. I looked for like 15 min the other day where the incision was made and there was no scar.


----------



## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

This isn't a new idea. Magpie has a tattoo. Jack has one, but I can't really tell what it is and I'm uncertain how that would help in identifying him or telling me he is altered. I could just.. look and find that out.


----------



## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Yea some of the shelters here do this for every dog that is spayed under their care, I think it's a great idea. A lot of dogs (and almost all cats IME) don't have a detectable scar after a spay.


----------



## sizzledog (Nov 23, 2008)

FYI, C-section scars can look like spay scars.


----------



## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

sizzledog said:


> FYI, C-section scars can look like spay scars.


Good point. And any abdominal surgery, for that matter.


----------



## grab (Sep 26, 2009)

The clinic I work at tattoos all of the shelter animals we spay. Just a line over the incision. It is handy as many animals do not have scars from their spays..our Persian, Falafel, that we adopted from the shelter over a year ago had no spay scar whatsoever. We shaved her and looked carefully before doing the procedure. Got inside and alas, no uterus. 
I didn't have Goose tattooed when she was spayed, as I didn't think of asking to have it done.


----------



## Cairnterrier (Mar 26, 2011)

I wasn't given a choice in having this done - it was procedure. The tattoo is the female symbol a T with a round head atop and the round part has an X thru it. It is also not tiny - maybe a half inch in length and is dark blue.


----------



## theyogachick (Aug 2, 2009)

I actually think this is a good idea. Gracie was spayed early (through a rescue) and she had a tiny incision (as in an inch long) and now there is no evidence that it was ever there. She is chipped and that should tell that she is spayed ( I had to update medical info), but I think a tattoo is a good idea. I think what you are describing is a bit large, but I still think it is a good idea.


----------



## Charis (Jul 12, 2009)

I have considered getting my dogs tattooed for their spays but I don't think (I'll have to check) my vet does it. It would be helpful though as Misty was put under, shaved and then the scar was seen. I just glad the scar was still visible.


----------



## Rowdy (Sep 2, 2007)

What a great idea! Both of my dogs are male, so it's easy to tell they're neutered. But I can't see any scar on my spayed female cat.

It would be nice, though, if there was an agreed on symbol that all of the vets knew so there wouldn't be any confusion if someone picked up a stray cat or dog.


----------



## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

Our Vet hospital does tattoo all dogs and cats they spay. It helped us find the home of a Shih Tzu stray we found. We just phoned up the Vet and told him what kind of dog and the tattoo and he told us who owned the dog.

You certainly cannot depend on a scar showing. I had one dog who had a c-section so I had her spayed at the same time. She had complications and they had to open her up again the next day. She has absolutely no visible scar, two years later.


----------



## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

I think it's silly to tattoo their belly. Firstly, in long/thick hair breeds it's difficult to see even if you deliberately look for it. Secondly, if she runs away and is stressed and/or hurt she might be too aggressive for anyone to flip her over to see if she has a tattoo. 

Here they tattoo the animal's ear when it's desexed. It's much easier to see, you can usually spot it without even having to touch the dog. My puppy has upright ears, it wasn't affected by the tattoo at all.

Here they tattoo a "ø" in their ears, NOT an ID number, so there is no risk of the ear ever being cut off if the dog gets stolen. It's the standard symbol used by every vet in Australia.


----------



## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Well in a thick or long-haired breed you'd have to shave the hair to look for a spay scar, anyway. And it's not exactly an emergency to know whether it's spayed the second you find it or not, typically if someone finds a stray dog they either take it to a shelter or their own vet and they look for a spay scar during an examination there.


----------



## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

While I've heard of dogs being tattooed, in their ears for identification purposes, I've never heard of this! My Ginger is being spayed this coming Tuesday, I'll have to ask when I drop her off


----------



## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

I think it is a great idea. We adopted a rescue dog once that we were told had been spayed. They were basing that on a scar.
When I took her to my vet he said he was suspicious that it was a c-section scar not a spay scar. I don't know what made him think that but it turned out he was right. She had never been spayed. It would sure have been nice to have a way to know for sure without having to open her up.


----------



## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

I think a tattoo on the belly is a good idea. Even a long haired dog is not going to worry about a shaving, since they'd have to shave to check for a scar or to prep for an investigative surgery anyway. The frightened stray dog scenario is not really an issue...most people are not going to get the dog and check for a spay scar right off the bat anyway.
There was a time where spay incisions on dogs were pretty large, but surgical expertise and the advent of laser surgery have greatly reduced the visibility of scars. Cracker's scar is virtually invisible because her vet is good at what he does.


----------



## tirluc (Aug 29, 2006)

GottaLuvMutts said:


> A spay scar is essentially the same thing.
> 
> My dog was spayed before she was mine as a part of a vet school training program (they use shelter dogs for practice). The student who did the procedure made an absolutely giant incision. Anyone who looks will know she's spayed.
> 
> ETA: I also advocate microchipping all pets, and it would be great if the microchip company kept records on spay and rabies vaccinations as well.


there is no spay scar on any of the females that i have had done or friends dogs, so that wouldn't do


----------



## Charis (Jul 12, 2009)

lil_fuzzy said:


> Here they tattoo a "ø" in their ears, NOT an ID number, so there is no risk of the ear ever being cut off if the dog gets stolen. It's the standard symbol used by every vet in Australia.


I do agree a universal sign would be nice but since there isn't one here- I think the sign for female with an X through it may communicated the idea best for a small tattoo.


----------



## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

lil_fuzzy said:


> I think it's silly to tattoo their belly. Firstly, in long/thick hair breeds it's difficult to see even if you deliberately look for it. Secondly, if she runs away and is stressed and/or hurt she might be too aggressive for anyone to flip her over to see if she has a tattoo.
> 
> Here they tattoo the animal's ear when it's desexed. It's much easier to see, you can usually spot it without even having to touch the dog. My puppy has upright ears, it wasn't affected by the tattoo at all.
> 
> Here they tattoo a "ø" in their ears, NOT an ID number, so there is no risk of the ear ever being cut off if the dog gets stolen. It's the standard symbol used by every vet in Australia.


Yes, I think an ear tattoo would work if every vet in that country did the same so people easily recognized it. But without that kind of uniformity, it's not nearly as useful. And sure, maybe a tummy spay tattoo wouldn't be seen until the dog was sedated and shaved, but at least she wouldn't be opened up again.

Until it's standardized, BOTH an ear tattoo and a tummy tattoo would probably be most useful.


----------



## Cairnterrier (Mar 26, 2011)

Layla's tattoo is just above her weasel (for lack of a better word) - where normally there is no hair. You know that part when you first get a puppy and they have that little pink tummy? I have heard of dogs having a tattoo in their ear but I thought this was done by the breeder to identify the dog itself not to designate that it has been spayed.


----------



## Isumi (Jan 23, 2020)

GottaLuvMutts said:


> A spay scar is essentially the same thing.
> 
> My dog was spayed before she was mine as a part of a vet school training program (they use shelter dogs for practice). The student who did the procedure made an absolutely giant incision. Anyone who looks will know she's spayed.
> 
> ETA: I also advocate microchipping all pets, and it would be great if the microchip company kept records on spay and rabies vaccinations as well.


Now the spay/neuter incision is a lot smaller now and sometimes don't leave any scar to see.my cat doesn't have a scar at all but does have a tattoo on her belly.


----------

