Insurance and your vet practice

Looking after the health and welfare of your Schnauzer can be a full time job. You will find information on neutering, spaying, vaccinations, vet visits, upset tummies, Schnauzer bumps and much more here. Ask a question and someone will have had a similar experience. We also appreciate updates on how your Schnauzer is recuperating. A separate section is dedicated to our older Schnauzers.
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zeta1454
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Joined: 19 May 2011, 16:58
First Name: Leigh
Dog #1: Magic
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 20 Apr 2010
Dog #2: Trilby
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 15 Mar 2012
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Born: 21 Feb 2014
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
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Insurance and your vet practice

Post by zeta1454 »

It is important to have insurance cover (or guaranteed funds in a savings account or similar) available for any health issues with dogs and especially for a puppy in the first year. Some procedures can be very costly and you do need to know you can afford the best treatment available for your canine family members. However, if you are using an insurance company to cover veterinary costs, do be aware that some vets will advise clients who have insured their dogs to have treatments / investigation tests just because they can be claimed for on insurance rather than they are strictly necessary. Possibly this is because they feel it will not matter to the client as they are not having to pay out the cash there and then or even that the client will feel reassured that they are getting some payback from their premiums or it may be because the surgery is actually owned by a corporate that encourages client spending and has direct links if not outright ownership of the referral centres / labs that will be used.

We last insured our dogs about 20 years ago and have since put money aside and will always be able to fund any necessary treatment. To date, we have been accumulating money despite paying bills for one or two of our dogs over the past couple of years. Many years ago with one of our mini schnauzers who needed investigation to establish why he was dragging his back paws when he walked, we were told by the consultant we saw that, had we been insured, the usual procedure was to have X-rays done and then an MRI scan if nothing showed on the X-rays. However, he pointed out that the likelihood in this case of the X-rays showing anything useful was very slim and really the MRI was the most likely to be helpful but it was more costly. We opted for the MRI to avoid our little one going through the stress of an additional procedure and the issue was diagnosed from that - the cost was not in any way beyond what we could afford. Had we been insured, we may not have even been talked through the options but the two procedures simply carried out.

More recently, we had a worrying few days with one of our affens who was gagging / sneezing and bringing up foam from nostrils and mouth and was clearly not feeling well. The vet examined him thoroughly, took his temperature which was a bit high, and (on our request) ran a blood screen. When she rang back with the results of the screen an hour later, she said there was nothing unusual except a very minor increase in white blood cell count but, together with the physical examination, there did not seem to be anything that justified further tests or treatment and just to monitor him for a few days. That was a few days ago and he now seems perfectly OK. The bill was just over £100 which included the blood screen which we had wanted for peace of mind but had not been pushed by the vet at all. I have known a number of other people with dogs showing symptoms even less than these whose vets have put their dog through a battery of tests, surmised rare health conditions that had little basis from the presenting symptoms, and advised strong treatments when the issues in question would in all likelihood have cleared up of their own accord in time or with a bland diet and / or nutritional supplements. I am glad that our vet practice is still independent which does give me more confidence in their assessment of the need for investigatory tests and that they advise home cooked chicken / fish as an alternative to costly tinned "prescription" diets for convalescent dogs, which are often included as part of a surgery 'package' of treatment.

Insurance can be a life saver in more ways than one for costly vital treatments but I would recommend anyone with a cover plan for their dog/s to be careful that the vet surgery do not exploit that fact to encourage unnecessary tests / treatment. Insurance cover may also lead to some practices overcharging for their services as I have heard of some astronomical bills that people have been presented with which sound hard to justify in terms of actual treatment or benefit to the dog. It is also worth bearing in mind that the more claims made for particular breeds of dog, the higher premiums will go for that breed if not for the individual claimant, and speculation over the health of pedigree dog breeds (in general or particular) can be skewed by increasing numbers of insurance claims put through vet surgeries. The more caring and responsible the owner, the more likely they are to insure their pets and to be swayed by professionals to agree to multiple procedures / treatments in the belief these are really necessary. In some cases the need for surgery, tests or medication may be obvious but, in situations where a diagnosis has not been made or the symptoms are vague - loose poo, occasional vomiting for example, or where a simple manual test will establish whether a dog has a patella issue and X-rays are not needed or even useful - do question the vet as to the justification for the procedure they recommend.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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