Nature calls

[brightncheerful]

Mrs Bnc's dog has just practised dog-hunting by knocking off a baby bird. Last year, when she did the same to last year's baby bird, its parents glared at the dog from the neighbouring rooftops. I looked at them and apologised. The dog looked sheepish. This time dog was lured in with some biscuits and a stuffed kong - which is likely to put on weight that Mrs Bnc wants dog to lose so that Mrs Bnc won't be told off by the vet. This week, the dog has had two walks, both of which were the first and second time since November last. Recently, the dog had two back teeth extracted; they were cracked as a consequence of chewing calves hooves that a trainer had recommended Mrs Bnc to give the dog to keep it occupied. Unfortunately, I had just bought the hooves, a few months' supply, which arrived on the same day the vet had found the cracks. As the supplier won't take them back, according to Amazon, I am now lumbered with having to find someone to buy them from me.

The recent announcement that the CMA is investigating fees charged by vets will hopefully be worth it. Mrs Bnc fell out with the admin staff at the first vet we registered with, only to be disappointed after a while with the new vet - for aftercare following the teeth extraction when their painkillers for the dog weren't strong enough, their advice was then to give dog paracetamol - and asked me to try to get us re-registered with the first vet, which I've done successfully). The second vet charges £28 a month on their pet plan compared to the £19 pm we are paying with the first vet. Pet insurance, thanks to an uncapped index-linked increase, costs £72 a month, so that is almost £100 a month. Some 40 years ago, when I had my own dog, I didn't have a pet plan or insurance. My dog managed to eat chicken bones and apricot stones without breaking her teeth. Whereas Mrs Bnc's dog, not yet 4 years old, has had a 12-month course of glucosamine injections to strengthen her hind legs, two days in a super vet hospital to be detoxed after eating a currant in a bun she grabbed off my plate at breakfast whilst we were on holiday, and the teeth extraction, and as well as the monthly insurance we have had to fork out £85 excess for each claim on the insurance. The old/current vet is very impressed with the quality of the dog's fur, which is the result of feeling the dog is healthy, additive-free food made of insects, etc. The cost of her healthy daily feed is astronomical. I won't tell you how much we overpaid during lockdown to buy a puppy from the breeder or the further expense of bespoke training and attending classes, but it adds up to a lot of money. however, as the dog will be 4 in July this year, dividing the total expense by 4 is beginning to feel like good value for money - if only I don't add in the cost of replacing the 7 jumpers whose sleeves the dog has torn off whilst I was wearing them.

to be continued

[DrFfybes]

Pet insurance, thanks to an uncapped index-linked increase, costs £72 a month, so that is almost £100 a month. Some 40 years ago, when I had my own dog, I didn't have a pet plan or insurance. My dog managed to eat chicken bones and apricot stones without breaking her teeth. Whereas Mrs Bnc's dog, not yet 4 years old, has had a 12-month course of glucosamine injections to strengthen her hind legs, two days in a super vet hospital to be detoxed after eating a currant in a bun she grabbed off my plate at breakfast whilst we were on holiday,

Would I be right in guessing the first one was a mongrel, crossbred from various strains and exhibiting Hybrid Vigour, and the latter one is some inbred disease prone creature often churned out to satiate the need for people to put photos of it on social media?

We took on a 14/15 year old rescue staffie cross a couple of years ago, bit of lab, looked like a german Shpeherd in some lights, but ate anything within grasp for the 2 and a bit years she lasted. No insurance, a £16/month pills toes and bum policy, and the only costs were a few tests when we got her and got overworried, and her last 4 days when she declined quickly.

We do a bit with local dog rescue places (and Guide dogs). There are a lot of badly trained/socialised 3-4 year old cockerdoodles and the like appearing, and you would be amazed/horrified by how many bring people dogs back after a day or 2 "because it cried all night and clawed the door when we shut it in the kitchen whilst we went shopping".

The recent announcement that the CMA is investigating fees charged by vets will hopefully be worth it.

Their actual treatment prices aren't too bad in many cases, try comparing it with similar Private Health costs. Especially when you factor in most minor things also require an anaesthetist, and the use rate of their equipment compared to a specialist Nuffield centre chucking patients through by the hour. Vets charge more, but you don't wait months to get an MRI or a tumour removed. The big rip off is the astronomical cost of the medicines. Our vet (medivet) would do a prescription for £12 and admitted they get charged far more from their contracted supplier than we were buying it from Animed Direct. THAT should certainly be investigated.

Paul

[didds]

My 2p tacked on the end.

We've recently rescued a 4 year old lab (poss crossed with some staffy looking at him - possibly some Weimaraner or however its spelt as his coat has a distinct silvery hue to otherwise brown hair).

I was looking at pet insurance last week. we haven't had any for a very long time because our last three dogs (all owned at roughly the same time together) were old (also recuses) and they'd reached the stage in life where any real problems would be a visit from the vet.

Its impossible to compare the various policies and premiums. What the proverbial do all the terms mean and how to compare them side by side is just impossible

[Dicky99]

The second vet charges £28 a month on their pet plan compared to the £19 pm we are paying with the first vet. Pet insurance, thanks to an uncapped index-linked increase, costs £72 a month, so that is almost £100 a month. Some 40 years ago, when I had my own dog, I didn't have a pet plan or insurance. My dog managed to eat chicken bones and apricot stones without breaking her teeth.

You need to take advice from the people in social housing who seem to be able to afford to keep multiple dogs in spite of the cost of living crisis.

[DrFfybes]

You need to take advice from the people in social housing who seem to be able to afford to keep multiple dogs in spite of the cost of living crisis.

There are vets who do free treatment of animals if you are on certain benefits.

[brightncheerful]

The first was a Border terrier: she and her brother from the same litter.

Mrs Bnc's dog is an F1 Miniature Labradoodle - a mongrel - and Miniature is in between a Toy (small) and full-size Ladbroodle. The F1 has something to do with something I don't understand. I wondered if it were Formula 1, so I timed her dash from the back wall of the house to the fence at the back of our short garden in 3.3 seconds, equating to 60mph. I read that an F1 Labradoodle can run at 30mph at peak fitness, so letting her off-lead without excellent recall is high risk. She doesn't have recall unless it's worth her while. As a puppy, she excelled at carrying a section of a railway sleeper across the garden; she's brilliant at finding things that she considers are out of place; for example, she's dug up more builder's rubble from the garden that I knew was there. She demolished a rubber hosepipe that had hung on the back wall for years before she set about relandscaping the garden. A week ago, we moved a trellis from the back fence to the front garden and replaced the back trellis with the grotty one from the front garden. She disapproved of that, so she started gnawing the wood. Fortunately, she's better at understanding "leave' now.