Operation cost...

It'll be a massive amount, I would think, Tegan. When my cat was 'hospitalised' at the vet's (and that was without any operation), it cost me over £900. That included him being put to sleep, too...

She had a similar operation last year and, annoyingly I threw the bill away a couple of weeks ago [and I NEVER throw anything away] but I'm sure it was for nothing like what I've just been charged. Even follow on appointments have been charged for; in the past follow on appointments were included in the initial consultation fee.

Hundreds without a doubt ........

Friend's little dog went to vet because she was scratching. Bill for consultation, one injection and a can of flea spray (just in case) cost £186!

Horrifying prices that have confirmed our decision not to have another dog.

I was sort of considering the possibility, but am even more unsure now!Is insurance expensive?

Upwards of £500 I should think.

I always refuse the 'extras' they try and hit you with when you sign the consent form. I don't see why I should pay in advance for something that might happen because they shouldn't happen in the first place. You don't get a refund if all goes well so it's a big con.

Our Rhodesian ridgeback had pyometra when she was nine and as she wasn't insured it cost well over £1,000

The dogs we have now are both insured but with a £125 excess. Every year the vet manages to find something wrong with them - just enough for a claim.

We'd hate to be without a dog but the vet costs are ridiculous now.

Ana I pay £25 a month to insure my cat. She is 10 years old now but never been sick 8 years ago except for stomach problems rectified by diet. The annual check is very expensive now- I think that vets are pricing themselves out of business. The surgery is usually nearly empty when I go, unlike a few years ago, it was difficult to get an appointment when I wanted one.

I pay nearly £30 a month but I've just found an exclusion on the back of my policy which 'excludes tumours, warts, cysts, growths and abscesses'. Which pretty much excludes everything. I assumed that a 12 month insurance meant 12 months for each condition ie the fact that this is a different kind of lump lump to the one that was removed last time meant that I was covered. Thus far it has cost £1250; I know I should have read the back of the insurance certificate but I just automatically pay it by direct debit and file away any correspondence.Feeling a bit sick myself now...

That's a ridiculous amount, Tegan, and as you say, the exclusions mean that it's almost inevitable that the insurance won't kick in when your pet most needs treatment, i.e. when he/she's getting on a bit...

Insurance policies are very exclusive (?) of a number of conditions common to dogs. I'm utterly convinced vets are onto a good thing, the most our old dog cost us was for euthanasia when she was 19. That cost us just over £60 including cremation 8 years ago.

A neighbour has just been charged £280 for the same thing, no other interventions involved.

And of course, once a illness or condition has been diagnosed your insurance either won't cover it when you renew or your excess/premiums will rocket up.

I've just had a bill for £99 for dental treatment on one of our Jack Russells. She broke a tooth which was removed under anaesthetic and the insurance covered that because it was a fracture. I didn't ask the vet to give the rest of her teeth a clean and descale because it was done a year ago but she did it anyway and as it's 'routine treatment' it wasn't covered.

If you don't have an annual health check along with the boosters the insurers won't pay out.

They've got you by the whatsits.

That's blinking wrong merlot! I'd have refused to pay the extra as done without your consent - and probably ended up paying because it'll be in the 'small print' somewhere.

We never insured our dogs, all cross breeds, and we rarely had vet bills beyond routine jabs and spaying. I do wonder if some pedigree dogs are less healthy because of their breeding, my sisters seem to visit the vets with their posh pooches with monotonous regularity.

My rescue dog needs a couple of teeth out. T'other dog had the same a year ago and it cost £250. That included 10 days of antibiotics and a check-up later. My daughter had all four wisdom teeth dug out without either so I'm going to suggest the vet omits the unnecessary bits of the bill. Insurance doesn't cover dentals.

My daughter's lab had two teeth out last month and it cost her about £570. She had recently changed vets because she'd moved and the insurers said she would need evidence that the previous vet had carried out a dental check in the routine annual health check. She contacted them and thank heavens they were able to confirm that they'd checked the teeth and provided documentary evidence to that effect. But even so, when the insurance payment came through she was puzzled to find they'd deducted around £130, when she thought the excess was about £100. She rang them and was told that the excess was £75 plus 10% of the bill. So the higher the bill, the more the excess. They really have got you by the short and curlies.

I mentioned that my dog had been shaking her head a lot and thought it might be something to do with what was wrong with her, so I've been charged for an ear clean. It's as bad as going to see a solicitor when the bill starts racking up the minute you walk through the door .

Vet bills have gone sky high.They love insurance policies and suggest treatments not really needed.I said no to various vets when they wanted to give treatments to our cats, especially when they got older.They seem to want to take teeth out now as a matter of routine.You know when a pet is suffering by it's behaviour.I would not take out any insurance for pets in the future, but set aside some money in case it's needed.That way you have money to spend/save if not needed for the pet.As a pet gets older it's difficult to insure anyway.

I've been reading this thread to DH, he's as shocked as I am.

I wonder if instead of buying dog insurance it might be better to put the same amount of money into a savings account or similar. That way you wouldn't be paying out either for nothing (if you're lucky) or still having to fork out for the excess or, even worse, conditions excluded.

Now there's a thought, loopy - bit of a gamble but at least you wouldn't be paying out every month for a service you may not need.

Exactly Loopy. furthermore I would let the vet know you are not insured, as their eyes light up if they know that you are. if they think you haven't a lot of money and have no insurance they seem to tone down their demands for treatment. I can only go by my own and close family's experience of this.Naturally, if a pet really needs treatment, we would pay it, but somebody mentioned a big bill for a dog scratching, well, I would buy a routine flea treatment or a dog shampoo before I hauled it off to the vet.

The problem with that is, if your pet has a fracture of some kind it could run into thousands;also it's good to have third party cover. I've paid '£1700 in insurance and have claimed for two operations [probably £1200's worth]. If I'd put £50 in the bank each month I would have £4,800 minus the £1200. The insurance only started off at £14 per month and I didn't realise how much it would go up by. I very much feel that, when my dog is gone I won't replace her .

When my friend bought flea shampoo the wretched woman in the pet shop spun her some yarn about fleas were resistant to most shampoos and these 'super fleas' infested your house within days (I bet she was the vet's wife!) so of course DF obediently trotted off to the vets.

That dog must have cost her well over a £1000 in 9 years

I think you're right regarding insurance rosesarered

Incidentally I always paid out for horse insurance and it was very reasonable, far less per month than dog insurance. Where horses are involved you don't seem to get this exploitation.

That's a good point about third party insurance, Tegan, but isn't that separate from health insurance?

Sorry should be £10,000 not £1000.

That's what we did with our Rhodesian ridgeback. Pet-plan messed up our policy and then wouldn't re-instate it because she was over seven so we put £1000 in a building society account and left it there hoping we would never need it. We added some more as and when we could afford it but sod's law was against us and it was all hoovered up when she developed pyometra.

Can't win really.