When seeking answers to this question, you will come to a lot of blogs that will contain biased opinions since they are focused on promoting their own pet insurance. In this post, I’m going to ask you several questions regarding your role as a pet owner and some questions regarding the state of your dog.
At the last and final question, I’m going to ask your opinion on this matter, and as always, the final decision is up to you. All of the questions listed below will help you when you are about to make the final call, and I hope that you find your answer after going through all 7 tips.
1. Where Did You Buy Your Puppy?
The reason why I ask this question is that the answer to this question reflects your knowledge regarding dogs. For me, I bought my first puppy at a pet store where I happened to walk past and saw a cute Maltese that was staring right back at me, and we made the purchase without doing any further research since that puppy was too cute to ignore.
If you did buy your puppy at a pet store just like me, then you probably made the mistake of buying a puppy that was raised at a puppy mill. On the other hand, if you have bought your puppy through a reputable breeder, you probably knew the dangers of buying a puppy from a random pet store and decided otherwise.
If bought from a pet store, you really don’t have any clue on how the puppy was raised nor any food that was given to the pup when it was born. These factors increase the likelihood of your dog getting sick since you can’t really trust the credibility of pet stores.
However, reputable dog breeders have official certificates and other proofs of evidence to show that all their pups were raised in the healthiest environment possible. Therefore, the answer to this first question might be a crucial factor when deciding whether to get pet insurance or not.
2. How Did You Get Your Puppy?
This question is somewhat related to the first, but it also includes other factors into the mix. Did you adopt your dog from an animal shelter? Or did you receive your dog for free from a family member or from a very close relative? Or did you decide to adopt your dog since it was a stray wandering outside your house?
If you did adopt your dog from an animal shelter, you probably don’t have to worry too much about the health conditions of your dog since the vets at the animal shelter would have done all the necessary procedures for you such as vaccination, neutering, and health check-ups.
If you chose to adopt your dog due to a gift from a family member, you probably need to do a quick background check of the dog that mothered your pup. Ask for any health conditions that she might already have, and also take note of your dog’s breed since that might be quite important to know when trying to raise your first pup.
Last but not least, you might have gotten your dog since you discovered him just wandering about your house without an owner. In this case, the health conditions might be for better or worse. Due to the fact that your dog had to fend for himself, he might have gotten stronger during that stray period, but on the other hand, his health conditions might have deteriorated since he didn’t have enough nutrition during that stray period.
3. Are You a First-Time Dog Owner?
For most cases, the answer to this third question will probably determine your final decision. If you are a first-time dog owner, there is a high chance that you will not get pet insurance since you probably don’t feel the need of getting one, which is probably true.
However, if this is not your first time owning a pet dog, then you should seriously consider the risks of not getting pet insurance since you probably have encountered health issues when raising your pet.
I’m not saying that first-time dog owners should get pet insurance since I am really not for pet insurance anyways. But, please realize that there is a risk when you choose not to apply for insurance. If you feel that the risks outweigh the benefits, then you should not get pet insurance for your dog.
4. Are You Financially Stable?
Another crucial factor that comes into play is your bank account. Since pet insurance required monthly fees from its members, you need money if you want to get health insurance for your pet. The answer to this fourth question will automatically rule out who is eligible or not.
If you can’t financially afford it in the first place, don’t sign up for pet insurance! Pet insurance is only for people who are financially stable since you don’t really want your pet to be a financial burden to your entire family. Check your bank account to see if you can afford to get health insurance for your dog.
If you can afford it, do your research before making your final call since you might not even need one for your dog. If you can afford it and you think that you need one for your dog, look up different types of pet insurance that are available in your region and pick the one that is the best fit!
5. What Is Your Dog’s Age?
Sometimes, the age of your old can be an important factor to consider. If your dog is too young or too old, he might be more susceptible to diseases and physical injuries. In addition, the frequency that you need to take your pet to the vet might increase due to your dog’s age.
If your dog is still young and maturing, you might not have to worry too much about his health due to his strong immune system. In short, your dog’s age could be the deciding factor when choosing whether to get a health insurance or not.
6. What Are the Conditions of Your Dog?
Even when getting your dog, he might be in his prime condition, but you still need to consider the hereditary conditions of your dog’s breed. For each breed of dogs, there is a list of DNA-related diseases that might pop up based on historical records posted by previous dog owners.
To your relief, these hereditary conditions of each dog breed doesn’t always happen! But, please keep in mind that this set of DNA-related diseases tend to happen to your specific breed more often than others.
7. What Is Your Final Opinion?
Based on your answers to my previous questions, you probably have a good idea on what your final answer might be. To be frankly honest with you, I think the deciding factor on whether a person gets a pet insurance or not depends on the worth of your pet.
If you think that you have spent too much money on your pet already, then getting a pet insurance is probably not a good idea for you. However, if you think that you need add more layers of protection for your canine companion, researching different types of pet insurance might not be a bad idea.
As always, the final decision is up to you, and I hope that the answers to all these questions helped you to make the right decision regarding pet insurance. Thank you so much for reading through this post, and have the great rest of your day!
