Pet Advice

Pet Health Club

At Downe Vets we believe in a proactive, preventive approach to your pets healthcare. We know how important your pets health is to you and we want to help you keep them happy and healthy for longer. This is why we have designed our Pet Health Clubs.

We encourage you to join our club as routine care is an important part of responsible pet ownership. We reward our pet club loyalty members with valuable discounts and exclusive offers.

Pet Health Clubs are NOT pet insurance : Pet Health Clubs include annual things such as: vaccinations, flea and worm treatments, the things pet insurance generally do not cover.

However young or old your pet is, our pet health club is designed to adapt to your pets needs, from puppy or kitten to adulthood and throughout its senior years.

Our clubs include:

DOG

CAT

*Annual Vaccinations*
*Year supply of flea and worm treatment*
*Health check every 6 months after Booster*
*Monthly lungworm protection*
*Annual Kennel cough Vaccination*
*2 Nail clippings per year*
*2 Anal gland emptying per year*
*Annual Urine sample*
*Average ‘pay as you go’ cost per year*	£430	£225
*Current price per month*	£15	£10
*Average savings per year*	£230	£105

With our Pet Health Club you get 10% off Neutering, 10% off general health profile tests and 10% off haematology (bloods)

For new additions to the pet health club there is a £10 joining fee per owner ( for life) which will be collected with your first direct debit

To register with our Pet Health Club please click the button below

Pet Insurance

As a veterinary practice we support the idea of pet insurance. Being able to give your pet the best treatment options is our goal as Vets and Nurses.

As you shop around for Pet Insurance, you may like to ask the following questions:

Is the cover “life-long”- with the vet fee limits renewing each year so that you continue to be covered for ongoing illnesses.
Can you claim against a number of conditions or is there a maximum vet fee benefit amount for conditions?
Will you have to pay your excess once a year or per condition?
What will the excess be and will there be a “co-payment”.

We work directly with most companies. However, unfortunately we do NOT work with the following companies directly:

Covea Perfect Pets Insurance Factory Argos E&L Insure your paws ASDA PDSA

We are more than happy to assist you with any questions you may have regarding insurance. However we are NOT able to recommend any particular insurance company.

*The policyholder is responsible for checking what conditions are covered by the insurance company*

Common types of policy:

12 month/Annual policies:

These policies will cover a condition for 12 months from the point of when it started; after that time the condition will be excluded- even if no treatment has been given. Financial limits will also apply.

Maximum Benefit Policies (Individual Condition Cover):

With this type of policy, you can claim a maximum amount for each condition without a time limit. After the maximum has been reached, the condition will be excluded.

Lifelong Cover:

Lifetime condition limit policies aim to protect your pet if they become ill or are injured in an accident. This policy allows you to claim up to a set amount for vet fees per policy year for each condition your pet might have. You can claim for as many conditions as you need for each policy year. This limit resets when you renew, and they will cover your pet’s conditions for as long as you have a policy with them. Benefit limits can be ‘per condition’ or an annual amount for all conditions.

Policy types and cover included vary between insurance companies, please read the terms and conditions for each policy.

What you should know about Pet Insurance

Pet insurance provides cover for the veterinary fees in the event that your pet becomes injured or unwell. It can provide peace of mind that you’re in a position to afford all the veterinary care your pet may need.

Insurance companies will cover most accidents and illnesses; some may cover dental treatments – but it’s important you read the policy terms and conditions as some companies may not. Preventative treatment ( such as vaccinations and worm & flea treatment) is not covered by insurance companies. Dentals and neutering are often not covered.

As a veterinary practice, we support the idea of pet insurance as your pet means as much to us as they do to you. Being able to give them the best treatment options available is our goal as vets and nurses. Having the financial support of insurance makes this a possibility.

We are unable to recommend any one of the individual insurance companies. However, we can advise on the best type of insurance policies to look out for. There are a few insurance companies that we prefer not to work with please speak to a member of staff for more information

Benefits of pet insurance

Third party liability cover if your pet injures someone or damages someone else’s property
Paying you the price you paid for your pet if you have to go into hospital for emergency medical treatment
Paying the cost of you holiday if it’s cancelled due to your pet needing emergency surgery close to the date you were to leave
Paying the cost of emergency veterinary treatment for your pet if you take them abroad under the Pet Travel Scheme.

We are a Vetsure-accredited practice and, as such, promote the Vetsure range of pet insurance products. As a recognised practice we benefit from active communication channels with the Vetsure team.

This means that we can obtain pre-authorisation prior to starting treatment and can help make the claim process as easy as possible.

WHY WE PROMOTE VETSURE

A LIFETIME OF CARE FOR YOUR COMPANION

The treatment benefits on all Vetsure policies recharge every year for each condition – meaning that ongoing conditions like diabetes and arthritis will continue to be covered.

AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF CONDITIONS COVERED

With Vetsure, you can claim against an unlimited number of unrelated conditions per year. You just choose the level of cover you want per condition.

HASSLE-FREE CLAIMS

You only pay the excess once per condition and Vetsure guarantee to offer direct claims with Downe Vets so you’re not out of pocket. Claims are handled digitally so they can be settled within hours.

GET 5 WEEKS’ FREE!*

Furthermore, as a fully accredited Vetsure practice Downe Vets can offer our clients 5 weeks’ cover free of charge.

Simply choose whichever level of cover you are interested in taking out and get the first 5 weeks free. If you’re happy, your cover will continue seamlessly!

To activate your 5 Weeks’ Free cover online, click the button below or you can call the friendly team at Vetsure on 0800 050 2022

*you must contact Vetsure to activate your cover. Cover for accidents starts immediately once your free trial has been activated. There is a 14 day ‘waiting period’ for illness conditions – meaning illness conditions occurring or showing clinical signs during this period will be excluded.

For more information visit www.vetsure.com.

FAQ

Worming and flea treatments:

Puppies/Dogs should be wormed every 2 weeks until they are 12 weeks old and then every month until they are 6 months old. From then they can be wormed every 3 months.

Kittens/Cats should be wormed every 2 weeks until 8 weeks and then monthly.

Flea treatments are recommended to be given monthly; for dogs you can give a tablet or spot on treatment and Cats can be given a spot on treatment or a worming tablet which can be bought within the clinic or online via Our Vet Shop.

Heat:

Unneutered female dogs experience a ‘heat/season’ every 6-7 months. A heat/season is the fertile period of a dog’s cycle when they can get pregnant. Many pups have their first heat around 6 months old. Each heat can last from 10-18 days.

Signs of heat include a swollen vulva, bleeding and changes in behaviour.

Neutering:

For any queries related to neutering or spaying please give us a call so that we can give you advice specific to your animals needs.