[GentlieGant]

So the puppy is coming home in about two weeks. I have been doing abundant research with just about every aspect of welcoming a puppy: clicker training, heeling, socialization methods, house-breaking, best toys/interactive games, eating/exercise routine, veternarian selection...... So now I've called a few vets and have narrowed down to two, but they were not very insightful into the pro/cons associated with pet insurance.

This link is the best break-down of costs for pet insurance.
http://www.consumerreports.org/pets/0307vet2.html

I'm curious to know what types of issues your dogs have had, accidents, surgery, genetic issues, etc and the veternarian costs associated? Is it worth getting insurance for my new puppy or can I slide by just paying out of pocket?

Here's the little guy, still un-named.

[Friend_Joe]

This should help you post pictures.

Photography & Artwork How to Post Pictures




Good Lord.... Bella cost me over $1400.00 in the first 8 months after I adopted her, and all of that was medical bills, not regular vet visits... and it doesn't include the grain free $45 a bag kibble, heart gard, Frontline, micro chipping, 3 rounds of obedience classes, and endless toys and treats.

Bella had ACL injuries right after I adopted her. Be careful with your pup and don't start using a flirt pole until your pup is a year old. Play time is very important, but so is preventing injuries. I didn't do that correctly, and Bella suffered with ACL injuries.

Micro chip your pup, and enroll him in obedience classes. You think they aren't important, but you will learn, that they really do help. I didn't put Mollie through obedience classes, and I can tell the difference in not doing it, and having it. While Bella isn't 100% perfect in her training, she is much better behaved than Mollie on a lot of issues, especially stay. I didn't work with her as i should have, mainly because my best friend died suddenly during her last round, so she didn't get the practice and reiteration that she should have, and that was my fault, but she still has better manners than Mollie.

Pet insurance is something to consider. Google pet insurance and it will pull up several different companies that you can look into to see which one you think will be best for you.

Read up on the stickys in the health section, especially the one on "What we feed our dogs", so you can get a well rounded education in quality kibble and nutrition. Also, be sure to look at the stickys in the Training section, there are several there that will help you out with potty training, and training your pup in general. The General Discussions section has great stickys on what to expect in your bully breed, and be sure to read the "Never expect your bulldog NOT to fight". You have to always have your guard up with this breed, and always expect the unexpected with them.

[invasuant]

I have to say that it is worth it, if only for the piece of mind knowing that you can get SOME vet costs back. While our bully is relatively low maintenance, our border collie mix is very high energy. It's nice to know that when she has an accident (I'm sure that someday she's going to have an ACL injury) I'll be mostly covered.

I've had insurance on our two from the time we adopted them. So far, we've only had one major bill and one minor but it still saved us over $1k. I also just recently changed to TruPanion which covers 90% of the vet costs. For me that's worth the money I pay every month.

[Friend_Joe]

Dalvers.... do you have a link to their website? I'd like to check into them.

[invasuant]

Sure -

you can go to Pet Insurance by Trupanion - Dog and Cat Pet Health Insurance and check them out.

I also have a referral link if you want to use it: Get a Pet Insurance Quote

I like them for a couple of reason -

They are local to me (in the Seattle area)
They cover 90% of costs with $0 deductible. You can have a deductible if you like for slightly lower premiums
They have no lifetime limits anymore (used to be $20K for the life of the animal)

Plus they're just really nice people.