One man and his dog.

[Onelife]

I’ve just received my dog insurance renewal and I think someone is taking the p*ss…£492… an increase of £160 on last year’s premium.

Having discussed it with my wife we are going to cancel the insurance and put £3k aside and put £25 pounds a month into a dedicated savings account…in the event that she sustains an injury over and above what we have put aside we will consider having her put down… donations to the onelife save a dog fund could alter that decision.

Whilst it could be said we are a nation of dog lovers, owning a dog/pet is becoming increasingly unaffordable. I have today received a text to say our dog health check and inoculations are due…Bang! there goes another £90.

I don’t know if other pet owners experience the same thing when registering your pet at a vets…but in my experience the first thing they ask you is whether or not your dog is insured…if you say yes, "and you look hard enough into their eyes" you will see the words Ching! Ching!... in the anticipation of charging your insurance company eye watering amounts for treatment.

On a personal note, I’m sick to the back teeth of listening to pet owners who buy pets with known possible inherited conditions, whether that be breathing problems, bad hips, short legs, leaking eyes, etc,etc. I really begrudge having to pay extortionate insurance premiums so other irresponsible owners can have whims of owning such breeds…they are in my opinion feeding an industry which is making pet ownerships unaffordable.

[david63]

It seems that all insurance is shooting up in price again this year, both my house and car insurance recently went up considerably.

have you compared the price of your doggy insurance with other insurance companies? I know it is not the same but I saved several hundred pounds by moving to other companies.

[Onelife]

I think all insurance companies are very much alike; they draw you in then hike up the premiums to that which is company standard.

I think premiums have shot up partly because breeders are allowed to push out genetically modified breeds which often lead to them having debilitating conditions which I am indirectly having to pay for.

I personally think the Kennel Club are partly to blame because of their “Breed to Standard” culture….if you want an example of this then you don’t have to look any further than what they have done to the Boarder Collie since it was made a pedigree.

[oldbluefox]

When I was a child we always had a dog but they were always of unknown parentage and distinctly mixed pedigree ie mongrel. I don't ever remember taking it to the vet (except when really poorly or dieing) or having any insurance. For good or ill they ate what we ate with occasional dog biscuits for good measure. They all seemed to live long and healthy lives.
Nowadays having a dog seems to be a licence to shell out vast amounts of money to the veterinary practices for tablets, inoculations, check ups etc. No doubt all dog owners want the best for their pooch but I do wonder how much is really necessary.
I don't have a dog, I just trip over their dog leads when I go to Keswick.

[Onelife]

When I was a child we always had a dog but they were always of unknown parentage and distinctly mixed pedigree ie mongrel. I don't ever remember taking it to the vet (except when really poorly or dieing) or having any insurance. For good or ill they ate what we ate with occasional dog biscuits for good measure. They all seemed to live long and healthy lives.
Nowadays having a dog seems to be a licence to shell out vast amounts of money to the veterinary practices for tablets, inoculations, check ups etc. No doubt all dog owners want the best for their pooch but I do wonder how much is really necessary.
I don't have a dog, I just trip over their dog leads when I go to Keswick.

We had the same experience of owning a dog. When bumping into people the common question asked was “what kind of dog is that? And like you Foxy we rarely had to pay a visit to the vets, other than to have them put down.

I think the emphasis today is that you go for recognised breeds which conform with the KC standard for the breed. The KC will now have a Standard for the Pedigree Boarder Collie which in essence means it will have to meet certain attributes for that breed. The downside to this is that those showing this breed will inevitably resort to more inbreeding which will over time introduce the same kinds of defects you see in many other breeds. I’m now on my 6th working sheep dog (Collie) with only one of them succumbing to an expensive health condition.

[Ray B]

Foxy posted, For good or ill they ate what we ate with occasional dog biscuits for good measure. They all seemed to live long and healthy lives.

Exactly how, as a child, I remember that. Can never remember our dog getting ill up until it's last days.
Now in super markets and pet shops, the range of food in chiller cabinets look better than most people eat themselves.

[Onelife]

Foxy posted, For good or ill they ate what we ate with occasional dog biscuits for good measure. They all seemed to live long and healthy lives.

Exactly how, as a child, I remember that. Can never remember our dog getting ill up until it's last days.
Now in super markets and pet shops, the range of food in chiller cabinets look better than most people eat themselves.

Our dog has tried a few of them Ray but we always revert back to tinned “Chappie”… once the cheap option for your dog, now one of the most expensive…