Danois

I guess that makes sense Danois. I haven't really had too much experience with health insurance previously (I have a family member in medicine who has helped me!) so it didn't click. Although I might be an 'idealist' to say this, I do think it'd be nice if they calculated your pet's "last" year on a pro-rata basis... seems a little more socially conscious to me. Why should they be more socially conscious? Insurance is a business. It is reasonable they get a full year premium especially if you have claimed. Pet insurance is not alone in the requirement to pay the full premium year.

Don't forget to look at the other sublimits - most policies will also have an annual sublimit for medications.

I have never had to provide a vet history with a claim - there is space on the form for the vet to note the diagnosis or treatment comments but that's it.

Why wouldn't they? A pet insurance policy is an annual policy which you can choose to pay monthly. Even if your dog dies during the policy year you have to pay the annual premium in full. When I rung my insurer to tell them Angs had passed away so I needed to cancel the policy I opted to pay out the rest of the premiums in one go.

I would not feed it - there is a perception it is a good food as vets stock it. In saying that, I would never refer to a vet for advice on diet. I have recently switched to Canidae due to the issues getting EP and I find I need to feed less - 4 -5 cups a day is now sufficient (for a 63kg dog).

I have a RSPCA policy (which is just one of the retail fronts for PIA which is underwritten by Hollard who underwrites the majority of pet insurance in Australia). I have found them super easy to deal with - never had an issue with a claim not being paid or even had one questioned and I claimed around $6,500 over 2 years from them. It pays 80% of the claim and I feel this is better than a $100 excess per claim (except where you've already paid the excess for that condition) as the majority of vet bills are under $100. I pay $56 a month but that is for a giant breed. Previously they did not load premiums for different breeds but now they do as if he was a beagle it would be $47 (for accident and illness cover).

I think it is naive to think that accidents/ illness/ injury will not occur when your dog is boarding but it comes down to using a kennel which you have trust and confidence in. If I used a kennel in a tick area then I'd ensure my dog had a tick preventative before he went there. If I owned the kennels I'd have it has a condition of boarding and if a dog arrived without having been treated then it would be treated on arrival. I would expect the kennel to check over dogs daily if they had been out in grass etc. Not sure how this would be manageable in bigger kennels - I deliberately use a small kennel where the dogs get a lot of one on one attention. And I have accepted responsibility for ensuring I have a dog which allows itself to be handled by others and which is not going to present as a problem for the kennel. As for injury - injuries can happen at home easily enough so it follows that they can easily happen in boarding. I would expect the kennel to contact me and let me know what is happening and let me deal with the vets. I think I'm more worried about the injury my dog can do with his tail to the owner of the kennel I use I would only expect a boarding kennel to be liable to me if they had been negligent or for any wilful acts or omissions.

Danes are known for being leaners, sleeping on their backs and backing up and sitting on the couch, your knee etc

I had a boy with immune mediated polyarthritis and there saw some things similar to what you described. Is there any swelling or warmth in the joints? Although he is only 5, it is possible that it is arthritis. I'd say vets visit with full bloods to be taken.

Tralee - you're off the money on 2 of your comments. I don't believe that they do. Work Cover will not cover workers who enter properties identified by them as Properties at Risk. A property at risk, as defined by Work Cover, is a property that contains dogs. What does WorkCover have to do with it? Workcover simply administers the OH&S/ Workers Comp laws and investigates breaches of workplace health and safety. If you mean Workers Comp? In all my dealings with workers comp I have never come across the concept of 'properties at risk' and people not being covered. Happy to be corrected if you can provide me a link to the basis to your comments. Actually people do not need permission to enter another person's property (leaving aside the fact they were police acting in the course of their duties and responding to an AVO breach). You are allowed to walk up to a front door. It is only when you are asked to leave by the occupant of the house and you don't are you trespassing. Of course - as PF has already pointed out, police have specified powers to enter property which the rest of the general public don't get the benefit of.

http://www.canidae.com.au/ Its on their front page that its not irradiated.

Yeah it is a maze isn't it Powerlegs - and there are lots of little parks tucked away everywhere as well as the big ones. http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/environ...tml?s=500066519 - that's just Marrickville Council part of the area. The incidents prior to Xmas were spread across 3 different parks.

Do you have any idea of how many off lead dog parks and onlead parks are around the Inner West? That would be an impossible task.

No such thing as a 'spoodle' - you must mean a 'spaniel x poodle'....

Send PAX from here a PM. A few of us here board our dogs there and are more than happy with her service. So much so she has been nominated for an MDBA award for the best boarding kennel this year. You won't find her on the internet.

Wondering if its draino? Its very close for me too. Unfortunately we have also had issues in this area recently with baited mincemeat in dog parks.

Look up articles on clicker training to clip nails - clicker is a good way of training as the sound is the same as the snip of the clippers when you cut. I have not used this clip but Kikpup videos are usually pretty good - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHgBvnQ71ss I used to struggle with my boy (who's now 62kg) and used the clicker. Started off with just sitting in front of him with the clippers on the ground and clicking any interaction and built up from there. If he does not like his feet being touched you need to build up that too. When I was able to clip his nails without any issue, the first couple of times I did it when he was worn out and lots of treats. Now he gets a treat at the end.

I lost my last dane to IM polyarthritis (and IMHA at the end). I recommend the Yahoo Group CIMDA (Canine Immune Mediated Disease (A = something)) - it is UK based. The lady who runs it (Jo Tucker from memory) is very knowledgeable and you can email with her directly.

For your dane? I'd be inclined to feed Bonnie or Coprice over Supercoat. I know of a number of dane people who feed these when restricted by choice. PS the dane thread is your one stop shop for all questions ;)

From the rules: No promotion of cross breeds / designer dogs This site has nothing against cross breeds (most of us have had one at some stage in our life), however we are against the promotion of them as being superior to the purebred dog and people cashing in on the 'designer dog' craze. We also ask that you refrain from unnecessary designer dog discussion. (ie discussion that has no real purpose other than to express dismay at the latest 'cross breed' you saw (or read about)). Sure, we all know they are out there, but we prefer to concentrate on discussing the pure bred dog (ANKC recognised breeds).

Not necessarily - their site does not always show out of stock. The handy thing about Pookinuk though is he was ex-EP and goes down to EP and gets stock.

I have a few around the house :D One from Ruff Wear who advertise on here - they came to our dane fun day and we cleaned them out I made the other 2 myself - both have a cut down foam mattress from Clarkes at the bottom. 1 has the old filling from a Masterpet Serenity bed on top and all inside a doona cover. The other has a queen sized doona in half and sewn up and filled with 5kg of foam chips - again inside a cover.

I gave up on them after one too many 'promises' that did not come through. Now feeding Canidae and very happy with it.

I've had no issues with it here. I believe the information with it says to give it with a meal.

I have this issue too ;) I use a towel underneath. I have seen someone use an oil drip tray under the bowl which is a good idea.