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You’ve welcomed your newest family member into your home, you’ve obtained all the basic things, like a leash and a food bowl, taken him for a vet visit and begun dog training classes. All is going well and there’s no reason to think about trouble, right? Wrong.

Most dogs, especially purebreds, will require more than preventive medical attention at some point in their life. It might be something pretty trivial, like an allergy or a broken bone, or it could be significant, such as a car accident or cancer. It might happen while your dog is young and seemingly in good physical shape, or it could come with old age. Your beloved canine may only see the inside of the vet’s office a few times in his lifetime, or he could be one of those that your vet recognizes on sight.

From a financial point of view, the uncertaintly is the problem. You could make plans if you knew how much you could expect to spend on medical care over your dog’s lifetime. You could put money aside every month to cover the bills.

As most dog owners know, it rarely works out like that. You find out suddenly when your pet needs expensive health care. At the same time you’re wondering if your pet is going to pull through, you’re also wondering how much this is going to cost. Then of course you feel bad because how can you possibly think of money at a time like this?

The best way to decrease tension at a time like this, and to protect your wallet at the same time is to make a plan for the vet bills long before your pet gets sick or injured. Perform your own review of pet insurance policies and find the one that offers the best possible protection for the cost for your Labrador while he’s still a puppy – if at all possible before he has the chance to get into trouble!

Purebred dogs like Labradors are the most expensive to buy insurance for. There’s a reasonable explanation behind this. Dogs are more likely to require pricey health care than cats, partially because they seem to get into more accidents. Cats have the uncanny ability to stay out all night, dodging cars and dogs without getting hurt. Dogs, especially young dogs, are more likely to run out into the street or have some other accident.

Because of inbreeding, purebreds are more likely than mixed breeds to develop certain diseases. Labs are vulnerable to elbow and hip dysplasia, skin allergies and cataracts. Hopefully you got your puppy from a reputable breeder who made sure that your dog’s parents were free from these problems before they bred them. Even so, these sorts of issues keep cropping up for Labrador Retrievers, and they often mean pricey vet bills.

Make sure to ask whether the pet insurance policy you’re considering covers hereditary conditions. Those that do will obviously be more costly, but they’re worth it. After all, the reason you need pet insurance at all is to protect yourself against large unpredicted expenses. If you shop for insurance based only on price, you could find out at the worst possible time that you aren’t covered at all. That defeats the point of buying pet health insurance in the first place.

Take the time you need to evaluate policies from several different companies. Don’t settle on one unless it meets your needs. It’s out there.

Written by Coleen Smith Pet Insurance Comparison Labrador Rescue

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Tags: dogs, health insurance, insurance, labrador retrievers, pet insurance, pets, purebred dogs and health

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 at 6:47 pm and is filed under health insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.