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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

poorly puppy 7 days after buying

60 replies

car1sberg · 27/03/2021 17:15

Hello.
We got a new puppy just under a week ago (pedigree from respected breeders) we insured him straight away. He is now very poorly (exact cause unknown as yet) and has been admitted to the vets and having various tests.
Our insurance doesn't cover him for the first 14 days for illness. The breeder doesn't have any form of insurance for him and has offered to pay a certain amount towards fees but this may come to half at a rough guess.
Do pets who get poorly within these 14 days just slip through the net? It seems wrong that we've insured him immediately yet are liable to pay £££ in vets fees so soon.
Any help would be much appreciated, thanks!

OP posts:
Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady · 27/03/2021 21:44

As the breeder has neglected to sort out the 4 weeks free insurance with the kennel club which is pretty standard to my knowledge, I think you need to push for them to cover at least half the costs.

I really hope the little love pulls through ok OP. I feel really sorry for it and for you. Awful thing to happen

HeidiPeidi · 28/03/2021 02:44

Even my neighbours’ cava-poo-chon-ugg-le-tzu type dog came with 4 weeks free insurance, and that definitely wasn’t a reputable breeder (I won’t name the place, but it was one of those ‘kennels’ that sells a zillion different ‘breeds’ at once).

Depending on the problem, I’d be tempted to push for the breeder to pay full costs, tbh OP.

D0ntAtMe · 28/03/2021 18:02

How is puppy doing today OP?

Original poster
car1sberg · 30/03/2021 23:53

Hello

I'm so sorry for not replying sooner.

So our puppy is home. He's a lot happier, he's like a new puppy actually. We still don't know the cause of his illness as still waiting for a few test results. He has now been left with a 'pre existing' illness though and from my first look, it seems insuring him is going to be tricky.

We do still have our insurance policy for him, I spoke with them and the policy will remain the same but anything rondo with this illness or resulting conditions will not be covered.

Does anyone have experience of insuring a puppy with a pet existing condition? Any companies you recommend?

Thank you.

OP posts:
ashmts · 31/03/2021 00:04

I think Bought By Many do a decent policy for pre-existing conditions but from memory I think the pet has to have been healthy for the past three months, so you'd likely be best sticking with what you've got until then and hoping for the best in the meantime. I'm glad he's doing better.

Justdowhatyouweretold · 31/03/2021 00:10

Change vets and pretend it never happened

bluebluezoo · 31/03/2021 08:29

Does anyone have experience of insuring a puppy with a pet existing condition? Any companies you recommend?

I think it depends on the pre existing condition to some extent, and what the exclusions are.

I had a cat with a birth acquired viral infection that left him a bit snotty and hayfever type symptoms. Exclusions were anything to do with head, neck, chest and respiratory tract. So £30 a month for his arse and legs, basically.

I put the £15 in a savings account instead. That was 20 years ago so now we have a healthy pot for our current cat and I’ve also now stopped the dog insurance and am paying in that as well.

Original poster
car1sberg · 31/03/2021 08:51

I've had quotes for £70-90 per month when I've put him as being 2 years old and assuming he's not needed treatment for his illness within those 2 years. Argh!

OP posts:
BiteyShark · 31/03/2021 09:07

I think all you can do is to find out explicitly what is excluded and depending on the test results that you are waiting for see if they will be willing to lift all or some of the exclusions after a set time if no further occurrences.

JayAlfredPrufrock · 31/03/2021 09:45

If the insurance was already in place but not useable it seems a bit bloody rich to then class this as a pre existing condition.

Another thing to add to my list of why I hate insurance companies.

Glad pup is feeling better.

plinkplinkfizzer · 31/03/2021 09:49

all the pedigree dogs I have ever bought have 6 weeks insurance already .
They also say they will take them back any time .

Leonberger · 31/03/2021 09:51

What breed? It’s not an unusual amount to insure say a bull breed or something with a lot of health issues.

moosemama · 31/03/2021 11:16

One of my rescue pups arrived with Campylobacter and needed treatment as soon as we got him. I insured him with lifetime cover through PetPlan and they excluded all gastric related complaints for 12 months. I had to remind them to remove the exclusion on renewal, but they then did it.

He was a large cross-breed and his premiums were still under fifty pounds a month when we lost him, aged 7, after almost two years of incredibly expensive treatment.

Sitdowncupoftea · 31/03/2021 17:40

Sorry you have an ill puppy. Any KC pup I have ever got came with insurance any good breeder would have this. What is the illness.

BJHair · 31/03/2021 18:10

Who are you insured with
I think BBM won’t cover you for 14 days
But as long as you were insured and the puppy was ill at the time you bought the policy after 14 days they will cover you
Don’t change insurers either as you won’t be covered for anything that wrong with your puppy now in the future with a new insurers

BJHair · 31/03/2021 18:13

Look at Bought By Many
The first year a pre existing condition is limited to £500
2nd year 1000
3rd year included on the normal level of policy
I have a french bulldog so expensive to insure but I pay £44 a month and just got my renewal and it went up by £2

BJHair · 31/03/2021 18:15

@ Justdowhatyouweretold
😂 I’ve done that before although I went further and changed owner and address and chip 😂

Justdowhatyouweretold · 31/03/2021 20:56

@BJHair

It's the best option if you have a very small pup.

My pup was sick when we got her and it messed us right up for insurance. We really wish we had changed vets and pretended we just got her as soon as she was better.

Original poster
car1sberg · 02/04/2021 08:28

Hi everyone

I've started a new thread on legal matters if anyone is interested or may be able to help.

Thank you again!

Puppy is home & doing well for now after a very rough week x

OP posts:
BBOA · 02/04/2021 09:23

Dont have to be KC registered to sell with insurance in puppy pack. What a nightmare and a rubbish breeder. Hope your puppy gets better soon. You haven’t said what’s wrong with it but everyone I know who’s had a puppy usually has to deal with diarrhoea very early on. Mine had to have antibiotics and paste.

Original poster
car1sberg · 02/04/2021 09:34

@BBOA I don't want to out myself but I'll just say we've paid close to £4K in vets fees in less than a week for something that could have been prevented if the puppies had been cared for properly.

Thanks

OP posts:
bluebluezoo · 02/04/2021 10:30

I don't want to out myself but I'll just say we've paid close to £4K in vets fees in less than a week for something that could have been prevented if the puppies had been cared for properly

In your o/p you say the breeder was “respectable”.

I think it’s a good lesson in how easily these people are able to present as something they’re not, and how much they prey on people who become attached to the puppy and won’t hand it back if offered.

If anyone else is reading this what made you think they were a good breeder? Were there any warning signs?

No blame, btw, i just think the more people speak up about this the more they can be alert for warning signs.

Original poster
car1sberg · 02/04/2021 10:46

@bluebluezoo I absolutely agree. I honestly don't consider myself or my husband as naive or vulnerable either so it's really scary how wrong we judged this.

Signs that made us think this was all legit and they were trustworthy breeders were a large social media following, positive reviews, very thorough advertisement. But, again, the initial advert ended up being false, it's an odd situation as the breeder didn't actually end up doing the breeding Hmm

OP posts:
tabulahrasa · 02/04/2021 11:01

“Signs that made us think this was all legit and they were trustworthy breeders were a large social media following, positive reviews, very thorough advertisement”

This is not hugely useful to you right now, but for future and for anyone reading it at some point.

Dogs aren’t a product, I don’t mean people looking for a puppy think they are, but the closer it feels to just buying something, where it’s being marketed like a product, the more likely it is that they’re not good breeders.

Things like a large social media presence and lots of reviews should actually put you off.

It’s basically the opposite of buying anything else - which I appreciate does feel counterintuitive if its new to you.

Shambolical1 · 02/04/2021 11:27

So your "breeder" was in fact a third party seller?

That's actually illegal now for puppies under six months.

Check out Lucy's Law.

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