WHAT IS PET INSURANCE?

Every pet owner wants to keep their pet healthy and happy. That's why regular vet visits and giving pets the care they need in case of accident and illness is so important. Pet insurance can provide pet owners with financial support that can be used towards professional veterinary care, some related medical costs and benefits that help you deal with unexpected costs (and sometimes the preventive costs, too) of care. 

Regardless of your income or financial situation, if you're like most pet owners, you may not be setting aside the funds to provide veterinary medical care for your pet in the event of illness or an emergency. Even if you do, those sometimes the money get used for other expenses such as a child's college fund, home improvements, vacations, vehicle purchases and repairs.

Professional Care

Today, like with human healthcare, the veterinary medical profession continues to advance and can treat virtually any condition or injury that a pet may incur throughout their lifetime - provided they receive the required treatment early or quickly enough, and as long as the pet owner has the financial means to cover the real cost of care.

Pet health insurance is a useful financial tool that:

•  Protects you and your finances against unexpected medical costs
•  Ensures veterinarians can provide your pet with optimal care and the most advanced veterinary medical treatments
•  Prevents pet owners from having to make a financial decision to end a pet's life due to their inability to pay for the  needed treatments
•  Ensures a pet owner does not need to hesitate before taking a pet for veterinary treatment, or wait until a condition  worsens before feel it's worth the expense to visit their vet
•  Provides a plan for the costs of routine and even preventive care, if you have Wellness Care coverage

•  Assists you in helping your pet to live a healthier and sometimes longer life.

UNDERSTANDING COVERAGE

With other kinds of insurance, years may pass without you ever having to make a claim. Pet insurance is designed to be used. Unfortunately, experience has shown that it is likely that your pet will become ill or injured and need medical care, and as they age these risks only increase.

The earlier the better

If you're fortunate enough to have a healthy pet and you rarely need to claim, it doesn't necessarily mean you don't need coverage. Research has shown that up to 90% of veterinary expenses can happen in the last 10% of your pet's life. Like with human insurance, the earlier (and younger) you enroll your pet for coverage, the lower your premiums and deductibles will be, and the more likely it is that your pet will not have any pre-existing conditions that will be excluded from coverage.

The cost of coverage

The cost of coverage for all pets is decided the same way. There are three factors to consider: 1) the species/breed of your pet; 2) its age at the time of enrolment; and 3) where you live in Canada. These three factors help underwrite (calculate the cost and risks) every cat and dog.

Get your money's worth

As with many things in life, with pet insurance, you get what you pay for. Paying a higher premium affords you a higher level of coverage (and higher payouts or "benefits").

Knowing what to expect

• When you look for coverage, make sure that you know exactly what your pet is covered for - and what exclusions apply.  
• Carefully consider what level of coverage you think you might require for your pet, and what you can afford.
• Some pet insurance companies offer variable deductibles that will decrease or increase premiums.
• All pet insurance companies should post their coverage features on their website, or have them available by mail.
• Once you've made your decision and signed-up for a policy, familiarize yourself with what's included by reading through  the terms and conditions. Some insurance companies now offer coverage for services such as alternative treatments or US travel.

If you're thinking about getting pet insurance, you've already taken the right step in taking good care of your pet. Research your options, talk to your veterinary clinic staff and arm yourself with the information you need to make the right choice. Although pet insurance do not participate in direct billing yet, we are available to help you process your claims at your next visit to the clinic so you can receive your reimbursement. Here are links to the most popular pet insurance companies that our clients use for their pets:

Pets Plus Us - www.petsplusus.com

Trupanion - http://trupanion.com/canada

PetPlan - http://canada.gopetplan.com

Pet Secure -www.petsecure.com

Dangers of Alpha Rolling

Greta Kaplan, CPDT, CDBC

I read a tragic news article: “Puppy Owner Pleads Not Guilty for Choking Animal to Death,” Associated Press, February 26, 2010. According to the article, the owner admitted holding the 10-week old Labrador puppy down for 20 seconds after the puppy bit the owner’s girlfriend on the nose, causing what the Animal Services officer called “a minor scratch.”. According to the officer, the puppy was taken to an emergency vet where he “couldn’t walk, was breathing poorly and had reddish saliva and blue gums.” The puppy died.

Without further information, of course, we do not know what motivated the owner. Perhaps he was really angry and lost his temper, badly enough to kill the puppy. Certainly, this does not match the description given.

If we accept the description given, the owner deliberately held the puppy down, using quite a lot of force. It appears this holding-down maneuver was intended as a consequence for a bite to the girlfriend’s nose. It’s reasonable to conclude that the owner believed two things: First, that the bite to the nose was a seriously unacceptable, even aggressive act that justified severe discipline; and second, that holding a puppy down with severe force is an appropriate way to discipline a dog, including a ten-week old puppy.

Both of these propositions are false. First, puppies this age bite. It’s developmentally normal and almost never “aggressive.” (Serious aggression in puppies this age is so rare that it causes a flurry on trainer email lists if observed; many trainers simply never have seen it.) Second, holding a dog or puppy down as a form of discipline is dangerous and unnecessary.

The danger can be to the person if the dog is an adult, particularly a large one. Holding a large adult dog down puts the person’s face near the dog’s mouth, and a dog who panics, or decides not to put up with the human aggression, is very likely to target the face simply because it’s nearby. It can also be dangerous to the dog, as in this case, where the size and strength disparity was extreme.

This type of discipline is unnecessary. Dogs simply do not use “holding each other down” or “rolling other dogs over” as a way of punishing or enforcing status. Wolves may do it, but they do so extremely rarely; but in any case, dogs are not wolves; and even if they were, we are not wolves and do not remotely understand how and when to apply this type of serious, dangerous consequence. There are numerous other safer, saner and more effective ways to influence your dog’s behavior.

Where, then, would an owner get the idea this was a good tactic? One popular dog training book by The Monks of New Skete advocated the “alpha roll” in its first edition, about three decades ago. The second edition, much more recent, retracted that advice with an apology. However, the original edition is still out there; I recently saw a client who’d done a few alpha rolls on her young dog, based on that very book, which she’d picked up secondhand.

Realistically, though, not many people read that book any more. On the other hand, every week, millions of people watch a television star who often performs maneuvers very like the one that killed this puppy. You can watch, on YouTube and the National Geographic website, as this entertainer grabs dogs and pushes or slams them onto the ground. In some clips, you can literally see the dog’s tongue turning blue after some time on the ground. No wonder many pet owners might get the idea that this is a potentially appropriate response to perceived aggression from the dog.

And, this same performer often delivers this type of consequence for behavior described as “dominant.” I don’t doubt that he might describe normal puppy biting as “dominant.” So again, it’s no wonder that a pet owner might be led to perceive normal puppy biting as “dominant,” and to respond in a way he’d seen repeatedly modeled on TV.

I do not know whether the owner of the dead puppy, who is being charged with felony animal abuse, has watched “The Dog Whisperer” on TV. However, I don’t know one competent behavior consultant who did not immediately, on seeing this tragic news story, make the same guess I did. This type of human behavior is repeatedly modeled by a charismatic, persuasive, and apparently effective role model on an extremely popular television show. It is inevitable that someone was going to “try this at home” with disastrous results; and this puppy’s death might be that disastrous result.

Permission to cross post granted by:

www.companionanimalsolution.com

Greta Kaplan, CPDT, CDBC

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