Pet health Insurance and other Q's

[Deleted]

Trying to get all of my ducks in a row before tomorrow.

The dog (I'm thinking about renaming her to Lola, thoughts?) is 2 years old, no health problems, fixed and all up to date on shots.

I'm thinking I should get pet insurance. What say ye, Nexties?

Additionally, I assume I need to take her to the vet ASAP for a wellness check up? How do i go about finding a good vet?

Also, the shelter says she's great with other dogs, cats and people, but they would prefer her to be an only dog home. That's fine with me because I can't handle 2 dogs. I want her to be a well socialized dog. Should I consider doing doggy day care a few days a week?

[FrozenSunshine]

Love Lola

I've never had pet insurance, but have enough to pay out of pocket if something happened.

Ask friends and family nearby for Vet recs. You can also ask the adoption agency if they have recs near you.

I would think doggy daycare could be fun for her, though maybe overwhelming at first with all the changes? Could you start socializing her by going to a dog park?

[Deleted]

I was thinking insurance more for catastrophic things like cancer treatment or if she gets really really hurt. I'mn ot concerned about the normal stuff.

We don't have any friends or family nearby with pets.

Good call on the dog park. I'll try that first.

[tacocat]

I didn't do it when spoke was a wee one and regretted it! He got in all kinds of trouble...

[InBetweenDays]

I too love Lola!

I haven't heard good things about pet insurance. I've heard it is expensive, and hard to get them to reimburse you for many things. Although this is when we were looking into it years ago so it may have changed. I'd just research it thoroughly.

Where are you looking for a vet? We love ours - the Northwest Veterinary Hospital on the corner of 50th and Stone Way (that weird 5 corner area at the south end of Green Lake).

I'd probably hold off a bit on doggie daycare. Do you have people in your neighborhood with dogs? Maybe you could set up "play dates" while she's still getting used to the adjustment? I'm also a little leary of dog parks because both of our dogs have been attacked/bitten there (one requiring stitches). However when we would go our dogs LOVED it. I still often run by the Ballard dog park with one of my dogs, and he always stairs longingly as we run by

[madDawg228]

We don't have pet insurance for our dog (2 1/2 yr old), but with her history with the vet teaching/testing, it might be good just in case.

To find our vet, we searched for all vets in our zip code and looked under Yelp for those with the best reviews.

I would really try to socialize her with dogs in a controlled setting. Do you have any friends with a calm dog? It's best for the dogs to meet at a neutral location (not the home of any of the dogs). I wouldn't try to push her towards too much at once right away.

[mkate710]

LOVE Lola

Please, please, please, PLEASE get her health insurance ASAP. We have Coco insured through a company called PetsBest, I think it winds up to being $40ish a month. Lessons in why pets should be insured should not be learned the hard way.

I don't have any vet recs as we're currently on the hunt for a new one, but it would probably good to get her in for a checkup fairly soon, mainly so you are established with a vet right off in case you need one. That said, I'd give her a few days to acclimate to her new home before taking her to the vet.

Socializing - again, let her acclimate to her new home for now. I'd start slow at the dog park, the consider branching out to doggie day care as she warms up to the dog park.

If she wants a 5lb playmate, we could totally plan another Bellevue walking date and bring the pups along...

[amandasw]

I don't know anyone who has pet insurance and wouldn't consider it myself. But I guess it's up to you if you think you want it.

We love our vet! But it's on Aurora, so probably not very convenient for you.

I'm SO happy for you!!!

[fiddles]

I haven't heard good things from pet insurance. Like a PP said, it can be at times difficult to get reimbursement. We have Wrigley on the puppy plan from Banfield (PetSmart). It's a monthly fee and it covers all his shots, his neuter surgery and any office visits. Plus we get a discount on medication if needed. Once he turns a year we'll put him on the normal dog plan that covers everything but neuter (of course). It's like $30/month.

Wrigley goes to camp at PetSmart and loves it. I would highly recommend it for a way of socializing your dog. I've seen dogs just blossom when they go there. It is pretty amazing to overhear the employees tell a parent how well their dog is doing. This one lady started to cry because they had rescued their pup from the shelter and didn't think he would ever play with other dogs.

[fiddles]

And yes...definitely take the puppy for wellness check. With Wrigley we had one schedule for the day we got him.

[InBetweenDays]

I do think it would be great to sign her up for an obedience class. Even if she seems trained, it can be great time for you to bond and for her to understand her new pack order. Dogs generally are much more comfortable and confident if they know where they fall in their "pack".

[fiddles]

ps...I have "whatever Lola wants....Lola gets" stuck in my head now

[llh0211]

A friend of mine has an English Bulldog who has had all sorts of medical problems. She swears by Pet Insurance. She says she's so thankful that she got it for him, as he's always at the vet. So maybe it depends on the company that you go through? I can't remember what company it is, but I can ask her. She recommended it when our boy kitty got super sick years ago, and we spent over $1k in 2 days.

As for the other stuff... I have no idea. But YAY for getting a dog!!!

[Deleted]

My family has never done the pet insurance thing for any of our pets. PP have it covered, but I wouldn't worry about socializing her immediately. She's going to have a lot of changes to learn with new family/home/schedule and I think trying to work that in too much too fast would just be overwhelming. I would wait at least a week, and then try a playdate with a dog you know if calm/properly behaved.

I could rec a good dog vet down closer to Kent/Auburn but I'm still looking for one in our area for Ivan. He's overdue for his annual. I hated the vet I used last time I lived in Renton so wouldn't go back there.

[sarack]

she's had the same name for 2 years.. you're going to change it? i like lola but i like neeka too. lol.

i've never had dog insurance. i don't think it's necessary. also, sammy and lola can play!

[jennlin]

haven't read the above yet, but will later--

in short, no, i wouldn't reccomend it. not until she's older. the only time i've ever utilized our (wasted) pet insurance, is in the last 1 year of hercules' life. we paid for it for 12 years without any benefit. our cat had issues early on in his life, but his insurance hardly covered anything. the medical bills are ridiculous, and with only 10% off (banfield), it didn't cover the premium. i'd just pay out of pocket for your pet needs.

[larzhope]

I have had pet insurance for both of my dogs since they were puppies. If you do get it now (I think I read somewhere she is already two), it would really only cover anything catastrophic because since she is new to you, unless you have all of her old vet records, they won't know what she's had before, and it technically could be a pre-existing condition. So my vote is no pet insurance. I just had this conversation with a friend last night -we have traditional pet insurance (no issues w/ reimbursement) and she has just been putting money away each month for her dogs. One of her dogs is now of age where they are going to have to put him down, and she is so thankful she's been setting money aside.

Regarding changing her name - I love Lola, and it might be hard at first to get her to respond to it, but she'll learn!

[amandasw]

Aug 24, 2012 9:48:22 GMT -5 @sfgal530 said:

I would just start a small emergency fund for the dog now, just putting a little aside so that if something happens it doesn't cause a ton of stress. And then keep an eye on Neeka/Lola and make sure she doesn't ingest things. That is something that younger dogs tend to do and it gets really expensive really quickly.

I think if you're really concerned, this is a much better idea. If the dog is otherwise in good health I think pet insurance is a huge waste of money.

If you do the math and pay $40/month, that's $480/year. Most serious things for pets when they get old could be $1,000-2,000. So basically, if you don't have to do anything for the dog until she's 12, you will have spent $4,800 in insurance when you only need to spend $1,200 (for example) one time.