Pet health insurance companies are hoping that someday pet owners in the United States will catch up with European pet owners. A recent poll taken of American pet owners suggested that approximately three percent of American pet owners had purchased pet health insurance for their family pet. A veterinarian who was interviewed after the survey was stunned by the results. She felt that the survey was generous. She believes that less then one percent of her patients have any health care insurance.

In Europe approximately twenty-five percent of all pet owners have some sort of pet health insurance on their pets. The numbers are even higher in Sweden where approximately fifty percent of all pet owners rely on pet health insurance to help pay their pet’s medical expenses.

Some experts believe that the reason so many pet owners in the United Kingdom have pet health care insurance is because of an act passed in 1971. In the United Kingdom dog owners are liable for any accident that their pet is found responsible for. This means that if a dog

Many American pet owners don’t realize that there are similar pet liability insurance plans available in the United States. Pet owners who would like to purchase pet liability insurance to cover any damages their pets might be responsible rather should be aware that certain breeds of dogs are listed as high risk insurance cases and the owners will be required to pay extra high insurance policies.

It is unclear why more pet owners in the United States don’t purchase pet health insurance. One possibility is that pet owners simply don’t understand exactly how expensive pet health care is. Fifteen minutes spent in a veterinarian’s office can sometimes cost as much as a hundred dollars. When a pet owner finds themselves facing the cost of an emergency surgery or has to take their family pet to a university hospital to have an illness treated they quickly find themselves whishing they had something to help cover the enormous vet bill. All too often pet owners who find themselves in an emergency situation are forced to euthanize their beloved pet for economic reasons.

Pet owners who are city dwellers probably feel that they don’t need to worry about something like pet health insurance because they can’t possibly for see when they would need it. Their pets live inside, what could possibly happen to them. What these pet owners don’t realize is that illness can sometimes affect house pets the hardest because their immune systems haven’t had a chance to build up any resistance.

Farmers and ranchers have a very clear cut idea of how fast and accident and how expensive vet care is. Most of them would like to insure the health of their pets but there simply isn’t enough extra money to afford the monthly premiums. Ranchers and farmers also tend to have a working knowledge of illnesses and injuries that lets them treat their pets on their own.

Petco Health Insurance

Article Written By J. Foley

 Students work with Seeing Eye dogs.

By Dawn Fallik and Natalie Pompilio

For The Inquirer

The hardest part, they say, is giving the dog back.

George Brelsford is dean of students at the University of Delaware, which started its puppy club 14 years ago. There are 18 dogs on the campus, including Thunder, Brelsford's dog. His wife, Robin Brelsford, heads the program at Rowan, and Thunder is their sixth Seeing Eye puppy; they expect he will graduate this summer, when they'll get their seventh.

"I tell people it's both the best and the worst thing I've gotten involved with," Brelsford said. "You get a dog and he's your dog and you treat him like he's your dog and you love him. And by the time they're getting to be a good dog and stopped chewing things and being rambunctious, that's when we give them back to Seeing Eye."

The university's connection to the program began when several older students in the New Castle, Del., club wanted to continue raising the dogs on the University of Delaware campus. They approached the Seeing Eye in Morristown and got permission from the dorms, the administration, and other officials.

In order for students to get a dog, they first have to pass rigorous training, which involves puppy-sitting for fellow club members, a test, and an application process. They also have to get permission from their professors to bring the dogs to class.

Many who apply never make it to the end of the process, said Chris Parrillo, 21, president of the Rutgers University club and a junior majoring in environmental planning. The guide-dog schools pay volunteers a small stipend, about $75 every three months to help pay for dog food, and all of the canines' medical needs are covered.

At Rutgers, 15 dogs are involved in the program, Parrillo said. Many live on campus, where there are designated apartments that allow the dogs, and students meet once a week to talk about the challenges they are experiencing.

"Every dog has a different kind of challenge," Parrillo said. "For Labs, it's about jumping and being excited. For German shepherds, it's about separation anxiety."

When it came time for Parrillo to give away Elroy, his Lab mix, he got a happy - and very rare - surprise. For the first time in the Seeing Eye's history, there were more dogs available than there were people who needed them. So he was given the opportunity to keep Elroy, who now lives in Marlton with Parrillo's family and two other dogs. Parrillo is waiting for his new puppy to arrive, but is a little concerned about what will transpire during winter break when he comes home and there are four dogs in the house.

The puppy-raiser is allowed first dibs on his or her dog if it fails to pass its eventual training at the institute, said Kathy Daly, the assistant manager and area coordinator for puppy placement at the Seeing Eye. Only about 50 to 60 percent of the dogs pass the formal training, she said.

The institute coordinates with students at Rowan, Delaware, and Rutgers, with about 50 dogs participating. Other schools, such as Ithaca College and Colorado State University, work with other dog-training schools, such as the Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

Daly said other colleges have asked to open puppy clubs for their students, but Seeing Eye does not have enough staff to oversee all the students. Like the puppies, younger trainers are very enthusiastic and require lots of attention.

"Maybe they had a puppy at home, but their parents probably did the training, so they don't remember housebreaking, or how to teach them not to nip and stop barking, and basic commands," Daly said. "They're like a first-time parent, and as soon as the puppy has diarrhea or they vomit, they're on the phone right away, frantic.

"They call all the time, and their day is different than my day. I'm up at 5:30 a.m. and their day starts at 10 p.m., so I get calls at 2 in the morning," she said, adding that she was happy to answer their questions.

Tomasita Jallad, 24, a graduate student studying higher education at Rowan, is on her fifth dog, Zeus. She started with the puppy program during her sophomore year, so she's now well aware that her schedule depends on her dog. When he's up, she's up, and he joins her at meetings and in her office, where he has his own set of toys.

She prefers retriever/Lab mixes, usually males, because they're "goofy and sweet and have high energy." At night, Zeus comes to classes, to the mall, to Barnes & Noble and Old Navy.

Wherever she goes, Zeus captures attention, which is a good and a bad thing.

"He's very cute, but he's working," she said. "So the hardest thing is educating the public that it's important not to pet him and about the purpose of the training program."

Her first dog, Brownie, is guiding in Massachusetts; her second, Voyager, was released from the program because he was too skittish and lacked confidence; he was placed with a friend. Her third, Wilbur, is guiding in Ohio, and the fourth, Quasar, is guiding in North Carolina.

After volunteers return their dogs to the guide school, they are allowed to visit just once - to see their dog in action in the harness, guiding someone through a town walk. They're told whether the dog was placed and where, but there's no contact between the new owner and the puppy-raiser.

"I can't tell you how hard it is to leave the dogs," said Robin Brelsford. "We just have to understand that there's a purpose to these puppies and the potential to bring something amazing to someone else's life."

Kerrigan, the Rowan junior, is trying to prepare herself for Harrison's departure in a few months. But mostly she's not thinking about it.

"I'm worried for me, but not for him," she said. "He's going to do great, he'll be fine. I'll probably be a wreck."

Buzz up! Buzz this story.

Although there are many training tips for Golden Retrievers, teeth is the most common.  Golden puppies love to chew, and will chew anything they can get.  Although chew toys are preferred, there is a way that you can help your Golden fulfill his natural instinct to chew, and help him to ease the pain of teething as well. 

To start, simply fill an old sock you have with several ice cubes.  Next, put a knot in the sock and place the sock with the cubes in the freezer.  When your puppy starts to chew on things, simply give him the sock.  You can keep several socks with ice in it in your freezer if you want, so your puppy will always have a chew toy.  Although this is great to use, you should never leave your dog alone with the sock.  He could end up chewing the sock and swallowing pieces of it, which could lead to very serious health problems.

Leashes
During leash training, a lot of people prefer to attach the leash to the Golden then drag him in the direction they want him to go.  This isn’t the best way to train, as it often sends the wrong signal to the puppy.  Instead, you should

Once you have given him some time, pick the leash up, then start calling him to you.  Once he comes over to you, start praising him for it, so he knows that he is on the right track.  Always be patient when leash training, as it will take some time for him to get used to it.  If you continue to praise him when he is doing it right and continue giving him time to get used to the leash, you shouldn’t have any problems.

Digging around
Digging is something that Golden Retrievers love, as it is essential to their nature.  Digging can be somewhat frustrating if you don’t give your Golden an area to himself, as he will dig holes in your yard.  If you keep your Golden indoors, he may try to dig in the floor, on the couch, or on the bed. Digging is part of their nature, and you should never punish a Golden for digging.

To help him fill this need, you should give him an area to dig in.  You can get him a kiddie pool or sandbox, filling it with either soil or sand.  Then, try burying a treat or toy in inside, so your Golden will dig to get it out.  Once he learns this is where he should dig, he will more than likely head to that area when he has the need to dig.  Later on, when he becomes a bit older, you should invest in obedience training classes that will help him to get his digging habits under control.

The above tips can help a great deal when training your Golden Retriever puppy.  Golden’s are great dogs, although you’ll need to have a bit of patience with them.  Even though they are very smart dogs, it may take them time to learn.  Once they start learning however - they will become an integral part of your family that you couldn’t begin to live without.

Article Written By J. Foley