Rethinking Puppy Insurance - Ep 01

Sara considers the puppy and pet insurance world, offering a shake-up to the traditional approaches with game-changing insights. 

• Understanding Free Puppy Insurance: Many breeders offer free puppy insurance as part of the package. However, Sara questions its value, explaining that while it provides initial coverage, there may be better long-term options.
• Importance of Shopping Around: Sara emphasises researching and comparing insurance options. Puppy owners should consider pricing limits, coverage duration, and specific conditions before deciding.
• The Role of a Quality Vet: Sara shares her insights on finding a trustworthy veterinarian, highlighting the significance of a vet who can diagnose quickly and provide consistent care. She also discusses the challenges of navigating the veterinary industry and offers tips for identifying a reliable vet.

Join Sara as she uncovers the truths about puppy insurance and offers valuable advice for ensuring your canine companion's health and well-being. Tune in to the Bulldog Broadcast for more episodes packed with essential information for bulldog admirers, owners, and breeders worldwide.

📝 Click to read Show Notes

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Today we're shaking up the traditional approach to insurance with a game changing idea. Stay tuned as we explore why most breeders offer free puppy insurance, the hidden interest behind these policies and the crucial steps to safeguard your puppy's health from day one. Plus, we'll uncover the truth about vaccinations and vet checks and why finding the right vet is like finding a needle in a haystack.

[00:00:31] Welcome to the Bulldog Broadcast. The Pure Talk Pedigree Podcast. Join me, Sara Lamont, as we delve beyond the pedigree propaganda and misinformation surrounding the beloved bulldog breed. Together, we'll uncover the real life realities of bulldogs, sharing insights with admirers, owners, and breeders worldwide.

[00:00:53] Hello, and welcome to today's episode where we're going to deep dive into puppy and pet insurance. So, let me start with that most breeders, when they sell their pups, many will offer a free puppy insurance. Now I do this and I'm beginning to think I'm not sure why. And let me explain. So typically with free puppy insurance, it doesn't cost the puppy purchaser, buyer, anything.

[00:01:29] It doesn't actually cost the breeder anything, but what it means is that the breeder can offer the puppy with a, with some peace of mind that should the puppy fall ill, I think generally they're four weeks free insurance. There are some that offer five weeks free insurance that the puppy, should it need a trip to the vets, that it would be covered.

[00:01:51] What the insurance company is hoping is that it locks you into continuing the insurance, the puppy insurance with, with their company. And what it also means is that if you do continue the insurance that you have already completed the typically 14 day no claim period. Period. Now what we need to bear in mind with these free insurances is that they might not be the best insurance for Bulldog Breed just because it's offered doesn't mean it's the best coverage.

[00:02:23] So generally when I'm asked by puppy owners I always just say you need to shop around and puppy insurance, pet insurance can get quite complex when you have to consider some of the pricing limits, what your budget is. Whether the condition is for a lifetime or for a year and you can end up sort of going down a rabbit hole.

[00:02:44] Obviously there are comparison websites that exist nowadays. But as I've previously said, none of my dogs are insured. So I generally say to people I'm not necessarily the best person to be giving advice on pet insurance. Now, what really should happen is that if you do decide to insure your puppy, and I would recommend that anybody that purchases a new puppy, they have them insured at least for the first year.

[00:03:13] Now, When I think about it, I'm probably a little bit relaxed on insurance because I breed my own dog, so I'm keeping my own dog, so I haven't brought in a dog, particularly a bulldog, for, for decades, and when I have, I think I've only ever bought one, probably one in the last 10 years, so one every 10 years.

[00:03:39] And I've probably specifically cherry picked that dog because of its pedigree. So I probably feel that I have a fair bit of confidence in what I'm getting as a dog and hopefully the health that comes with that. However, the blessing of insurance is that it covers you for, for the stuff you think is never going to happen.

[00:03:59] So it is, it is a little bit of a chicken and egg scenario, but with my own dogs, I don't insure them because what I've found is it makes you breed a healthier dog. That's for sure. And I question the validity of it when you have a multiple dog household, because you can get very expensive very quickly.

[00:04:16] And obviously I'm all for, you know, when you take on a new puppy, you do have associated costs. It is just the beginning of the dent that that puppy is going to make in your budget. But also should you be paying, you know, 100, 150 pound a month for a bulldog puppy when you're never going to make a claim?

[00:04:35] So equally, I don't like the idea of wasting money either. So in regards to puppy insurance, you'll get free puppy insurance. However, what you really should do, well, most breeders will offer free puppy insurance. It shouldn't be a reason for you not to buy a puppy from a breeder. If they don't offer free insurance because of what I'm about to say, what you should actually do is do your research before.

[00:05:00] And when typically you view the puppy at six weeks old, even if you don't know what puppy you're specifically having at that point, if you hear growling, it's the dogs. That's mum and daughter messing around. But yeah, so you go and view a puppy at six weeks old, you leave your deposit because you're interested.

[00:05:22] And this is probably another reason why you should follow a breeder's clear vetting process and protocol, because if you end up just looking online, finding a puppy, going that weekend, picking it up, everything sort of happened too fast for you to actually organise yourself and prepare. So if you found a breeder, you go view the puppies at six weeks old, even if you still don't know which puppy you're having in that litter, but you know, you're definitely having one.

[00:05:50] Leave your deposit and then go and start your puppy insurance because what ultimately will happen is when you collect that puppy in two weeks time you've already waited your 14 day no claim period. So that means your puppy is insured from the second that you pick that dog up. It's never going to be a wasted premium because even if you decided for whatever reason that puppy isn't for you and you don't know better.

[00:06:17] end up buying that puppy, you still get your insurance 30 day free calling off period. So you could just cancel the insurance and get, get your money back. So it really isn't a waste in any way, shape or form. You just need to get organised and start your insurance before you've got the puppy, which in some people feels a bit weird, but sensible thing for you to do.

[00:06:41] I must admit. I no longer sell puppies vaccinated because when I was looking back at the pattern of events that would happen from when an owner would pick up their puppy at six weeks old and typically then the puppy could experience upset stomach, general unwellness, slight fever. What I realised was it was most likely due to a system overload and that typically most breeders like to sell a done package and many.

[00:07:11] Puppy owners expect their puppies to be vaccinated because they think that that's what makes a good breeder. But ultimately what ends up happening is that the puppy is vaccinated quite short, you know, quite. in a short time frame before the puppy's being collected to the new homes. So anything from, I would never have vaccinated six weeks, but I know some vets do.

[00:07:35] Generally, most vets would happily do six to, sorry, seven to eight weeks. So within a week of you collecting your puppy, it's already had their vaccination. And, Believe it or not, some puppies do react to their vaccinations. There are Facebook groups out there advising people, well, really having concerned owners saying my puppy's not well since they've had their vaccination.

[00:08:02] I have had it myself, not with a bulldog, but another breed I had With Lepto4 injection, had a significant reaction, thankfully, because she actually was a big dog, she was a big breed dog, she recovered fine, but we were still concerned at the time, and I've known of, you know, friends breed smaller dogs where you've got a two kilo dog having a reaction which, you know, That's a tiny little baby.

[00:08:33] So that is why I do not sell any of my puppies vaccinated anymore. I tell my new owners, get your puppy, settle them into your house, into your routine. There's already a big environmental change, possibly a dietary change, not necessarily food, but the water that they're drinking is going to be different or most likely going to be different.

[00:08:53] That can cause upset tums. I say to my owners, get your puppy settled in. I do have my puppy's vet checks. It's not like they've never seen a vet. But get your puppy settled in. Once they get to 10, I don't do my own until 12 weeks because they will have mum's immunity until 12 weeks old. Then I say, go and get your puppy vaccinations done.

[00:09:13] And I've never had a puppy have, have a reaction since doing, following that protocol, likewise. I would tell people always to avoid Lepto 4 when possible. However, I think if you vaccinate later, that's less of an issue in itself. But if you're vaccinating early, so under 10 weeks, I would definitely only be doing Lepto 2.

[00:09:36] And this is a conversation that puppy owners you need to be having with your vet and so you might not always feel comfortable having those conversations because you might not necessarily really know what you're talking about. Okay, so in my opinion, vaccinate well, In my opinion, don't vaccinate your puppy until 12 weeks old, just get them settled in.

[00:09:57] Make sure you start your assurance from six weeks old. I have had one experience of selling a puppy, placing a puppy, and that puppy then being seriously ill. Looking back now, it may have been vaccinations at the time it wasn't diagnosed as that, but you'll find most vets, never diagnosed it as that and it very rarely gets reported back to the governing bodies or manufacturing companies that these dogs are having the reactions.

[00:10:26] And ultimately what that meant was that dog actually wasn't insured. So obviously as a responsible breeder, I advised the owner to take the puppy to my vet. My vet treated the dog and I just paid the bill and, you know, You know, two weeks later, the pup was all good. But, you know, it's not a nice experience for a new puppy owner to go through.

[00:10:46] It's worrying time for a breeder to go through. Those situations can easily occur. So that would be my recommendation is that leave your vaccinations to 12 weeks, ensure the puppy for six weeks, make sure the owner does some good shopping around as to what a good insurance policy is. Now, equally. I generally advise my puppy owners, definitely ensure that puppy for the first year.

[00:11:10] Anything can happen, anything can crop up, any accidents can happen. So yeah, it's not crazy that you pick a really good insurance with really good coverage and you pay that for a year. Then you need to decide what you do going forward from that point. You might want to even do two years. Generally a bulldog doesn't mature until 18 months old.

[00:11:29] So yeah, let's play it safe. If you want to do two years, then you should decide what you want to do next. Now. If you have a multiple dog household, so you already have one dog and you're now insuring a second dog, that's probably going to work out quite expensive, even with a multiple dog discount. So this is where I generally advise my puppy owners, just set up a dog account, put some money in that dog account every month, and And go from there, and cross your fingers.

[00:12:02] Now, this could bite you on the bum, this couldn't. So, this really depends on your attitude to risk as a dog owner. And I think the expectations of your level of health care, or just care provided for your dog. And also, it requires you to be strict with yourself and make sure that you definitely put a sensible amount of money into a dog account.

[00:12:27] Hopefully one that's got a half decent interest rate. So it's accruing interest at the same time. Now, even if you do that, you should still have third party insurance because your dog could still be a risk when out and about in the public, whether that be. You know, trip somebody up accidentally with, you know, he's run across the path or it's caused an accident because he ran across the road and the dog was fine, but actually the car had to swerve and hit a lamppost.

[00:12:55] So regardless of whether you decide pet insurances for you, you must have third party liability insurance, is mega, mega cheap. You would heard about it more recently because with the American Bully ban, that's a requirement that they've needed to have. And to be honest, I think if you haven't got an insured dog, you should have that anyway, but it is cheap as chips.

[00:13:18] So there's no excuse. You need to then think about what's your backup backup. So if you're And obviously the problem with insurance companies and a reason why I'm not overly keen about them is that they try and wriggle out of covering certain, they claim it is a pre existing condition or you're going to hit the limit very quickly.

[00:13:40] They're not going to pay out and some insurances now that they still only pay out It's crazy to keep, to keep the premium low. They would only ever pay out like 80 percent of the insurance claim. Most of them are quite high excesses, which you would on a general visit wouldn't hit that level anyway. So I don't know, to me, it just feels like there's lots of T's and C's, lots of little loopholes for them to wriggle out of, and I'd rather just not line that pocket, but, and this is a big, but I think this is when it, depends on what or when it depends on the type of vet that you have and so years ago we used to sort of used to send the pups on their way and be like oh please please make sure that you find a breed specialist vet and that's had a little bit of a backlash from Certain activists, because they're saying, well, why do you need, if a bulldog is like any other dog, which they're not, but if a, if a bulldog is a fit and healthy dog, why do you need a, in air quotes again, a specialist vet?

[00:14:41] And to a degree, I actually think that's probably right. However, You still need a good vet, and there's bad vets out there, and there's good vets out there. So, what I've realised over the years, and when I've found a vet that I like with, is normally because A, they're not judgmental, but B, that they have a really good ability to be able to diagnose quickly.

[00:15:05] And ultimately, when you have a vet that can diagnose a situation or condition quickly, it means your vet bill's generally going to be less because you, you fix the problem quicker. Now, that's hard to find. You can't phone up a vet and say, I want to have a conversation and ask them 10 questions and find out whether, you know, they're going to do it or not.

[00:15:23] They're going to fulfill that criteria. So it is a little bit of trial and error. I mean, it's one of the first questions when you go to the vet, when you register your puppy, it's the first question they ask you is, well, ask the name, date of birth, colour will be, is the, is the dog insured and it's all splattered over their systems, even obviously they have clients.

[00:15:45] Databases that they keep for the dogs and all the logs and it will say on there if your dog's not insured, which does that really matter? Should that really make any difference in the care that's given? You know, it's not for me to say, I suppose, but it makes you wonder. So I think what's key is finding a quality vet.

[00:16:07] And this is a problem nowadays with vets being taken over by franchises. And there is, some kind of government investigation in regards to, I think it's something crazy, like a third of the vets are owned by just five companies and they're just corporate companies, they just want money. So, if you can, always try and find a independent vet.

[00:16:34] The problem with the independent vets is they don't always offer their own out of hours and that you'll end up going to really. questionable out of hours vet. So when it comes to finding vets, maybe we'll do a separate podcast on that one day. Or a separate episode on that one day. Yeah, always, it's not just about convenience.

[00:16:54] It's not just about finding the vet that's in your area. I mean, I travel 40 minutes to, I sign up with more than one vet, which they tell you not to do, but I do. And I use different vets for different reasons. And yeah, they're not local. It's not the. The distance is not one of the reasons or the criteria I look into finding a good vet.

[00:17:15] So as I said, I travel 40 minutes for my vet and what I've realised is what's made my vet good and it is because he can diagnose fast. So I took a 10 year old bulldog to my vet and she had been coughing so I, I was thinking in my head she's got pneumonia. Now what makes this good, my vet good, or I believe to be good, is that he actually could, he generally is happy to do an x ray without any sedation.

[00:17:42] And so, this was during lockdown actually, he took her in, I sat and waited in the car park, took her in, then come out and he said, with her, he said, I've done an x ray, she's actually got an enlarged heart, looks like she's got heart disease, you know, 10 years old. Wasn't particularly surprising. Here's some meds.

[00:18:00] Should be fine. And that was it. That was the problem solved. So, I'm not quite sure many vets would have taken that approach so quickly. And I imagine that we would have had some deterioration in health before we got to the final stage. root of it. He also said, Oh, just so you know, she's got full arthritis of the spine.

[00:18:21] So I don't know how she's walking in and walking out and still standing here, wagging her tail. And she was actually on a supplement, which we'll cover in another podcast again. So he said, carry on doing that because it's working. And obviously bulldogs do have high pain thresholds. So that's another thing to bear in mind when.

[00:18:41] Owning a bulldog can sometimes be quite dramatic because they will seem fine one day and then they will be on death's door the next day and that's because they have a really high pain threshold. If I literally tug my Labrador's ears too much, she will yelp. If she hurts, she stands on something, she starts limping, she's a sensitive little butterfly.

[00:19:03] I do think she's more sensitive than the average Labrador, but I know that she's a sensitive dog, where my bulldogs that there's probably most bulldogs that would walk on a broken leg and they wouldn't moan about it. So again, you need to, and we're going to cover canine body language and reading. Dog's body language, you need to be able to understand and interpret your observations of your dog to know whether they're okay or not, and whether you need to seek medical assistance or not.

[00:19:40] And Generally, obviously, this has come with time and experience that the more, the longer you own bulldogs, the easier that becomes, but because bulldogs do have a high pain threshold, I kind of feel like you're more likely to go to an out of hours vet with them, because they'll ignore the pain all day, then you'll get to the evening and think, they're not right, where most dogs will be limping and wimping and moaning all day that you've got them to the vets in hours.

[00:20:10] So yeah, that's something to be conscious of with. independent vets, like they are, generally they are good, but it's they're out of hours. So when you're looking for a vet, and obviously it's consistency as well, because if you keep seeing different vets for the same condition, there's going to be no consistency of care and diagnosis is going to be more difficult.

[00:20:32] So these are some of the things you need to bear in mind when finding a vet because ultimately that's going to make a difference to your veterinary experience and also should you need insurance how that claim goes through as well. Now there is a Society called the Bulldog Breed Council. And again, I'm sure we're covering another episode, but basically the kennel club supports breed clubs.

[00:21:03] And there's quite a lot of bulldog breed clubs around the country. I believe we've got double digits. I think there's over 10 breed clubs originally regional and they're meant to. Educate local people about the breeds, they host shows, they offer educational days, and they tend to feed in, because there's too many of them, if they were all talking to the kennel club, that would get quite confusing, they sort of feed in to the Bulldog Breed Council, so the Bulldog Breed Council is like an umbrella now.

[00:21:33] society or group. And what the Bulldog Breed Council have is they're the people, they're the sort of governing body to a degree, that overlook some of our breed health testing and they promote health testing, they train or they organise the overseeing of judges. Yeah, they do various bits and bobs, talk to the kennel club, look at the breed standard, there's a lot, the whole education part to them and ultimately part of their role is that they do have on their website and approved vets list.

[00:22:11] So if you're ever stuck, I'm not going to put this in the show notes, but if you're stuck for finding a vet and you don't know where to start, then I strongly recommend the approved vets list on the Bulldog Re council. There might be others that are Obviously, I don't know about, and sometimes you have to trial them, like you can't just because you signed up 10 years ago and there was one good vet there that's now left doesn't mean that you probably should still be going there.

[00:22:38] So you have no loyalty or. to them, you have your right to shop around and find the best bet for your dog possible. So just always bear that in mind. I know we can get slightly lazy and we like to get comfortable and that's our usual routine. And we like that practice cause you can always, the car park's always empty.

[00:23:00] Well, probably for a reason. You know, so if there, There's not many. I think that practice practices are a bit like a McDonald's. Once they open, they never closed down. So that just goes to show how much money is made in this industry. And that's not even touching on some of the referral centers that exist and how that works.

[00:23:21] So that's out for a whole nother day. But we, you know, we can be as holistic and I think that's it. Avoid the vets as much as possible, but there will be times that you need to go. So let's just make sure that you've got a good vet that can diagnose quickly, that you have confidence in, that doesn't talk to you like you're a moron.

[00:23:44] I've had it. Tons of feedback from my puppy owners. My vet said that the dog's too fat. So I'm like, send me a picture. No, what's his weight on the scales? Tell me. No, he's perfectly fine. Or if he's a puppy, it's fine. He can be a little bit overweight. Once he gets to six months, we'll start toning them up.

[00:24:01] I've had vets tell some of my owners the dog's got BOAS, which is absolutely ridiculous. Yeah. There's just been also, oh, they need tail operations that they don't need. So again, this is, Why finding a breeder in the first place, a good reputable breeder in the first place, they can advise you on this. I do believe there are many bulldogs out there having the BOAS surgery, so they're having pallet surgery when they don't actually need it.

[00:24:29] It's, they've been judged by the time they walked in the door and not actually assessed on their own merits. So, Should your vets ever, ever recommend that your dog needs BOAS surgery, make sure they are graded first before you even entertain that idea. There should be no dogs that are having this type of surgery without actually having them being graded, that they actually suffer from BOAS before, before the operation.

[00:24:56] Okay. I'm sure I've gone on enough, but just to summarise, if you're getting your puppy and it comes with free insurance, that's all well and good, that's great. If it doesn't, equally don't worry about it. Start your puppy insurance at six weeks old when you go and view the puppy and leave your deposit. if you haven't left it before that point.

[00:25:19] Shop around, consider doing insurance for the first year, maybe the first two years and then consider whether you want to then set up a dog account. You'll still need third party liability insurance if you have a dog account. So just bear that in mind. Think about what's your backup backup. So it's all well and good having a dog account, but I'd probably have a cheeky credit card in place at the same time.

[00:25:43] But ultimately, what's. sort of overrides all of this is that just find a decent vet and that, and that's hard. It's like finding a needle in a haystack because how do you know what decent vet is until you actually need them? But a vet that can diagnose quickly, that has hopefully their own out of hours, that you have consistency of care with the vets that you see, and if in doubt, go on the Bulldog Breed Council website, link in the show notes, and that's where you should start for ten.

[00:26:12] So that's it. I'm gonna dial off. I hope you've enjoyed this episode and there'll be plenty more. Bye!

[00:26:21] Before you leave, make sure to visit bulldogbroadcast. com for immediate access to the show notes, community forum, recommendations and episode extras.