Dog owners worry about vet care costs and treatment options

“I'm hoping to have some insight and help with the situation for my dog Tutti Fruitti (9 y/o spay female, mutt mix from Mexico). For context, I had recently moved cities and so went to a new vet for a health check up and getting some routine vaccines. Since moving, this girl has had a bit of a rollercoaster. In no particular order she has: been sprayed in the face and mouth by a skunk (she was foaming at the mouth when i got to her), got into garbage with potential onion/garlic, stung by a wa”

“Hi everyone, I am adopting a 10 month old dog (mix breed, 8kg, neutered). Last month the shelter gave him a full blood test at my request. He was very active and did not show signs of illness so this was just a general wellness check. Here are some of the kidney results: BUN 12.1 mmol/L CRE 145 umol/L SDMA 14 ug/dL Since the results are bordering normal/high, the shelter put him on a strict renal diet. He was also positive for Giardia, although he had no symptoms. I did think he was a bit skinny”

“Lab mix, 11 weeks, first proper vet visit is next Tuesday. Everyone keeps telling me to have a policy running before anything goes in her notes, so that's the plan. She's our 1st dog and I've spent 3 evenings on sample policies instead of sleeping, mostly because the breeder mentioned her mom had a knee surgery at 4 and now that's all I can think about. My list from reading sample policies is Fetch, Pumpkin, Figo and Healthy Paws, and the waiting periods are where they seem to sp”

“She's 2, weighs about as much as a bag of flour, and has worn a harness since day 1 because the trachea thing comes up in every chi group I read. Her chart is clean and I want cover in place before that changes. Shortlist from the sample policies is Fetch, MetLife, Figo and ASPCA. What should full coverage include on a dog this small? submitted by /u/UggsleyPaddams [link] [comments]”

“I’m hoping I could have some help finding the best pet insurance for my 3 dachshunds! I want to be able to cover any future cost of any potential IVDD surgery and dental cleanings. Only “pre-existing” condition I have for any of my pets is that 1 dog was born deaf and he is 1.5 years old. submitted by /u/kdogdbr [link] [comments]”

“Hello, my dog just got a diagnosis for chronic kidney failure from his blood test this morning. I have a few questions on best practices to make sure he can live as happily as possible with his time left. My vet gave me some supplemented food to help with the chemical imbalances. Is there any recommendation for dietary requirements other than this ? Also I'm unsure if this is genetic or something else, what are the usual causes in younger dogs? Most online articles focus on elderly dogs with”

“I am currently with Nationwide and my policy just renewed in July. My lab has torn her Cruciate. She will get surgery soon. However, I am very concerned she will tear her other one before the policy renews next July and my coverage (which is the maximum) is only enough to cover 1 surgery (5k in coverage, 4500 for surgery on one). I've called and asked if they offer anything supplemental or if I could raise coverage. I am unable to. What would you do in this situation? Does anyone know of any”

“Hey y’all!! I am considering pet insurance for my dog. He is about 8 years old and was diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur and anxiety about a year ago. After $900 worth of testing, they determined the heart murmur was benign and he was prescribed fluoxetine for his anxiety. I’m currently enrolling for my benefits through this new job, and they offer two pet insurance options. One is the total pet wishbone plan for $10/month, which seems like mainly a discount plan. The other option is the nat”

“I’ve had Trupanion since I got my dog nine years ago. She’s 10-11 years old. I don’t remember what the premium was initially, maybe around $40 a month, but it’s gone up so much in the past few years, and now it’s going up to $248 per month. And they just said they’re going to start raising the premium more often and then once a year. I have a $200 per-condition deductible. We’ve used Trupanion for her a lot, she’s had a lot of varied issues, including ongoing medications like eye drops and joint”

submitted by /u/Ill_Awareness_458 [link] [comments]

“Hi there, I could use some advice on my dog. Please note, we went to the emergency vet today, and will be going to her normal vet on Tuesday. Age: 10 yo Breed: Mix Weight: 39lbs Spayed UTD on vaccines No medications Generally pretty healthy - had parvo when she was a puppy, though. Basic rundown: she stopped eating Saturday morning. She refused food again at supper, and also breakfast this morning. Thinking maybe she was getting tired of the same food she’s been on for 5+ years, I went to get he”

“Hello! My dog was recently diagnosed with kidney failure, however it was caught early enough to where a change to a renal diet and lots of fluids could keep her healthy and happy. I was instructed to give her Purina’s Renal Diet, I give her the kibble form and soak it in reduced sodium chicken broth (seasoning free ofc). However with this new diet, she’s itching like crazy. No fleas, cleaned and bathed. I have no clue what’s going on and can only assume it’s the food. Are there any other recomme”

“Will be interested to see if the PAW act passes which would allow up to $1,000 from your HSA a year towards petcare.”

“I wish I had gotten it when I first adopted my cats. Now they don't qualify. But I've spent over $15k on things like dental cleanings with sedation, opthalmologist and eye exam, and urinary blockage hospitalization. Now my one cat has CKD and we are going to be doing lab work every 3-6 months for the rest of his life.”

“I'm single with one income and I have multiple pets so I get pet insurance so that I don't have to make a hard choice strictly due to finances. My dog got PLE in 2024 and ultimately ended up passing away one month after showing symptoms. All in, the cost of diagnosis and treatment including emergency vet visits ended up being around $8,000 in one month and my insurance reimbursed 90%. It was a very rough month but it was nice that cost wasn't a deciding factor for any of the decision”

“It’s like any insurance, you may need it or you may not. My wife hates paying for it so with our recent dog, at age 1, needed to have both knees operated on (Luxating patella) to the tune of $18,000. Thankfully we can afford that but most can’t. You just never know. With cats, issues generally come up later life.”

“Wow, thank you for the heads up. I did not realize they had even reduced it, let alone by nearly half. When the aforementioned pup passed from cancer, they reimbursed his euthanasia and a bunch of other bills too. Unfortunately our other dog passed last month and we were wondering why the covered so little by comparison, but were emotional and didn't look into it at the time.”

“I’ve spent 6k on premiums over 7 years. The insurance has covered over 70k (and I’ve paid 7k in my share; 90% after 500$ deductible). So yes for me it’s been worth it.”

“My policy is up to $10k/year coverage at 80%. So if I’m using the upper limit I would be spending around $12k/year. as long as the premiums are <$1k/month (currently ~$20 before add-ons) and I have less than $20k in savings I think it’s worth it. If I have over $20k in savings I would feel comfortable self-insuring and not having the pet insurance. It doesn’t hurt to look at some quotes and see. It’s better to get pet insurance while your pet is young, before preexisting conditions develop, w”

“Hello everybody, Sorry for my English beforehand.. Our 16 year old Chihuahua's health hasn't been well since June. But she was still happy, went along for walks as if nothing was wrong,.. Then in August, her well being started deteriorating: walking unstable en being very fidgety,.. Now she is at a point where she has 3 bad days and then a good week for example. And so it goes up and down. But even on the best of days is not like she was before. Her tail is often between her legs. :( Now”

“Hello all, thank you for reading and any insight would be greatly appreciated. If this is against the rules I apologize and please remove So first, our dog, (basically our son) needs a maxillectomy due to a mass on his upper jaw. They think it might be carcinoma or just a benign scare tissue mass and they can’t make the determination based on the biopsy we had done. So he’s scheduled for a CT scan and then they determine what they need to do in the surgery. Both done in the same visit. Then they”

“Hey everyone, my dog was born with a bladder condition, but we are unable to get pet insurance due to her being born with it so they won’t cover it. Thank you so much, and any help counts! https://gofund.me/55cc4221b submitted by /u/isabelle_g19 [link] [comments]”

“Thinking about getting pet insurance for my 5 year old Cavapoo, who is loving and my absolute best snuggle buddy in the entire world, but she is not the sharpest tool in the shed. At least once per year, eats something weird and can’t stop barfing bile, and we almost always end up going for at least one round of anti-nausea shot and a leaky fluid hump. Plus an xray maybe every other year to rule out something stupid based on how long it’s going on. Mostly seems like she just has a really sensiti”

“I have a 14 year old pit mix who is about to be on week three of a tooth abscess.. I used money I didn't have to get her looked at and medicated.. Her kidneys are good, she can still run and jump, she eats (though I have been softening her food as a precaution), she still seems mentally sharp and capable of being happy... I can't afford to have it removed.. I had to have a family member help me with the rent money I spent on her medication and they will not help me with my dog's medi”

“Hi! I’m hoping to get some veterinary perspectives on a recently diagnosed/suspected partial CCL tear and how we should approach treatment and rehabilitation. Patient info: • Dog • Male, neutered • Approximately 4 years old • ~68 lbs • Mixed breed General location: South Mississippi Finn recently developed a left hind-leg limp. It is not obvious to me (someone with vet experience). In fact, I thought that it was a simple strain that had healed. I could not tell that he was limping nor did I noti”

“I have a 4yo dog and am switching to a new vet tomorrow. I was told by a vet behaviorist that, because he’s on meds for anxiety, he should have bloodwork done annually. I’d like him to have a general idexx (I think/am guessing?) panel done to start a baseline chart for him. I called the new vet today to make sure he needed to be fasted for his bloodwork but she told me no. Granted, I’m used to senior dogs and their blood panels… but they were usually fasted for those, right?? I’m confused why th”

“Hello, I have an old girl that got diagnosed with kidney disease. She's on supplements and medication. Her energy level is still the same, energetic, needy and playful, her appetite is still very much there but I began noticing she's not drinking as much water, I did try to get her to drink water off my hands and it worked for a bit but now she doesn't care much for it. I'm now hydrating her with the broth from when I boil my chicken or pork and she's enthusiastic about it. I”

“On Monday the 24th I had brought my dog in for her distemper leptoparvo vaccine. It all went well and the vet only said she might be a little tired the rest of the day. And I’m unsure if this is related or not, but starting late Thursday night she had gotten sick. But she has been throwing up a 2-3 or so times a day since then. It started out pretty yellow but now it’s mostly clear and I’m wondering now if she’s throwing up her water at this point, because she just started drinking again since T”

“TLDR; should I really give my dog Pimobendan to address her kidney disease even though she has an asymptomatic heart murmur and normal EKG? Hi all! I was hoping for a difference opinion/perspective on a recent medication (Pimobendan) that my veterinarian prescribed for my dog for her heart murmur but prescribed because my veterinarian thinks it’s causing her kidney failure. I usually wouldn’t question a doctors orders but this vet has said and done a few things (like forgetting about labs that m”

“I recently got pets best insurance for my 4 cats and need to get my youngest one fixed as she's 5 months old. I know the insurance will cover toe cost, but do I pay the bill first then submit a claim? Or do I submit a claim and they pay the vet? submitted by /u/canniballzzombie [link] [comments]”

“So the story goes, my 16 year old chihuahua went in for a check up and we did some blood work and her creatinine, BUN and Alk levels were high and she’s lost about a pound which for her is pretty detrimental since she only weighs 8lbs, the concern was brought about possible CKD. Now my concern is her brother passed about 11 months ago due to CKD, he struggled with it for 8 months and one thing I regret is not having started him sooner on subQ fluids and I wonder if I should start my girl on flui”

“My dog has eaten this way for as long as I can remember, so I never really thought anything of it. However, when my dad was visiting not very long ago, he was watching her eat and said that it looks like her teeth might be hurting with the way that she eats. She takes a few kibbles, drops them on the ground, picks one up, gets it wet in her mouth, spits it back out, repeats a couple times, and then swallows that kibble without chewing before moving onto the next one and repeating. Posting here t”

“My dog was diagnosed with pyometra. Her platelets are low, so our vet put her on a 7-day medical regimen to raise her platelet count to a safe level before operating. Her cervix seems to be open since starting suppositories—she is now passing yellow discharge (tho minimal). We have a follow-up blood test scheduled this Thursday to recheck her platelets and clear her for surgery, but I'm terrified of waiting this long. Everything I’ve read says pyometra is an immediate emergency and that wait”

“Hi! We have a 13-year old female ragdoll cat, 6.0lb, whose health has declined in the past few months, has developed possible chronic kidney disease and we're giving subQ fluids at home. We were getting Monoject 250, 20G x 3/4" needles from the vet, but looking to buy a larger box from online retailers, and found these 3 options, but they are all 20G x 1". Is using the 1-inch length needle more uncomfortable or causes problems compared to 3/4" needle? Are there any other diffe”