• Carry out regular weight checks once a month or so. With smaller breeds this can be done by picking them up and putting them on the scales, with larger breeds you can pop them into the vet to be weighed. This also gets your dog used to the vet for when they really need to visit.
• Carry out your own body condition score on your dog, there are plenty online to use, try http://www.pet-slimmers.com/shapedog.htm for your dogs very own weight watchers guide!
• Like us, each dog needs a different amount of calories depending on factors such as its breed, size, age, gender, exercise levels, etc. Getting this right can be a challenge and may take some trial and error to achieve a good balance.
• Be careful of how many treats you feed your dog as these (just like ours) are high in calories. Dry pet foods often have more calories than wet, so make sure you feed the correct amount.
• Give smaller amounts of food at more regular intervals. Little and often is the key, and this can be hard when you are out all day but spreading meals out makes them easier to digest and also provides stimulation to prevent boredom.



• Try to make sure if you have more than one pet that they only eat their food allowance, its harder to keep track if they are all eating together, but dogs generally try to eat cat food if it’s left lying around not eaten!
• Try and set up who is responsible for feeding the dog in the household, this will help the dog get into a routine but also makes sure everyone knows who fed the dog, if the routine changes a lot then it’s easy for them to be fed twice, or not at all. Providing routine is best to maintain weight levels and insulin balance. Also if you have children make sure they don’t feed the dog when your not around, or leave open food unattended, it’s easy for the kids to be fooled by the puppy dog eyes!
• Try not to use food treats as rewards, it can be good for training as a puppy, but nothing too high in calories and try swapping food treats for cuddles, exercise and playtime instead.
• Which leads on to one of the most important factors….exercise! Try to exercise your dog daily in play, walks and runs. Not only will this keep your dog fit and healthy but it will ensure all his joints are supple and that they are in the best of health, which can only help reduce your vets bills/pet insurance claims in the future.

Photo ‘Ketzel checks out her new grown up dog food’ courtesy of redjar (Flickr).

Xylitol is not considered harmful to humans in the same way, and as a result can be found in many of the foods we eat as well as dental products and medicines. One of the main issues is even realising that your pet dog has consumed this product and that is the cause for illness. In the instance you think your pet may have eaten this sweetener you need to contact your Vet immediately

The Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) is currently monitoring all referred cases to see the extent of its toxicity in dogs, cats and ferrets.

This will probably be added to the poisons list along with other human foods such as chocolate and grapes to try and raise awareness that human food can be toxic to pets. The BVA Animal Welfare Foundation and the Veterinary Poisons Information Service have produced an easy guide to keeping pets safe from harmful substances. The ‘Pets and poisons:keeping your animal safe’ leaflet can be downloaded from www.bva-awf.org.uk and provides owners with everything they need to know.

Snowy the West Highland Terrier had been feeling unwell for several weeks with clinical signs including vomiting, lethargy and poor appetite. After several tests including urine samples for a possible kidney problem, a course of antibiotics was prescribed along with a change of diet. Unfortunately Snowy’s condition didn’t improve so they decided to x-ray her in search of more clues. She was taken to the Cromwell Veterinary Group at Huntingdon where the x-ray confirmed that Snowy had managed to eat five ornamental cats, ranging in size, with 5cm being the biggest of the cats.

After an hour long laparotomy in which they had to open Snowy’s abdomen in order to retrieve the cats, Snowy made a good recovery. She is now eating and drinking and back to her old self.

Oscar who is only 3 years old has been given two prosthetic limbs by a UK vet based in Surrey and is able to walk around like a normal cat. The vet inserted Itaps (intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics) which had been developed by a team from University College London which resemble Oscars back legs. They were coated with hydroxyapatite, which encourages bone cells to grow on to the metal and this is the first time this procedure has been carried out on a cat.

Once the skin has grown back it will form a seal over the metal which will help to minimise the risk of infection and everyone has their fingers crossed that this will go well over the next year. He is even in the process of getting new custom-built artificial paws to cover the peg looking bottom of each leg. Oscar was lucky enough to have another chance as without this operation there would have been no other solution for him.

It’s amazing to see such advances in veterinary technology, undoubtedly the costs for such procedures will be sky high for a long time to come, but without pet insurance the opportunity to apply for such amazing surgery may have been missed. For Oscar the cat insurance policy paid £4000 towards his surgery and the remining costs were met by his surgeon Dr Fitzpatrick.

You can watch the latest episode of The Bionic Vet on BBC iPlayer.

The 35% discount applies to their Standard Cover policy which gives you cover for upto £2,500 per condition, and a 20% discount for their Extra Cover policy which is a lifelong policy giving you upto £4,000 per condition.

In addition to Tesco offering the best online discount from all the pet insurers we compare, Tesco also allow customers to pay for their pet insurance with Clubcard vouchers! So if you’re a regular shopper at Tesco this could be a great way to cover your Pet Insurance costs.

This offer is valid until 18th August 2010, and only applies to the first year of pet insurance. Please see the Tesco site for full terms and conditions.

Pet Insurance	Policy	Max Vet Fees ? Per Condition- Covers cost of treating eligible condition upto maximum vet fee. Per Year- Total amount available for all eligible conditions per year.	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Get a Quote
	Standard Cover	£2,500 Per Condition	12 Months	Get a Quote
	Extra Cover	£4,000 Per Condition	Lifelong	Get a Quote

With the combination of the 2 months free, and the new 10% that equals an impressive combined discount of over 25%! They currently have two main policies available for cat insurance and dog insurance, both of which have a 3 star rating from Defaqto;

Pet Insurance	Policy	Max Vet Fees ? Per Condition- Covers cost of treating eligible condition upto maximum vet fee. Per Year- Total amount available for all eligible conditions per year.	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Get a Quote
	Essential	£4,000 Per Condition	12 Months	Get a Quote
	Advanced	£6,000 Per Condition	Lifelong	Get a Quote

Lifetime pet insurance gives you the complete peace of mind that if your cat or dog was to get an illness or condition that required repeated treatments and attention, your insurance would cover them for their entire life. In contrast policies that are not lifelong, will usually only cover your pet for the first 12 months of veterinary bills, so clearly not a good situation for a long-term condition or illness.

As with all pet insurance policies, ensure you read through all the policy terms and conditions, as insurers will not cover existing conditions, so it’s essential that you make the right choice when starting a lifelong pet insurance policy.

Below we have highlighted the highest rated lifelong policies currently on the site, all of these policies have received a 5 star rating from Defaqto, the independent financial research company;

Insurer	Policy Name	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Defaqto Rating ? The better the overall quality of a pet insurance policy compared to the rest of the market, the higher the Defaqto Star Rating independent experts award it.	Get a Quote
	Platinum	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Superior	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Dog Insurance	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Platinum	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Supreme (Dog)	Lifelong		Get a Quote
	Lifelong Extra	Lifelong		Get a Quote

Click here to compare all of the lifelong pet insurance policies on the new page.

We think this is a good extra incentive to offer pet owners, especially as the majority of cats now get microchipped (sometimes for free following their first and second vaccines). If your cat is yet to get a microchip, Homebase even offers £15 towards the cost (when you send a copy of the receipt to them). Homebase currently offers two levels of cover for cats, as shown below;

Cat Insurance	Policy Price/Month	Max Vet Fees ? Per Condition- Covers cost of treating eligible condition upto maximum vet fee. Per Year- Total amount available for all eligible conditions per year.	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Get a Quote
	Cat Care From £3.58	£1,000 Per Year	Lifelong	Get a Quote
	Cat Care Plus From £5.07	£2,500 Per Year		Get a Quote

It would be great to see Homebase taking a similar discount initiative for their dog insurance policies, and even better to see a microchipping discount across all pet insurers and insurance policies.

So if Animal Friends has a suitable insurance policy for your cat or dog, then this might be the reason that makes you chose them over a typical insurance business. To find out more about the animal welfare groups and charities they have donated to, visit their Charities Support page.

Animal Friends currently offers the following insurance policies for cats and dogs, with a huge £20,000 and £40,000 per year for the Superior and Prestige policies respectively;

Insurance Company	Policy Name	Max Vet Fees Claim Type ? Per Condition- Covers cost of treating eligible condition upto maximum vet fee. Per Year- Total amount available for all eligible conditions per year.	Time Limit ? Time limit on claiming, from start of eligible condition.	Get a Quote
	Prime	£2,000 Per Condition	12 Months	Get a Quote
	Superior	£20,000 Per Year	Lifelong	Get a Quote
	Prestige	£40,000 Per Year		Get a Quote

You can also find their individual policies on our cat insurance and dog insurance comparison pages.

Pet Insurance Claims

Pet Insurer	PDF Insurance Claims Forms	Contact Details
	Animal Friends Claim Form	0844 55 70 300 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Argos Claim Form	0845 602 6764 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for Aviva Claim Form	0844 561 1732 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-5pm)
	Call for Churchill Claim Form	0845 603 3589 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for Debenhams Claim Form	0870 240 1495 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-2pm)
	Call for Direct Line Claim Form	0845 246 8712 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for Halifax Claim Form	0845 850 0268 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm)
	Call for HelpUCover Claim Form	0845 121 2435 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm)
	Call for Homebase Claim Form	0845 602 6771 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Kennel Club Claim Form	01296 611600 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for LV Claim Form	0845 600 4828 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-5pm)
	Marks & Spencer Claim Form	0800 980 8750 (Mon-Fri 8am -8pm, Sat 9am-1pm)
	More Than Claim Form	0800 300 889 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for PDSA Claim Form	0844 335 1137 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm)
	Pet Guard Claim Form	0845 683 7140 (Mon-Fri 9am-7pm)
	Pet Pals Claim Form	0870 240 1913 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm)
	Pet Plan Claim Form	0845 071 8000 (Mon-Fri 8am -8pm, Sat 9am-1pm)
	Pet Protect Claim Form	0870 243 0099 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm)
	Sainsbury’s Claim Form	0800 445 444 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
	Call for Tesco Claim Form	0845 300 2200. (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-5pm)
	Call for Virgin Claim Form	0845 603 3588 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)

If you’re ever in doubt if a condition is covered by your policy, call the relevant claims line on the numbers detailed above. Always have your policy details to hand as they will need your policy number and information before being able to discuss any specifics such as conditions, and policy terms and conditions.

If your insurer is not included above please leave a comment and we will endeavour to get their claim form link and relevant contact details added ASAP.

Following the public reaction, and the critisicm from the Conservatives ahead of the General election, Hilary Benn, the environment secretary announced today, 16th April, that this proposal has been ruled out. This is good news for the millions of responsible dog owners in the UK, and a rather embarassing set back for Labour ahead of the elections.

Here at Compare Pet Care we believe the Government should be working towards a solution to prevent dog attacks, that have been heavily featured in the press in recent years; but the idea of a tax, or, compulsory dog insurance, imposed on all dog owners is impractical and simply unfair. We’re pleased to see todays news, as I’m sure dog owners up and down the UK are. Surely all the funds that are being spent on writing reports, drawing up proposals and backtracking on them could be better spent actually finding the irresponsible dog owners, through co-operation between the RSPCA, the Kennel Club and the police.

We’ll try to keep you updated on the latest news & updates with this story, and if you have any thoughts about this please leave a comment below, thanks for reading.

Here’s the full press release we have sent out to raise awareness for the petition;

In a recent survey just 11 per cent of pet owners said that they found buying pet insurance easy and straightforward, with over 65 per cent saying that variations in phrases and policy specific terms were the source of confusion.

www.ComparePetCare.co.uk is a website that aims to enable pet owner’s quick and easy comparison of the pet insurance policies available in the UK.

The site was created by web designer Greg Findley who experienced the confusing policy sales tactics when searching for pet insurance for his family’s pets.

Greg Findley commented, “Each insurer seems to have their own catalogue of sales phrases and buzzwords to sell their policies, trying to compare policies alongside each other becomes a headache as it’s hard to truly understand what is and isn’t included.”

“Our recent survey of pet owners just confirmed what we had suspected, finding and buying pet insurance is not an easy process. We found that 44 per cent of the people we asked simply started their policy based on recommendation from a friend. With just eight per cent referring to the Defaqto rating system when researching policies”.

Compare Pet Care is encouraging pet owners who have found buying pet insurance to be a confusing process to sign the petition at: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/petinsurance/. It’s hoped that with enough support we can pressure the leading insurance companies to agree on some common policy phrases to make buying pet insurance an easier process.

We’ve already updated our Twitter account with the survey link and had 20 responses in, it’s fair to say the results make interesting reading! Once we’ve had a good number of completed surveys in, we’ll collate all the data and make a post about our findings.

Hopefully it will enable us to help you compare pet insurance more easily and efficiently in the future, thanks for reading.

1. At this time of year it’s likely that you’ll have a bottle of anti-freeze around the house or garage, make sure the bottle cap is tightly screwed on and the bottle is away in a cupboard and off ground level. Unfortunately propylene glycol, which is very palatable to animals, is also toxic and highly poisonous, causing diarrhoea, sickness, fits and even fatal kidney failure.

2. Wash your dog’s paws after walks on roads that have been de-iced with salt. The salt can dry your dog’s paws out, making them sore and likely to crack which will irritate your dog leaving them to chew them once home. Washing with warm water and drying after will remove any salt they’ve picked up on the walk.

3. If you’re dog is a fan of eating snow & ice, try to prevent them as best you can, excessive amounts will upset their stomach.

4. Keep your dog’s claws short and the hair between the pads short to stop snow sticking to their paws; this will also help prevent balls of ice forming on their paws which can be uncomfortable. Short claws will also help increase their stability as longer claws are more likely to slip on the ice.

5. If you have a small or skinny dog, consider buying them a winter coat, this will prevent them from any shivers in what has become the UK’s coldest winter for 30 years.

6. Some dog’s hate the snow altogether, which can be a problem in just getting them to go to the toilet in the garden, let alone a walk. In these cases make sure you take your dog out into the garden, if you don’t its likely there will be an accident at home. Clear them a snow free space in the garden if necessary so they can go, and buy them a coat if it’s the temperature not the snow! If they really want to go for a walk, but hate the snow, try keeping them active with a ball and games inside for a few days, a much better alternative than trying to drag them around on the ice, dangerous for both you and your best friend.

7. It may seem obvious, but another point worth a mention, make sure your walk doesn’t go too close to any frozen ponds, lakes or rivers, if you do need to go past them keep your dog on the lead so they can’t run onto the frozen water and injure themselves.

8. Don’t leave your dog outside in the cold for long periods of time and try to limit their time in the cold temperatures, especially important if your dog is ill in anyway.

9. Towel or blow-dry your dog if they get wet from the rain or snow, especially important for thick coated breeds as this will help prevent colds or even worse, frostbite.

Whilst a lot of these tips may seem obvious, it’s sad to see how many pets can become ill in this climate and weather, please let your friends know about these tips, if this post helps just one pet then it’s been worth mentioning.

Sam’s owner, Mary Stadelbacher, explains where the inspiration for giving Sam his own canvas came from “I saw dolphins painting and elephants painting, so I thought why not a dog?”.

You can read more about this amazing story on the following news story links;

The Sun Article

Telegraph Article

• Close the curtains/blinds so the bright flashes don’t startle your pet.
• If your dog is of a nervous disposition, try to minimize time spent in the garden, ensure you let them out just before it gets dark to avoid them needing to go out when fireworks will be at their busiest!
• Put on a radio or TV louder than usual to help cover the loud noises.
• Lock your cat flap so they don’t get caught outside, if they are outside when fireworks start it’s more than likely they will find somewhere to hide and not return until a lot later. Giving both you and your cat a restless night!
• Try and remain calm yourself,  if you keep checking on them and fussing they will sense that there is something to fear.
• If your dog gets stressed and begins to claw at the carper or furniture in attempt to dig a hole, don’t raise your voice as this will only make the situation ten times worse.
• Cats tend to find a hiding spot behind a sofa or under a bed, leave them here as bringing them out for cuddles won’t help them feel any safer.

If you know your cat is going to react badly to fireworks and become stressed you may wish to help ease this with a product called Feliway, which is available as a spray and plug-in diffuser.

From high-street chain stores to small companies, restaurants to publicans the RSPCA Awards reflect good animal welfare from the companies against a strict list of criteria set out by the  independent panel of industry experts.

The Award winners for 2009 were;

• The Co-operative (RSPCA People’s Choice award)
• George at Asda (Large Fashion company)
• Neon Collective (Small Fashion company)
• Lush (Large Cosmetics Company)
• The Gamrie Goat (Small Cosmetics Company)
• Restaurant Alimentum (Independent Restaurant)
• The Duke of Cambridge (Pub)
• Edge & Son (Independent Food Retailer)

In addition, McDonald’s, Abel & Cole, Sainsbury’s, The Feathers Inn, Bulldog, Marks and Spencer, New Look and Finisterre were also recognised for an ongoing commitment to animal welfare.

Congratulations to the winners, it’s great to see a mix of large companies and independents picking up the recognition for their efforts, let’s hope they all continue to raise the profile and awareness of animal welfare in the UK!

Most pet insurers give you a discount for applying online which usually varies from 5%-20%. Other pet insurance deals include prize draws, four weeks free insurance, 50% off prescription diet foods, multi pet discounts and recommend a friend bonuses.

One of the most beneficial offers, for pet owners who use prescription diets, would be the 50% off these diets as they can be expensive in comparison to normal foods. Pet Protect are the only insurers currently running this offer.

Regardless of the excellent offers available the most important thing to consider is that the policy matches your requirements, it’s too easy to be enticed by an offer for the short term benefit and then find a few years down the line that a particular condition isn’t covered. Read all the policy terms and conditions before proceeding with a new policy, this is the most important thing to remember when comparing pet insurance, no matter how good the offer is!

Check out their policy offerings for dog insurance and cat insurance here at Compare Pet Care!