Just curious about what your feelings are about branding or tattooing your dogs?

Thanks for the comments.

No

Workman, get a job!!!! Explain yourself....freakin yahoo!!!

I've heard of branding a dog, but tattooing??

After having a good dog stolen, I started branding all my hunting dogs.I brand pups at 6 months, and if I buy an older dog I will put my "iron" on them regardless of what "iron" they came with.
I have two dogs with "short cropped ear, two half circle freeze brand on the other, and a "half circle F" on a left rib." Jason, I know you know the first ear mark, and brand.
The Half circle F is mine. Duane

Germany has been tatooing dogs ears for years.

Actually most are inside the lip. Ears can be cut off easier than lips

Branding and tatooing are both old school. Microchip is the way to go.

I agree with branding dogs. When everyone can see that big white brand on thier hip, just keeps everyone honest. Even though niether one of my pups are branded, they will be soon. I also agree with microchipping, but seems like it would only help if your dog got picked up by animal control, not stolen. IMHO

Microchips may be state of the art, but a brand can be seen by all and a theft deterrent in itself. At the very least, if a branded dog gets stolen the sorry SOB gets a reminder every time he looks at the dog that the dog isn't his. Obaro

We have always tattooed our dogs on the ear with our initials and litter number. It actually help my buddy win a court case in which he had a dog stolen and the only proof he had was the tattoo in the dogs ear

We have always tattooed our dogs on the ear with our initials and litter number. It actually help my buddy win a court case in which he had a dog stolen and the only proof he had was the tattoo in the dogs ear

What is the best location for a feeze brand on a dog?

Will a horse size freeze iron work well on shoulder of a medium size cur?

Tattoing, ear notching and branding are great theft deterrents/ dog identification. Im picky about what wears my name but ear notches and tattoos are great for pup ID.

same as some of the guys above, i like it just cause i think it will make someone think before they steal one with a brand on him, we use to tatto in the ear but you have to find him to look for the tatto, the brand is out there for everyone to see

interesting... never knew this went on in the dog running world....

Never thought about branding may have to think about this option. During season we dye our initials on the shoulders of our hounds. Pretty easy to do on the lemon and whites the tri colors can be a little tricky

We brand our dogs for one reason...to keep the honest people honest.

I have a friend that uses the double horseshoe brand on the left ear "the one Duane is talking about" Anywho, he keeps 30ish hounds on a farm. The only one stolen, back in the day, was a friends bluetick that was branded on the hip in the ticks. Couldn't even see it unless you knew what to look for.

We brand ears, thats what works for us. We also mark our dogs in other spots.

I would just suggest putting a brand in a visible place that stands out....Wherever that spot is for you.

I would be interested in tattooing pups to keep litters straight and date of birth. I think it would keep alot of b.s. straight. Just never been around it.

Thanks for the comments, keep them commin.

I use a 3in iron, and stick it on the left rib on most dogs, I do have a Walker, she is branded on a left front shouler, in a black patch.
I agree with the teory that an "iron" is plain to see, it might make guys think twice before stealing a dog.
I brand the rib, cause it's hard to "cut out".
You can see the brand pretty good in this pic.

i've got one i'd like to brand. do you do anything different when freeze branding a dog than say a horse?

we freeze brand dark colored horses once we've decided they're keepers, hot iron on antyhing that a freeze brand wont show on

Time is the only thing thats diff, some dogs are thick skinned and we go alittle longer, thin skin dogs, alittle less. Times I can't tell ya, cause I'm still trying diff times on diff dogs.
You can hold a freeze brand alittle long, and "burn it". The brand will be just like a hot iron.Works good on white dogs or horses.

I freeze brand all my dogs once they prove themselves, I do their ears cause when someone aproaches the dog they lift their ears towards them and the person can see the brands, I hope you're not talking about hot brands. Mike

Lepcur, I'm pretty sure we are talkin about freeze brands, at least thats what I thought.

what about an all white dogo will they show up i been taking a tattoo gun i found at work (prison) and tattooin my name and number on the iside of there back leg

Bar M, you can freeze brand, and hold long, 30 seconds or so, it will "scald" the hide, and heal bald, like a hot iron.Very visible on a white dog.
Tatoo's are great, just can't be seen at a distance.

I am thinking that a Freeze Brand and a Micro Chip are in order. Don't know much about either on Dogs.

The Iron above is 3 1/2" tall and 3" wide.

We have that Iron registered in Wyoming on the right shoulder for horses. We shave the hair off as tight as we can get it, wipe with 99% alcohol just before taking the iron out of the liquid nitrogen and applying to the hide. As Duane said the longer you hold the iron the more effect you have on the hair. To kill the pigment and turn the hair white on a horse we hold 20-25 seconds. To completely kill the hair follicles and leave a bald spot on a horse we hold 35-45 seconds. We try to use a stop watch for best results.

Even though the outfit is called Double CK for Craig, Karen, Cameron and Kali, we try to leave a SINGLE CK brand. Sometimes it gets a bit western with a horse. It is really hard to reapply if you miss your time count with out ending up with a DOUBLE CK image (pun intended).

Annie's brand below was on a little long for our taste. You can see that some follicles are killed with some left white. If we are forced to brand on white we hold longer as per above.



Anyone ever tried a freeze brand on a dog's shoulder?

Anyone have any advice on how long to hold on a dog to kill hair pigment?

Any thoughts on what info can/should be put on a microchip?

If you hear of anyone looking for a good paint horse.....

i brand mine on the left shoulder, i try for 10 sec. for a white brand, for a burned brand i just leave it for about 30, mine never turn out like i would like them, sometimes it burns some, sometimes its not enough, but i dont care what the brand looks like so much as i want it on there, my dogs arent show dogs. moses didnt get all white and cleos burned more then i wanted but its on both of them

Ryan & Duane, do you shave em tight and use the 99% pure alcohol? The old timer who I learned from on livestock was really cranky about the 99% pure alcohol.

I might have to practice up on some of the neighbors dogs. If I get away with that maybe I should try it on some calves. LOL

same as a horse, shave and clean good with alcohol, yea they say to use 99 but i have done it with the other

You will have to experiment with the brand you have. Some are thicker, which will hold the cold longer and you will not have to leave it on as long. I shave and use alcohol,seems to make a cleaner brand.
I don't Micro chip. They have so many readers, and one where your dog is found may not read your chip. But they are getting better.
Brands are the best way to detour theives.Tatoos and chips are hiden and theives will not see them, they may help with recovery but a brand and a name tag does just as good.IMO

Great info. Thanks guys!

How do you freeze them though? How do you get the iron cold enough to freeze it? I would like to get Tug done, just in case we get seperated while hunting.

I use liquid Nitrogen, 99% ALCOHOL, and shave the hide right to the skin. Devin is right, "all irons are diff".
Ive only branded 20 some dogs, and some horses for other guys, I'm still learning.
I'm happy with any "iron" that is visible.I hope for "white", on a dark dog, but dogs have diff hide, and what is great on one, will burn the next, or not even touch the next.Like I said, "still learnin".

We use liquid nitrogen. I have a small round cooler that is just the right diameter for my iron. You can get liquid nitrogen at many welding supply shops. Many Veterinarians keep it on hand also. Handle with care and don't seal it up without a vent.

I have heard of but never used dry ice or the spray products.

I use microchips in all my dogs and it worked last year when one of my dogs lost his collar. I had him back the next morning. It's cheap insurance. You can get the chip installed here for $25.

Dean, can I barrow a $1000 so I can do all my dogs? lol
Hope all is well. Looks like you had fun on your trip.

Dean, do you "brand" also, or just "chips"? Duane

what kind of brands do yall use? ive heard of brass and ive seen copper alloy as well?

The last iron we had made was made of stainless steel. Bill cuts them out on a CNC Plasma Cutter. I you look close you can see that there are actually two pieces welded together to provide the mass that helps hold the cold.



Before he added the CNC Plasma Cutter he made the irons from Copper. We have had good results from both.

http://www.adlerwelding.com/

how much does a typical iron run? im wanting to brand my catahoula cross here in the next week or two? also was wondering how brands turn out on somewhat longer haired dogs? here is a pic of my brand...

[/quote]
how much does a typical iron run? im wanting to brand my catahoula cross here in the next week or two? also was wondering how brands turn out on somewhat longer haired dogs? [/quote]

Sorry I don't know.

I have no experience branding dogs only horses. I am anxious to give it a try myself. I bet there are welding shops in your area that build irons. Give some a call.

Good luck. Keep us posted as to how it goes.

Here is a little info on dog branding.

http://www.coondawgs.com/freezebrand.html

BTT

That is alot of good info there J.W., thank you for posting that.

Prefer a Tattoo inside the thigh. JMO

CB, Sounds interesting. Can you tell more and post some pics?

I don't have a link, but have bought a few irons from this outfit. They are good quality, and priced fair.
Search "L-H Brands" Mandan SD.

This might sound stupid, but do you sedate the dog with a vet, yourselves, or just hold it down?
DaFUnk

We've always just held them down without sedation, they'll whine a bit, but it isn't too bad.

Not "stupid", a good "?". I "juice" them, and cut nuts at the same time if they need it.
"Juice" makes things much easier, for branding and castration.

it would make it alot easier on me if you tryed to do either one to me, ha

Better livin thru chemicals!!!

I freeze brand all mine on their ears because when they look at a stranger or listen to them the person will see the brand and usually won't pick them up. Mike

Pittsburgh foundry is a good place to work with, will send you a photo of the cad file before it's made, and guarantees your satisfaction. He will do anything up to 4" including custom work (like mine that he's just finished!) for $75 and also offers mini and micro versions for a good price (to brand tack, wife, whatever else)

Zachvu, I don't know how you did it, or why but that is not my quote.

DoubleCK... You actually quoted that statement top of the page. But it didn't work up there because you have two end quote tags [/quote] surrounding it for some reason.

Zachvu quoted your post where you quoted that statement, and it linked it to your post, and stopped quoting the remainder of your post, when it hit the second end quote tag.

All of which makes sense except I don't understand why it included the first one and part of the quote, when realistically it should have stopped at that end quote tag. I'm assuming it had something to do with whatever caused it to do what it did in your post above.

Right. My point is that it is a mis quote. Not my statement. I screwed it up somehow. Just setting the record straight.

I'm not sure what the irons cost anymore but it works fine on long haired dogs too, just take some clippers and get the hair as short as you can where ya want to do the brand and it would depend on what part of the body as to how long to hold it on there. I do the ears on my leopard curs and they are thicker eared than a hound and I keep it there for 35 seconds and most hounds are about 20-25 seconds. Mike

Sorry about that CK! I just hit the quote button and gave my two cents, never looked at the result until today! I'll see if I can edit it to end confusion!!

Also, paid my brand today with PittsburgFoundry and it was $81 with shipping. I'll let yall know how long it takes to get it out to me!