New Puppy Insurance - with pics
Discussion
We have a ten week old working cocker in full working order. Really happy with her but need to get her insured. Can anyone recommend somebody? Vet says we need life cover as opposed to year on year?
She is very bright and in to anything and anyone! One problem though, all play ends up with her wanting to bite us. I know all pups chew/mouth but she gets carried away and bites down with her razor sharp teeth. We have tried yelping, putting her out of the room, replacing with toys, ending the game and turning our back on her but still she bites. I have even been physical with her and while she does submit I want to avoid this if possible. Any other tricks I am missing?
She is very bright and in to anything and anyone! One problem though, all play ends up with her wanting to bite us. I know all pups chew/mouth but she gets carried away and bites down with her razor sharp teeth. We have tried yelping, putting her out of the room, replacing with toys, ending the game and turning our back on her but still she bites. I have even been physical with her and while she does submit I want to avoid this if possible. Any other tricks I am missing?
No more physical reactions, will possibly cause fear response.
Ignore ignore ignore, puppies hate being ignored
Discourage tug of war games where your hand could be seen as fair game. Use toys such as puppy kongs with treats in them to distract from your hands. do not do rough and tumble as your hands will definitely become a target and don't put your hands in or around pups mouth to wind up.
Always praise lots when he plays on a toy rather than your hand, as soon as he goes to bite your hand even if just gentle shout very loudly OW! and get up walk away and completely ignore until he has stopped, got bored and wandered off. But everyone in the house MUST follow same rules, it will never work if one person does and another ignores, this will just confuse pup.
I know you seem to be doing some of what i've mentioned but sometimes it can depend on how the build up to the biting occurs anf timings (ie let her mouth your hand then get cross when it hurst is confusing for her so immediate response to miting is a must)
Re: ins Look at Pet Plan then compare others to it. Pet Plan is considered gold standard so if you see others with similar options then they're worth considering (if you don't actually want pet plan.
Other option is like Sainsburys, not cover for life but they'll pay upto 7.5k per medical condition for as long as it takes to use that moneyup (so some conditions it may last two years, others 10 years depending on the problem) It has worked for me so far!
I think Direct line have just started a cover for life policy and you don't have to pay an excess once a year like some to continue having the condition paid for but I couldn't swear to that.
Ignore ignore ignore, puppies hate being ignored
Discourage tug of war games where your hand could be seen as fair game. Use toys such as puppy kongs with treats in them to distract from your hands. do not do rough and tumble as your hands will definitely become a target and don't put your hands in or around pups mouth to wind up.Always praise lots when he plays on a toy rather than your hand, as soon as he goes to bite your hand even if just gentle shout very loudly OW! and get up walk away and completely ignore until he has stopped, got bored and wandered off. But everyone in the house MUST follow same rules, it will never work if one person does and another ignores, this will just confuse pup.
I know you seem to be doing some of what i've mentioned but sometimes it can depend on how the build up to the biting occurs anf timings (ie let her mouth your hand then get cross when it hurst is confusing for her so immediate response to miting is a must)
Re: ins Look at Pet Plan then compare others to it. Pet Plan is considered gold standard so if you see others with similar options then they're worth considering (if you don't actually want pet plan.
Other option is like Sainsburys, not cover for life but they'll pay upto 7.5k per medical condition for as long as it takes to use that moneyup (so some conditions it may last two years, others 10 years depending on the problem) It has worked for me so far!
I think Direct line have just started a cover for life policy and you don't have to pay an excess once a year like some to continue having the condition paid for but I couldn't swear to that.
Edited by bexVN on Tuesday 24th May 22:25
Persistence!
It seems like she knows what she's doing; she's purposefully continuing to bite you, despite knowing that you don't like it... she's the devil dog, and will never stop biting people; nothing works - she still bites you...
Keep calm - it will pass; it is a puppy phase.
I thought our english bull terrier was particularly bad - it's taken about 3 weeks to get her to stop biting. And she'll still have a swipe at my OH occasionally!
As Becks wisely says - if she bites you, it requires an immediate reaction on your part. Squealing, pulling away, walking off, ignoring the puppy. "Playtime is over when you bite me." Or, if you're taking the distraction approach, removing your hand (!) and replacing it with a chew toy, and excessively praising her when she bites that instead. (Although I'd advocate ignoring the pup - it's a much stronger message!)
And to avoid the hand-biting in the first place, try not to play games with her your hands. It's funny to watch them play with your hands, but when they play, they bite. It's natural! They simply need to learn the boundaries for biting/mouthing.
Edit to answer your question! We've got our 3 yo with E-sure. We phoned to insure pup - "£30/month, please".
Yer wha'?
3 yo's policy is £12/month!
£x per illness is what we've gone for..although the vet fee excesses seem to be higher this time round! The old policy is £50 excess - this time round, I can't find one for less than £65! Well, that has a useful per illness sum of more than £500...
It seems like she knows what she's doing; she's purposefully continuing to bite you, despite knowing that you don't like it... she's the devil dog, and will never stop biting people; nothing works - she still bites you...
Keep calm - it will pass; it is a puppy phase.
I thought our english bull terrier was particularly bad - it's taken about 3 weeks to get her to stop biting. And she'll still have a swipe at my OH occasionally!
As Becks wisely says - if she bites you, it requires an immediate reaction on your part. Squealing, pulling away, walking off, ignoring the puppy. "Playtime is over when you bite me." Or, if you're taking the distraction approach, removing your hand (!) and replacing it with a chew toy, and excessively praising her when she bites that instead. (Although I'd advocate ignoring the pup - it's a much stronger message!)
And to avoid the hand-biting in the first place, try not to play games with her your hands. It's funny to watch them play with your hands, but when they play, they bite. It's natural! They simply need to learn the boundaries for biting/mouthing.
Edit to answer your question! We've got our 3 yo with E-sure. We phoned to insure pup - "£30/month, please".
Yer wha'?
3 yo's policy is £12/month!
£x per illness is what we've gone for..although the vet fee excesses seem to be higher this time round! The old policy is £50 excess - this time round, I can't find one for less than £65! Well, that has a useful per illness sum of more than £500...
Edited by Karyn on Wednesday 25th May 07:32
Tesco are the only pet insurance we've used (and there's been a fair few others) who haven't been a PITA when it comes to recovering vet costs etc. We've claimed twice for emergency stuff for the cat, and once for more regular stuff for both dogs, and they've been superb - no questions asked, just ask for a form to be sent, fill it in, cheque lands in the post a couple of weeks later.
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