Hi, i need advice.
My 12 1/2 year old Springer Spaniel his name is Jake, since about a week ago i noticed him coughing every time he dose something active such as climb the stairs or jump up on my bed or sofa, i thought he might have caught a cold but it's not been getting better as the week went by, though it also hasen't got any worse either.
But recently the last couple of days i notice his breathing is faster than normal, i have Chloie my other healthy dog and every one breath she takes, Jake takes about two.

I googled this and came up with many places saying it's quite common and caused by a heart problem, now i'm really worried for him!

I am very worried that if i take him to the vet and it dose turn out to be a heart problem, that i won't be able to afford to pay the vet bill for the treatment.

Today i decided to insure him, this is something i had been putting off as many of us do, but i hope i'm not too late because it states that the insurance dose not start until after 14 days of signing up for it.

If i took him to the vet before my insurance starts, his current illness will not be covered, and i'll be paying for an insurance that won't help him as well as having to pay (i fear) thousands of pounds on treatment
this is a real catch 22 situation, do i risk waiting until he's insured, or risk not being able to afford his treatment and not being able to get him insured in the future if i took him in before the 14 days.

I need some advice about vet charges, what are the avarage charges i should be expecting to pay if it dose turn out to be heart problems and he'll need long term treatment? are we talking thousands of pounds? what are the treatments if it's heart problems?

At the moment he's still healthy in all other aspects, he heats his food, plays ball with me and follows me round the house, though he sleeps more than he used to, but he's been sleeping more for several months now, that must be because of his age.

if he dosent get worse before his insurance starts, would it be wiser to wait until he's insured so i don't have the money worries of the vets bill?

any advice greatly appreciated

No idea about charges I am afraid, but please don't wait 14 days if your dog is in distress (never mind not being honest with the insurers).

In case it does turn out to be an expensive visit have you got credit cards you can pay off little by little? Will your vet do a payment plan for you?

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I agree with Dogless. Any treatment would not be covered anyway as it is a pre existing condition. You do need to go to the vet now.

Cavaliers get a heart disease call MVD which costs about £30 pm for a dog over 10kg in meds. Your dog may need tests/scans to find out if there is a problem
and may need completely different meds. I do feel sorry for you, you feel so helpless but he does need to see a vet. You should be able to cancel the pet insurance within 10 days of taking it out because I dont think you should wait for it to kick in before you take him. Good luck, it may just be a chest infection.

It could be heart failure due to his age. With heart failure blood isn't pumped around the body and the lungs start to fill up which can cause a cough.

I would take him to a vet and have the treatment then ask if I could pay in two or three instalments, more if necessary. I wouldn't wait though as you could lose him!

Most insurers will treat emergency conditions during that fourteen day period but whether it would be considered an emergency is doubtful, unless it is affecting his breathing and is therefore life threatening. I take it he has never seen a vet for this kind of problem before and when you took out the insurance today you stated he was healthy because if this is not the case they won't pay out anyway.
However they may be suspicious that you have a twelve year old dog who has never been insured that suddenly becomes ill within days of taking out the policy. You may be better off asking the vets if they will accept instalments because insurance fraud is serious and could cost you a lot more than a vet bill.

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I don't know. From an outsiders point of view I'd look at it as 12 1/2yrs is a good long life for a dog. Is he distressed at all when coughing or breathing fast? Does it look like any of it is hurting him? Sometimes at an advanced age a lot of vet intervention is really not a good thing and it's better to let nature take it's course till it's time to say goodbye.

From an insiders point of view and given that our dog is only 1 1/2 right now, with our cat we tried to be conservative, but still paid out quite a lot of money when her time was coming up because she was our cat and we loved her like she was another child in the house. And I know that when our Biscuit gets on in age it will be exactly the same and won't matter the cost, we'll get her seen to at any onset of strange or severe symptoms. However if the treatment recommended is painful or reduces her quality of life to a great degree then I'd choose not to take it. And that's really what it boils down to - you get the testing and then go from there. I don't see anything wrong with calling up a few vets in your area and asking what they charge.

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Please don't wait to take your dog to the vet, he needs to go now.

I agree with what Malmum said, any insurance company is going to be very suspicious of you claiming so soon after taking out a policy on an older dog, and they will request the medical notes from the vet anyway so they will know that the problem started before you took the policy out. And technically, what you're talking about doing is insurance fraud and could get you into trouble.

I would take Jake to the vet and just ask them to tell you what it all costs before they do anything. Vets aren't monsters and they won't force you to do anything you can't afford. They'll discuss all the options with you, and may be prepared to sort out a payment plan for you. You never know, he may only end up needing tablets or maybe some blood tests, which might not cost that much.

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Malmum is right here. There is really no point trying to insure him now for this condition. Even if you wait 14 days to take him, the vet is going to ask how long he has been this way and that will go down on his records.

I don't wish to depress you further, but at his age it is unlikely that any invasive procedures will be done, or even x-rays. It is far more likely to be long term medication that is prescribed. If that is the case, get a prescription and order online; it is a lot cheaper. I used to use Viovet.

My old retriever had heart problems and lung problems, but he also had problems with his legs and could no longer get into the car. The vet came out and said there was no point in putting him through x-rays, having to try to get him to the surgery, when he was really too old to do anything about. He would not have survived an operation and since you normally need an anaesthetic for x-rays, you may be told the same problem.

You need to get him to the vet now. The sooner you start medication, the better.

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Ring your vet. It might be heart problems but could also simply be kennel cough which is doing the rounds at the moment.

If you say he's doing it when he moves about and its only been the last week I personally would say kennel cough is more likely. It is highly contagious but doesn't necessarily mean your other dog will catch it.

You need antibiotics to stop secondary infection especially given his age.

HTH

Thanks everyone for your quick and helpfull answers. I have decided that in my heart i can't wait 14 days anyway (regardless if its insurance fraud or not) I know he needs treatment NOW and i can't wait any longer, so i have booked an appointment to see the vet this afternoon at 5pm.

i will post an update later this evening