Health Care For Labrador Retrievers
The most beautiful dog in the world has just become part of your family, you’ve obtained all the required things, like food and water bowls and dog toys, gotten him a health check and shots 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 just preventive veterinary attention during their life. It could be something relatively insignificant, such as a bacterial infection or a rash, or it might be big, such as a chronic disease or an unknown malady. It might happen when your dog is young and apparently healthy, 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 she might be one of those that your vet knows by name.
The difficulty with this, of course, is the uncertainty. You could make plans if you knew how much you could expect to spend on veterinary care over your dog’s lifetime. You could put money aside every month to cover the costs.
Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. When your pet needs expensive health care, it usually happens suddenly and unexpectedly. While you’re stressing about whether your dog is going to be okay, in the back of your mind you’re also worried about how much this is going to cost. Then of course you feel guilty because how can you possibly think of cost at a time like this?
There is a way to reduce the tension about your wallet at a time like this. Make a plan to handle the veterinary bills before your pet gets sick or injured. Carry out your own pet insurance review and identify 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 opportunity to get into trouble!
Labrador Retrievers and other purebred dogs are the most costly to insure, and there’s a reason for that. Dogs are more likely to require costly health care than cats, in part because they seem to get into more mishaps. Cats can stay out all night, dodging dogs, cars and other dangers. Dogs, especially young ones, are more likely to run out into the street or have some other mishap.
Because of inbreeding, purebreds are more likely than mixed breeds to develop certain diseases. Labrador Retrievers are vulnerable to hip and elbow dysplasia, cataracts and skin allergies. 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 types of problems keep cropping up for Labs, and they often mean pricey vet bills.
When you look at pet insurance policies be sure to ask whether they cover hereditary conditions. Those that do will unsurprisingly be more pricey, but it’s worth it. After all, the reason you need pet insurance at all is to protect against large unpredicted costs. If you choose insurance based on price alone, you might find out at the worst possible time that you aren’t covered at all. That defeats the point of getting veterinary insurance in the first place.
Take the time you need to evaluate policies from several different companies. Don’t stop until you find the one that offers the coverage you need. It’s out there.
Written by Coleen Smith Low Cost Pet Insurance Labrador Rescue
