Busy week trying to keep a freshly neutered giant puppy from being himself. He has to be contained as much as possible and if not, walked a bit on a leash. The purpose is to avoid any issues with his stitches. So far, he has acted pretty much like he doesn't know they are there - a very good thing. But on the flip side, he doesn't understand why he can't run and jump and most of all why he can't play ball. Not being able to play ball has him acting out a bit - he is like a giant spring with a very big mouth full of snapping teeth. To quell his aggression, I am constantly trying to stimulate his mind. Any advice out there?
And speaking of advice, what are your thoughts on pet insurance? With Chuck being such a big, active dog, we are considering the possibility of getting him health insurance. The first company we have looked into rates him currently at $31.00 a month with a $500 deductible. It is really a tough decision - kind of like gambling, I suppose. Would it be a good thing to purchase or should we just take the same amount of money each month and put it in a coffee can in his dog house?
So far, his Vet bills for shots, ear infection, neutering, blood work and ID chip are just shy of $500.00. Insurance would not cover most of these but it does show the cost of sharing your life with a yellow lab named Chukar... He will also be starting on a year round medication for heart worm and Frontline for fleas and ticks, so that will add to the cost of his care. His puppy food is $38.00 for a large bag. The smiles he brings to us - priceless!!
6 comments:
Our vet doesn't recommend insurance. Much prefers his patients start a savings account and deposit regularly to it.
As the owner of 2 Labs, one of which has hip dysplasia and arthritis and whose medications aren't cheap - I say start some sort of a savings plan for the future. I wish I had.
Ways to occupy large smart dogs -- we would take about 15 of the tiny training biscuits and hide them in a couple rooms of the house for a game of "hide and seek." Of course you will need to have the dog secluded out of sight while hiding them, and ensure that he won't need to tear up the furniture to get them! Place them so that about half of the treats are hidden from sight so the dog uses his sense of smell alone. We would practice hand signals as well to help give clues on the tricky ones. We actually made up a short 'hide and seek' chant with clapping to teach the dogs that the game was on. This might be a good game for a recovering pup if you keep the treats low to the ground in corners, on low shelves, on footrests or under sofa cushions. Good luck!
OMG-I had NO idea it was THAT expensive owning a dog anymore. Wow! It's been YEARS since I lost my JoJo. I think I'd fall over if I had a vet bill of that size!
:)
Personally, I'd stick money into an account every month. That insurance seems high to have such a large deductable.
I think a pet savings account is the way to go. My dog is 8 years old and I've spent about 1000.00 on him. I'm lucky that he's not had any serious illness or injury but then he is a tad lazy and seldom gets into any trouble.
If the $500 deduction is each and every time you took him to the vet I would say skip the insurance and save money. Vets are like dentists now...expensive!! ..but you have to do it. Whenever molliedog has a couple of big bills...mainly from getting into trouble with the neighbor's dog we tell her she is over her vet limit...she seems to behave herself for a couple of months...lol...
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