Hi everyone,
first post ever I've got a new 9 week old chihuahua called Nemo and was wondering whats the best pet insurance, I've used pet plan before but not too fond of the policy of "you pay now we pay u back in a month or so". are there any insurance plans that automatically cover? and are there any insurance policies that insure for life because considering the life expectancy of a Chi I'd still like him to be insured if he manages the big 20.

Also he's a very fussy eater I've tried him on pedigree chum puppy, nature diet puppy and Iams puppy and he refuses everything. He's only interested in chicken and I feel bad not indulging the little guy as I dont like him not eating.

Thanks Again

Sarah

Why dont you do what i do, I feed my puppy Eukanuba (Iam's company) dry food and she has a sniff and looks very huffy and will eventually eat it but she has never ate all of it.  I never wanted pedigree chum or any of that as i had heard to be honest it is no good for the coat so on.  She loved these chicken chew treats called breederspack (you know the type flat pieces about 6in long), so i quartered them into 4 piece and then halved all those pieces so i had eight per strip and used one of those piece. That one i cut into tiny pieced and mixed it in with the dry food so she couldnt just pick out those bits and when i say small i mean about 2mm x 2mm this sent her insane for her food and i dont give them as treats at all.  I know its a lot of rig morole but if you do it as you buy them you just have to mix it in.

Hope this helps

Anne

Hi again Sarah,

replied to your food question under your other thread :)   Re insurance - there's been a lot of posts on different companies recently so do a search on "insurance policies" on the forum and you may well get more info than just a few replies to this post.  Crufts being on just now it's easy to miss a lot of posts that aren't about that :P and also lots of regular members who post are either away at the show or pretty exhausted having just got back from it.

Failing that, you will get more info soon no doubt.  But use the search function meantime for some ideas.

Good luck, Teri :)

Hi welcome to CD and congrats on your new baby.im onlyup at this time cos im getting ready for crufts but regarding pet insurance you will most probably got with your puppies registeration paper a certificate that gives you six wks free insurance fron the Kennel club. once you have registered your new puppy and after the six wks has lapsed you can carry on the insurance with them, ive done this and never come up against any problems.

Hi Sarah
We have a 13 month old Bichon Frise (Barney) and are insured with Pet Plan. At the moment Barney is having treatment for a heart murmer and will be refered to Edinburgh for specialist treatment and maybe surgery. Pet plan was the only insurance company that our vets will invoice direct, therefore thank goodness we only have to pay the excess on the policy and not the bills in full then reclaim. It certainly is not the cheapest but it takes away the worry of paying out money first.
Regards Deb

I have always had sainsburys petcare insurance. There is nothing I could say bad about sainsburys. They are not the cheapest but they never quibbled any claim and they cover dogs for their whole life.

As for his fussy eating habits, learn by my mistakes! Mack was a fussy eater and still is becuase I pandered to every whim. Try to keep him on dry food - try pet project's FRESH START or THRIVE (I think the site is www.petproject.co.uk) that is basically freezedried chicken and real foods. Even Mack likes that! Good luck - and you are so lucky having a little one - it passes so quickly - enjoy!!

Good grief....just looked at the price!!!!!!!!!!!
Archer

price of what?

FRESH START and THRIVE ...1Kg for approx £25!!!!!!!!!!!
Archer

Blimey! Is it gold plated?

Ah! yes it is expensive - but it is about the only thing Mack will eat!!! He cant get enough of it and the treats are fab (well at least I htink they are!)

Have you tried making your own raw mix?I use a food processor to mix liver,heart ,veges etc together.No reason why you can't include fish,chicken or anything else...and it would be soooooo much cheaper!!
Archer

do you think that would be worthwhile? I will try to have a go! I must admit I am frivolous with Mack!! Cant remember did you say cook it or feed him it raw?

-- have just re-read you post - yes it ought to be raw - I will give it a go!! thanks!

sorry for hijacking this post but Archer are you a raw food advocate? It is something that I am interested in but have absolutely no knowledge of it and would be interested to learn about it - shall I be polite and start a new post in Feeding???

Hi
yes I feed raw.I feed my 3 elkhounds and 1 shiba inu on raw for less than £5 per week.They love the taste and variety and look great.I know what goes in the front and very little comes out the back LOL
There are many posts on the board on raw feeding(put raw or barf into the search facility at the top of the page) and many web sites too.
There are many people on here that feed raw and some who don't agree with it.Its as always down to the individual.
If you want any help please feel free to PM me and I'll do what I can ...its the best thing I ever did for my dogs.
Nikki

sorry for my ignorance but what is PM and how do I do that? I assume its private mail.  I am very interested  and would be very grateful for your advice.

Gillie & mack xx

well you were right about the fresh start and thrive he loves it woofed it all down and now the other dogs are jealous of him lol. Thank you again for all your help I think I have a winner and yes it is expensive but he only manages a large spoonfull at the moment 4 times a day because of his size so not too badly priced, and I got free treats too and he loves them.

Thanks

Sarah

thats so lovely to hear! Hope he continues to enjoy his food!

love gillie & mack x

Hi Sarah
I was with pet plan with my dog and although I had to pay out, they paid up promptly without any problems. I think it depends on your vet as mine likes to be paid and then fill in the claim form for me to get the money back.

If he likes real chicken - why not feed him that half and half with plain boiled rice. After all a chi is not going to eat you out of house and home LOL.If he picks out the chicken and leaves the rice then mince it up togther. add a good min/vit supplement. It will certainly be cheaper than some that have been recommended!!
I would try him on Arden Grange if you want to try another complete food - I have never known a dog refuse it and it is very high quality.

Hi everyone, wow thanx for the responses ok at the moment I'm trying to get samples of most of the foods you've recommended. I'm also going to add some rice with the chicken just to give him something slightly more substantial untill the samples come through.

I've just never had a puppy so fussy and was shocked when he refused the naturediet but he  seems to be a chi who knows what he likes and what he doesn't. I'll keep you all posted on how he gets on. As for the insurance I've used pet plan before and my cat is insured by them but I dont like the whole pay a huge amount because I've had vets who are abit lax with the paper work before. I've been recommended marks and spencers due to the no excess and life time insurance. Has anyone tried it?

Thanks again

Sarah and Nemo

Hi, Im with Lloyds TSB pet insurance and I can only give excellent news about them, I have a 4 year old staff whom has been insured with them since he was 8 weeks old.  I have had claims, he was hospitalized at 1 yr for eating a plant and poisoning himself, and last year we had heart problems (we had x-rays, ecg, blood tests ect)and then we were transfered to a heart specialist the total cost of vets bills so far is approx £1700 they have paid the money back within one week of the claim forms going in, they have been excellent. The first year i paid £80 but due to the cliams and inflation I know pay £12.00 per month which I feel is very good value as they are an excellent company to be with.