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Expensive working dog insurance for my puppy? Yes or no?

I am about to buy an eight-week old gundog puppy and have been wondering whether I should take out insurance in case of accidents, vet bills etc.

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In our view it’s worth insuring a gundog puppy from the beginning. However, you need to check to see whether your breeder has already covered your puppy for the first four weeks you have him – this is often a standard practice amongst breeders.

This gives you time to check out other policies, compare what’s on offer and gives you a bargaining chip to use with the current insurer on whether or not you stay with them.

Puppies do fall sick

Puppies can suffer injuries, infections and illnesses and in any case, you might decide to sort the gundog insurance issue in one fell swoop and pay for lifetime insurance all in one go, so that you don’t have to think about it again.

It’s an expensive business, insuring a gundog. A lot of people gamble on insurance, preferring to set aside an amount of money every month to use when it’s needed.

But bear in mind that might not be enough to cover a course of veterinary treatment.

Why working dogs are different

Gundog injuries out in the field are not uncommon. Your active working dog is far more likely to suffer injuries like cuts and fractures when busy in the field, than a quietly-living fireside dog.

So working dog cover is a sound idea.

Gundogs are more likely to suffer injury

Companion dogs will be cheaper to insure than gundogs as they are deemed ‘lower risk’ so it’s certainly worth covering them.

Once you start looking around you’ll discover that some insurance companies won’t cover working dogs but there are those that will, like BASC, that have specialist policies. As always, it’s good to shop around.

Peace of mind

What you buy with insurance is really peace of mind. The comfort that comes from knowing that you can cover whatever bills your faithful hound runs up. Think of the pleasure and unstinting service your gundog puppy is going to provide in the years to come and you’ll almost certainly want to know that you can provide swift and expert veterinary care whenever it’s called for.

Get a free quote for gundog insurance here.