Wookie Bear is ours!!! Some questions - as usual.

[dirty ethel rackham]

That mischievous labradoodle that we fostered is now an official member of our family. We have decided to call him "Wookie Bear."

 

While they warned us that he may have picked up some bad habits at the shelter (where he had to go for his checks), he has settled in like it is home. It's like he never left.

 

So, we have to get him to the vet in the next 2 weeks per our agreement with the shelter. What should I look for in a vet?

 

Second question ... the dog comes with a complementary 30-day pet insurance policy, with the option to upgrade to a longer term policy. What is your opinion on pet insurance? Is it worth it? What are the pitfalls?

[LauraGB]

Ooh! Congratulations! I was just thinking about posting you a question to see what you decided.

 

One thing about vets I've found over the years is that some really want to help your dog, and some really want to sell their product. So, I would suggest you ask the vet about food. Seriously - the answers they give are very telling about how thorough they can be. I've had three dogs, four different vets - all of them are different. I've finally found a vet who sells Science Diet but is an advocate of a raw food diet and even gave me recipes for home made dog food (and I don't even actually feed raw food) without once mentioning the food they carry in the store. I've had vets who will only suggest meds and the food they carry, vets that carried only natural, organic foods that suggested risky surgeries for probs, and newer, younger vets who were innocently trying to do their very best. Ask about diet and you will get a good idea of what their views and practices are.

 

About the insurance. A few years ago I might have laughed at having insurance for a pet. But now...not so much. With the size and breed(s) of your dog, there are so many potential issues (hips, ACL, etc), I would pay the extra $10 a month and get the insurance. An acl surgery is easily $1200-$1500, and the insurance is extremely helpful in that situation. And aren't regular checks covered at 100% with insurance? Those alone cost about as much as the year's worth of premiums, so it's not a bad deal at the end of the day.

 

I'm so excited for you! :party:

Edited August 5, 2011 by LauraGB

[annlaura]

Congrats! :D

 

I had a truly superb vet in the city, but can't deal with the drive and 2 little kids. The vets at the Berwyn Animal Hospital are very good, and they have a number of specialists on staff. They're also a 24 hour emergency clinic, which hopefully you nevver need. It's on Harlem, north of Ogden a bit. I've been going to a clinic in Elmhhurst, mainly because it is associated with the rescue my pup is from. I've been satisfied with them, although my pup hasn't had anything interesting to get checked so far. They're just north of Oak Brook Center near Kingery, I think. LMK if you want the exact info, esp if you can't find someone else before the 2 weeks are up.

[Sugarfoot]

Congratulations! He's adorable! I don't know anything about pet insurance, but if it's fairly afordable, it might not be a bad idea. Two years ago, we lost one of our beloved Goldens to cancer. It was a painful and expensive thing to go through. This past year, our healthy Golden got into a bag of chocolate chips during the holidays and ended up in the veterinary ER. She survived, and that ordeal cost a little over 1200.00. Things happen. :glare:

[Teachin'Mine]

I am so happy to hear you've let Wookie Bear adopt all of you!!! Congratulations!!!! :)

 

He's beautiful!!!!!

[SonshineLearner]

Congratulations! He's adorable! I don't know anything about pet insurance, but if it's fairly afordable, it might not be a bad idea. Two years ago, we lost one of our beloved Goldens to cancer. It was a painful and expensive thing to go through. This past year, our healthy Golden got into a bag of chocolate chips during the holidays and ended up in the veterinary ER. She survived, and that ordeal cost a little over 1200.00. Things happen. :glare:

Wow, were they dark or something? You must not have realized it right away?? My dog ate grapes one time and I had to pour hydrogen peroxide?? down his throat... UGH... (called the vet first)

[Mama Geek]

My dh wookie bear...not Frank or Max or something:lol:

 

Yeah, I have been discussing you guys and Wookie Bear with dh.

 

We didn't do pet insurance for our last dog and won't for this dog. Vets can get expensive especially as they get older. Unless you know of any health problems now it might make sense to wait until they are older if you are going to get it.

 

We have had a few vets over the years that we liked. One was as old guy who had a scale set up in the back of his office for larger animals. He didn't just see cats and dogs and was pretty old fashioned. One guy threw some dog food down in front of the dog to give him is shots, in 15 years I never saw another vet think about doing something easy like that to distract a dog. Most of the time I have found that I prefer a vet that is on his own. It is just a preference.

 

If you live in an area or travel to an area that has lyme please get your dog vaccinated for it and use tick prevention both. My last dog got lyme and it wasn't any fun.