pboae

That's interesting, beause when they hiked my premium by a similar amount they specifically told me that they didn't put premiums up because you'd made a claim (even though I had). But they couldn't tell me why it had gone up, and they couldn't say whether it would continue to go up every yeay (I've had 50%, 100% and 300% increases in the last 3 years). This year it is just worth me staying with it, but another hike like this and it won't be. As someone pointed out (I forget who!), with so many premium hikes, anyone who's dog doesn't have existing conditions will jump ship, so soon they will only be left with people with expensive ongoing conditions, and premiums will have to keep rising to cover the costs.

How's she doing now?

That has to be the best sign!

Happy Gotcha Day Mal!

Thanks Kathy, I think I'll try them out. I've been buying him these http://www.caninespirit.co.uk/shop/detail....amp;prodsecid=3 which are £24, but he tears them up in a couple of months, so £40 for something that lasts would be worth it. He's not doing too well TBH, there's not much more we can try, so it's just a question of managing any pain and monitoring his quality of life. He's still enjoying his food and walks, so I think he's still happy enough at the moment. I'm so glad to hear Dharma is improving. Fingers crossed that she continues from strength to strength!

He has ongoing meds for his arthritis, so we couldn't leave, though it's borderline worth it, but there's still the risk of some unforseen accident on top of that, so I wouldn't want to be without insurance. Are there any other types of insurance policy (other than pet insurance) where you end up tied in like this with no comeback?

Kathy I am so sorry, Sully was quite poorly yesterday and I was so wrapped up in that yesterday, I forgot to check in. I am so disgusted at the way she was treated, I can't even begin to write it here. Please do complain about the vets so that maybe no other dog will be treated that way Can I ask where you have found the double soled boots? We've been using ruff wear ones from canine concepts and they are good, but he tears them up really quickly from dragging his feet.

The first year it was about £120, and the second it went up to £170, we should have jumped ship then, I don't know why we didn't really. Petplan were already cheaper then, and then we claimed that year so after that we were stuck, and it's just gone up and up, but this is just ridiculous.

He has had a big claim this year, but I checked before I took it out originally and they said they didn't put premiums up because you claimed, I would have gone with petplan otherwise. I did a quote with fake info and the quote came back at £600+ so it looks like they have just put their prices up. He will be 6 next year, even for a giant breed that's not normally classed as old age.

I think I've whinged about M&S hiking Sully's insurance premiums every December for the last couple of years, but this year they have excelled themselves. It's gone up from £227 to £671. I can hardly get my head around it. I need to phone them and ask WTF is going on, but I was wondering if anyone else had had an increase like this. I don't know how we are going to pay for it.

Thanks Mrs Mop, it's good to see Merlin is doing well. If Sully was younger and fitter we would probably have at least considered it, but it's not an option for him now. Even if the orthapedic vet were willing to try (which he isn't), and we could physically manage him while he was immobile, we wouldn't want to put him through such a huge op with a recovery period that could run into months.

First of all Congratulations! I used to be be an associate tutor for DSE212 and I loved working for the OU. Pretty much all post grad Psychology courses are highly competitive, simply because there are so many Psychology graduates. Self funded courses are easier to get onto than funded, and generally anything with a clinical slant to it will be massively oversubscribed, partly because that's where the money is. I did my BA in Psychology and Criminology (2:i) and then did Research Methods MSc at UCL, as I couldn't get on a PhD with joint honours and a 2:i. There were several people on the course with 2:2's, as a good MSC can be used to 'pull' your bachelor's mark up a level. At least 2 of those went on to do clinical, most of us went on to PhDs though. Experience counts for as much as qualifications though, so getting a psych assistant type job in any relevant field will help.

We recently had Sully MRI scanned, as he is losing the feeling in his back legs. To cut a very long story short he has a prolapsed disk in his spine, and the pressure is causing the numbness. Our vet was very keen for us to see the specialist, and he is insured, so the money wasn't a worry. But having put him through the GA and the distress (he's not keen on vets), all they did was confirm it is a prolapsed disk and say there is nothing they can do for him. He's too old and infirm to survive the op, (it's a huge operation) and even if he did, the immobility during the recovery would probably do for him. The cost to see the specialist was about £450, the MRI scan was £1,500. The xray showed a very tiny change in the area where the specialist already thought the damaged disc was, but it hadn't been picked up before, though the area had been xrayed before. What I am trying to say in a very roundabout way, is that sometimes the scans are just a very expensive way of finding out what they already know, and don't automatically relate to them actually being able to do anything about it. I don't regret having the scan done, it has answered a lot of questions I had, but it hasn't made one iota of difference to Sully's life or treatment.

Anytime Kathy, and you know I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it. Give her a gentle squidge from me.

How did it go Kazz?

Kathy, if you need a lift to the vets, you know where I am. Seriously, I'd jump at the chance to help, and as long as we can work the appointments around a few time commitments of mine, it would be no trouble at all. You know where I am.

I guess it depends on the dog, obviously I brush him daily, but it still doesn't get all the undercoat out in the way that washing him does. We only wash him once or twice a year, but it's been nearly 18 months now and he's itchy and uncomfortable, so I think he'd be happier washed. I'll be waiting for your report!

Thanks I hadn't seen that, but there's no way I'd get my dog up there, and even if I could, he wouldn't fit in those baths. Maybe one of the private rooms might not have a bath in it.

I saw one of these in York (I think) and it looked pretty good from the outside, but it was closed at the time so I couldnt go in for a nosy. Please do post back once you've been, in particular I'd like to know if they have floor level/walk in showers, or if the dog has to be lifted into a bath (for obvious reasons!).

Whenever someone first has a seizure they are barred from driving for a year. After a year of being seizure free you can reapply for you licence. If someone only had nocturnal seizures they can reapply for their licence after 3 years, even if they are still having regular seizures as long as they are always nocturnal (i.e during sleep, whether at night or not). So in either case she would have been able to reapply for her licence by now. However, when changing or reducing medication the DVLA recommend not driving for 6 months after the change or reduction is complete. I don't think that's a legal requirement though. However, by not declaring it she has committed a very serious offence. She has also been driving illegally and uninsured. Regardless of her insurer's take on it, she could be facing prosecution. She needs to get some proper advice on it as quickly as possible. I would imagine the Citizen's Advice would be as good a place as any to start. (She also needs to stop driving until she has sorted this out).

Yes please! We are looking to replace our old gas back boiler, and I am tentatively trying to push OH towards a wood pellet burner (I am pretty sure we will go with solar as well either way). I think OH could be convinced, if I could just convince myself. Once of the things I really worry about is whether it would put people off if we wanted to sell in the future. But then, lower bills might attract others. I don't know either way really, but it just seems like the right thing to do. So please sell the idea to me and stop me dithering!

We've got one that goes in the car and we don't bother plugging it anymore. It doesn't seem to be any more effective when it is turned on than when we just use it as a regular cool box, I freeze bottles of water and juice to use as ice packs and save space.

That's an interesting take on it. In my ideal world there would be less unwanted pregnancies rather than more unwanted babies. If the expected effect of stricter abortion control is the latter, than I would never be in favour of it. I followed the recent debate with interest, and I have to say my views haven't changed at all. I am fairly indifferent to the 24 week cut-off, I feel that it is entirely abitrary, medical advances have no bearing on what is essential a question of morality. Having said that I wouldn't want to see it lowered much, because I think there are probably occasions when the upper limit is needed, but I don't feel that strongly about it. If it was reduced I'd like to see it made easier to get an abortion early say up to 12 weeks, so that fewer women found themselves in the postion of being pregnant with an unwanted child in their 2nd trimester. Aside from that, the debate doesn't seem to have changed much. People still want exceptions and bandy around terms like 'with good reason' or 'exceptional circumstances' with no logical justification for them in most cases. One person's good reason is another person's trivial irritation. Despite the huge press coverage, the debte doesn't seem to have moved forward much.

We'll be thinking about you both Billy.