German Shepherd insurance

According to the UK Kennel Club, German Shepherds can live for over 10 years. Larger dogs tend to have a shorter lifespan than smaller breeds due to the strain that is put on their body during their lifetime.

You can expect to pay anywhere from £500 up to £2,500 when purchasing a German Shepherd puppy from a reputable breeder.

Yes. Due to the size and amount of fur on a German Shepherd, these dogs lose a lot of fur. The breed sheds its fur continuously and also lose their undercoat twice a year during spring and autumn. Brushing your German Shepherd regularly is required due to the amount of fur being shed throughout the year.

Alsatians are the same breed as German Shepherds. The name Alsatian comes from the German French border area of Alsace-Lorraine, but German Shepherd is in fact the original name for the breed.

Dog insurance is designed to protect you against the cost of vet treatments, should your dog fall ill or get injured. Some providers also cover you if your dog passes away, if they’re lost or stolen, or if they cause damage to a third party’s property.

Dog insurance can cost less than you might think. And when you consider that the average dog insurance claim is around £793, it may be worth thinking about. If your dog were to develop an ongoing health condition, the amount of money you would need to pay in vet bills could rise considerably. The question you need to ask yourself is, if my dog gets ill or injured long-term, how will I find the money to pay for all the treatment they need?

Dog insurance isn’t compulsory. But it's worth remembering that owning a dog can be expensive. For example, the cost of vet bills has risen steadily over the past few years. If your dog were to become ill or suffer an injury, could you afford to pay for treatment? Pet insurers paid out over £750 million in vet bills in 2019, that’s the equivalent of £2 million every day. By choosing dog insurance, you can give yourself financial protection if something were to happen to your dog.

At petGuard, we offer dog insurance designed to provide pet owners like you with a range of useful benefits, including:

• Cover towards the cost of vet bills
• Emergency boarding if you’re hospitalised and unable to care for your pet
• Multi-dog discount if you put more than one pet on the same policy
• Holiday cancellation – if you have to cancel your trip because your dog falls ill or gets injured
• Accidental damage to dog accessories

Note: Excesses, terms and conditions apply. Click here to find out more.

Before you decide to buy dog insurance, you need to weigh up the following factors:

Your dog's age

Some dog insurance providers won't cover your dog if it's older than eight years old, or younger than eight weeks old.

Pre-existing conditions

petGuard is unable to cover your dog if it has a pre-existing medical condition.

A pre-existing condition is any health condition that you're aware of, had investigated or treated, or seen symptoms of prior to the start of your puppy insurance. At petGuard, we're unable to provide cover for any pet with a pre-existing condition.

You never know what's around the corner. If your dog were to fall ill or get injured, could you cover the cost of the vet bill? If your dog is older and the illness or injury turned into a long-term condition, the costs could spiral. All things considered, you may want to get cover for your pet sooner rather than later. Just be aware that there are some restrictions around when you can get your pet insured. At petGuard We cannot cover dogs under eight weeks of age.

Get a quote here >

Insurance for your cat or dog can start as soon as possible! Our cover starts for cats and dogs aged eight weeks and over. We cannot cover claims arising within the first 14 days of your insurance starting and pre-existing illnesses and conditions are not covered.

Standard dog insurance policies usually last for a 12-month period. After this time, you’ll need to renew the policy you have, if you want to keep the cover in place. If you choose to look elsewhere for your policy, then be aware that any long-term or pre-existing conditions will probably not be covered by a different pet insurance provider.

Yes! Our dog insurance includes mixed breed dogs, as well as pedigree and cross breed dogs. If you’ve got a mixed breed pooch, then we can include them on your policy.

Unfortunately, we cannot cover (whether pedigree, cross breed or mixed breed) any of the following: Dogo Argentino, Fila Brazillero, Japanese Tosa, Pit Bull, Shar-Pei, Wolf or Wolf Hybrid dog and any animal registered under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and/or the Dogs (Muzzling) regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991 or any amendments.

There are additional breeds that we cannot cover for our optional Third Party Liability cover, see “Are there any breeds of dog that you are unable to insure?”

BOAS (Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome) is a condition which is a progressive disorder that can impair the ability of certain breeds of short nose dog to exercise, play, eat and sleep.

We are able to consider claims provided that there are no pre-existing signs, symptoms or advice provided by a vet. In practice this usually means that the dog has to be insured with us from a very young age.

Yes, we are able to cover working dogs. This would include a dog that is being used for shooting, hunting, or working with livestock. Also a dog that performs tasks to assist a human companion, including therapy dogs.

Unfortunately, for all of our policies, we cannot provide any vet fees or liability cover for any animal registered under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and/or the Dogs (Muzzling) regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991 or any amendments; or (whether pedigree, cross breed, mixed breed or known or classed as the names listed) an Abruzzese Mastiff, African Crested Dog, African Wild Dog, Alangu Mastiff, American Bulldog, American Bully, American Bully XL, American Indian Dog, American Mancon, American Mastiff, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Rottweiler, American Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Argentine Dogo, Argentinian Mastiff, Australian Dingo, Bandogge, Bandogge Mastiff, Blue Bull Terrier, Boerboel, Bole, Brazilian Mastiff, Bully, Bully Kutta, Canadian Inuit Dog, Canary Dog, Canary Mastiff, Cane Corso, Cão de Fila de São Miguel, Cão Fila, Chinese Shar Pei, Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, Dingo, Dogo Argentino, Dogue Brasileiro, East Siberian Laika, Fila Brasileiro, Gull Dong, Husky Wolf Hybrid, Inuit Dog American, Irish Staffordshire, Irish Staffordshire Blue Bull Terrier, Irish Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Irish Wolfhound, Italian Mastiff, Japanese Mastiff, Japanese Tosa, Johnson American Bulldog, Korean Jindo, Korean Mastiff, Laika, Libyan Desert Dog, Neapolitan Mastiff, Northern Inuit Dog, Pakistani Bull Dog, Perro de Presa Canario, Pit Bull Mastiff, Pit Bull Terrier, Pocket Bully, Presa Canario, Racing Greyhound, Sarloos Wolfhound, Shar Pei, South African Boerboel, South African Mastiff, Tamaskan Dog, Tibetan Mastiff, Tosa, Tosa Inu, Utonagan Dog, Wolf Hybrid and Wolfdog.

No, we cannot cover pets that are used for guarding.

Yes, we are able to cover a crossbreed dog.

Yes, we can provide vet fee cover if your insured dog is an assistance dog. In addition, we are able to offer our optional Third Party Liability cover as long as they have been trained, or are in the process of being trained, in strict accordance with the guidance of a member organisation of Assistance Dogs UK.

Unfortunately, we are unable to cover any costs resulting from a pre-existing medical condition or an illness first occurring or showing clinical signs prior to cover, or within the first 14 days of the start of cover for your pet.

Veterinary Fees

Choose between £3,000, £6,000 or £12,000 per year in vet fee cover (this excludes any claims within the first 14 days of purchasing cover and any pre-existing conditions).

Emergency Boarding

If you require hospital treatment, which means you’re unable to care for your dog, we can cover the cost of daily minding or boarding fees of up to £1,500, while you’re on the mend. Cover applies for hospital stays of more than four consecutive days.

Holiday Cancellation

If you have to cancel or cut short your holiday because your dog becomes ill or suffers an injury, we can pay out up to £5,000 towards the cost of a cancelled trip (exclusions apply to conditions and illnesses).

Pet Accessories

If your dog's cage or tracking device gets damaged or stolen, we can provide up to £500 to either repair or replace. Accessories or pet-related equipment must be owned from new and security requirements apply.

Yes, you can add this benefit to your policy as an optional extra. We can provide up to £2million per event in Public Liability insurance, if your dog injures someone or damages someone's property and you are held liable. Cover for Third Party Liability only applies in the UK.

Terms and conditions apply. Click here to find out more

Of course! With petGuard, you can add our optional Third Party Liability cover for dogs if you wish.

Third Party Liability

We can cover up to £2million per event to protect you against claims made against you if your dog injures another person, or accidentally damages another person's property. Cover for Third Party Liability applies in the UK only.

Click here to find out more about our additional cover dog cover.

Provided that you have chosen our Accident and Illness cover we will refresh your veterinary fees benefit each year allowing you to claim for ongoing conditions on your pet insurance for as long as we are able to offer a renewal and you renew without a gap in cover.

Yes. Depending on the type of cover you select we are able to cover treatment provided that it is related to an injury or illness.

No, we cannot provide cover for pets that are used for breeding. There are special policies for their specific risks, and we suggest you speak to your vet or local insurance broker for help finding suitable cover.

We offer a choice of three annual benefit levels. You can insure up to the chosen limit each year and provided that we are able to offer renewal and you renew without a gap in cover the benefit will be reinstated for the next period of insurance. This means that you can claim for chronic or ongoing conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, heart or skin conditions whilst the policy remains in force.

Yes. You must be a UK resident and domiciled in the UK.

Yes there is an excess you will need to pay in respect of each illness or injury for which you wish to claim each year. These are as follows:

Veterinary Fees

For each illness or injury arising during each period of insurance your excess will be:

• For pets under eight years of age at time of treatment: The first £150.
• For pets older than eight years of age at time of treatment: The first £150 plus 20% of the remaining cost of treatment.

Holiday Cancellation - The first £75 of the claim

Accidental Damage to Third Party Property - The first £75 of the claim

Accidental Damage to Pet Accessories - The first £50 of the claim

Emergency Expenses - The first £50 of the claim

Third Party Liability - The first £250 of property damage claim

We need some details about you and the pet you wish to insure together with either bank account or debit/credit card details for payment of the premium.

If you later find that your chosen cover no longer suits your needs, we cannot downgrade your policy to a different level during the policy term or at renewal. Cancelling your policy and starting a new one means your pet won't have continuous cover. Any past symptoms or conditions will be seen as pre-existing and won't be covered. Additionally, you can't claim for illnesses in the first 14 days of the new policy.

We look at a number of factors including the age and breed of the pet, the risk of chronic or recurring conditions associated with certain breeds, the area the pet lives in and any claims history.

You can choose to pay in full by credit or debit card. Alternatively, you can take advantage of our interest free monthly payment option and simply spread the payments out, without any additional cost.

This is something we are able to do provided that your vet is happy with this arrangement.

Most airlines will allow you to take a cat or dog on the plane, either in the cabin or down below in cargo. Before booking your flight, check with the airline that they can in fact, fly your pet. You may have to book in advance, with some airlines charging additional fees for traveling pets.

Your pet will need pet travel documents before they can fly, as this will need to be presented to the airline when checking in your pet. Depending on where your pet is flying from and where they are flying to, they will need to have certain vaccinations and treatments for illnesses such as rabies or tapeworm. You will most likely need to proof of the vaccinations and treatment from your vet.

If you're traveling abroad, or simply going away for a few days in the UK, it’s still a good idea to prep your pet for the journey. Such preparation measures could help reduce the stress levels in your pet, help you understand how best your pet travels, and help make the journey that little bit easier for both you and your pet.

• Before taking your pet on any long car journey, take them on short drives close to home, while slowly increasing the amount of time spent in the car. This will not only help them get used to being confined in a car, but it could help them overcome travel sickness if they suffer from it.
• Avoid feeding your cat or dog right before traveling, as the motion of the car, train or plane could upset their stomach. Make sure they have plenty of water, so they are well hydrated.
• Before any long journey, consider the health of your pet. Are they fit and healthy enough to travel? Make sure they are up to date with their vaccinations and treatments and be sure to check if they need any additional ones, as this could be a requirement of certain countries or airlines.
• To help ensure your pet is comfortable while traveling, make sure they have plenty of water, (food but depending how well they travel on a full stomach), toys to keep them occupied, and a comfortable place to sleep and rest. Most importantly, they need to be secured while traveling, whether it be in a crate that is large enough for them to sit in, stand and move around in, or strapped in using a proper pet seat belt for the car.

If you don't want to take your cat or dog on holiday with you, then why not consider the following instead:

• Leave your pet with a friend or family member
• Have a qualified pet-sitter come around to your home, to feed, walk and check-up on your pet
• Take your pet to a reputable kennel or cattery