Do You Need Pet Insurance?

This one was a tough one because one, I didn't even know something like this existed when we had Koda... but I will tell you from experience that if I added up all of the emergency/accidental type situations that happened throughout the 12 years that we had Koda, the insurance for sure would have helped with a lot of the cost. 

For most plans, you want to make sure that you make your decision based on the type of coverage you want. Do you only want coverage for emergencies? Or do you want insurance that also covers preventative. Think of it like you would your own health insurance. Personally, I don't feel that preventative is something I want to have insurance cover and here's why before everyone gets upset... 

1) If you can't afford the preventative care (semi-annual exams, annual shots, regular testing, etc) then you should step back and think about whether or not you should be investing yourself in an animal. They are just like humans... they need health care just like we all do. 

2) Most pet insurance plans that cover preventative care will only cover certain things and most of them time if you want/need a certain vaccine, it may not be something that's covered under your plan. Therefore, in my own opinion, wellness packages from pet insurance are not worth the monthly cost. 

With that said... emergency and/or accidental coverage IS A MUST. Depending on who you go with, your plan could be anywhere from $40-$70 per month. That's not much when you consider the cost of an emergency. When Koda got sick and we had to take him to the animal hospital for treatment, after him staying overnight for two nights and the extensity of his illness, we ended up having to pay roughly $4000. And in the end... we still lost him 😥

If we would have had the type of plan that we have for Echo now, we most likely would have saved 90% of the charge (not including exam fees as most insurance plans don't cover exams). Although our hearts were broken and we would have paid anything to make sure Koda got the best treatment he could before we lost him... it would have been less pressure for us to not have to shell out $4000. 

So, do I think pet insurance plans are worth it? YES, YES I DO! Find the best one that suits your needs, choose the deductible you KNOW you can afford. Also keep in mind that most insurance plans require a 30 day no claim period. Thankfully, we got an offer from our vet to go to Trupanion and they offered to waive the no claim period. Because of that... when Echo got sick and I overreacted and took him to the ER, we weren't stuck with a $500 bill. 

Treat your pet just like you would your child... 

Until next time!

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.

Bringing Echo Home

Today is the day that Echo came home with us! We were absolutely excited and felt that we were 100% ready for him (check out my puppy prep list). Of course, you're never truly ready to bring home a new family member. You may THINK you are and you may double and triple check your lists to make sure that you are... but you won't be and there's NOTHING wrong with that. 

After some thorough research, we adopted Echo from Skyler's Siberian's and if you're in the Washington area, or even in a nearby state, Adrianna is DEFINITELY one of the best breeders. Her dogs are beautiful! She worked closely with us, gave us the best advice as we waited for our new puppy to come home. She was so patient and understanding with all of our questions and we highly recommend her. 

At first, when we showed up to get Echo, he was super timid and shy, but it was understandable because he was probably confused about who we were and of course keep in mind that we're taking him away from his mama and littermates. The drive home was an hour or so and he only whined once before passing out and sleeping the rest of the way. The breeder had rubbed a soft blanket on the mama to get her scent, so he slept with the blanket and I think it made a huge difference. 

When we arrived home, we immediately took the travel crate (with Echo inside it, of course) and went to the backyard. We have a cat, Beau, so we wanted to make sure Echo got used to our scent and the backyard before he was introduced to our other furbaby. We slowly opened the crate and didn't touch him, just let him come out of the crate on his own. We didn't want to force him to do anything because we knew he was most likely scared. We have a fairly big yard (which is a MUST for huskies), so we kept him close to us with a couple of toys and made sure that he didn't run off without one of us. For the most part, he stayed close to us, sniffing everything. Eventually we let our neighbor and their kiddos come say hi to him. We needed him to realize that there are other scents surrounding his yard and not to be afraid of them. 

After playing in the backyard, we brought him inside where he could meet Beau. Let me just say... it was hilarious. Beau is a BIG cat (Siberian Cat) and had at least 10 lbs on Echo. At first, we let Echo explore his playpen in the living room where his water was and didn't realize that Beau was sneaking up behind him. I didn't think anything of it, just figured they would touch noses, but since Beau was so much bigger than Echo, he scared the crap out of the poor pup who ended up running away and soaking himself in his water bowl. I felt like a horrible person, but eventually Echo warmed up to Beau and started to see him as a playmate. 

Thankfully we already puppy proofed the whole house, but we underestimated how small he was and that he could squeeze himself into any place. We ended up having to add two more baby gates, one in the living room to guard the cat area and one in the kitchen. The more we tried to redirect him, the more he wanted what we were trying to keep him away from. Huskies are STUBBORN. They think you're playing when you may not be, but they especially don't like the word "no". They see it as a challenge and will keep going after it. Just make sure that everything is tucked away and your puppy proofing is solid. You may have to build a very ridiculous looking barricade until he gets bigger and that's ok! As much as it hurts my OCD brain to see that strange cardboard box blocking underneath the TV stand... it's needed until he gets bigger. 

Echo slept pretty hard because he was pretty stressed and we played with him a lot... but not hard enough to sleep through the night. It's totally expected though and if you don't expect to lose several hours of sleep that first week... you're crazy. We put his scented blanket in the crate that was located right next to our bed. They say that if you're crate training you need to put the crate near where you sleep at night to help with getting up to let them out, etc. At first he didn't want anything to do with the crate, but eventually after talking to him softly and making the "shhhhh" sound, he started to calm down. He woke us up every 2 hours because of course, he needed to potty, which is expected. It was rough trying to get him to go back to sleep, so we stayed up each time for a half hour or so and played with him until he got tired again. Little did we know, he didn't actually need play time. He just needed to go back into his crate and maybe whine a little and then he would just fall back asleep. 

That night we only got about 4 hours total of sleep... be prepared, pet parents.

Until next time!

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.

Puppy Prep List

Getting a new puppy? Congratulations! Are you overwhelmed and don't know where to start when it comes to prepping for your new furbaby? Well, I'm here to help. 

"Needs" will be items that you most certainly need to have before bringing home your new pup. "Wants" are items that would be nice and convenient to have, but you can live without them. "Wish List" are items that you could do without if you're on a budget or just don't feel like spending the money. 

Also... ask yourself, have you puppy proofed your home yet? They're just like babies... they get into EVERYTHING.

Needs
- Collar
- Harness
- 6ft Leash
- Dog Poop Bags
- Puppy Food
- Water and Food Bowls (I recommend an adjustable height feeding station where you can raise it up as he/she grows bigger)
- Pet Food Mat (to protect your floors) 
- Food Scoop
- Crate (for crate training and big enough for he/she to grow into)
- Dog Bed (keep in mind they will most likely chew through multiple beds)
- Toys (durable and suggest puppy toy packs)
- Chew Bones
- Pet Grooming Wipes (puppies are messy!)
- Dental Care Kit
- Dog Shampoo
- Stain and Odor Remover (trust me, you need it)
- Pet Nail Clippers
- Pooper Scooper (you may not think you need it, but trust me, you do)

Wants
- Travel Water/Food Bowls
- Travel Crate
- Travel Pet Food Mat
- Travel Water Bottle
- Travel Food Bag
- Baby/Pet Gate(s)
- Indoor Play Pen
- Training Clicker (if you are choosing to train them)
- Training Lead (30 ft long)
- Training Treats
- Training Treat Pouch
- Microfiber Dog Bath Towel (or just use any old towel)
- Retractable Leash
- Brain Toy Games
- Blanket
- Bully Sticks
- Treat Jar (keep them treats fresh!)
- Bitter Spray (for chewing issues you want to correct)

Wish List
- Outdoor Play Pen
- Diaper Bag (for travelling, it makes a huge difference!)
- Puppy Training Pads (we never used them, but they're good to have on hand)
- Crate Cover
- Baby Sound Machine (trust me... it's worth it, but not needed)
- Baby Monitor System (for if you need to keep your eye on them)

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.

The Obligatory "About Me" Post

I'm going to be honest... it's been several years since I owned a blog. Honestly, the one I owned when I was a teenager wasn't anything you would call a blog these days. That being said, I find myself wanting to record our experience from day one. And who better to share it with than all of you!

What experience, you ask? Getting a new puppy! Now, before I go into detail about our new furry family member, let me tell you a little about me and my first furbaby. My name is Jana and I've been obsessed with Siberian Huskies since I could mumble the word "dog". Something about their wolf like beauty and the fact that they (if raised right) can be the most loyal, sweet and loving breed out there. When I was 22 years old and just recently moved from California to Montana after graduating from college, I knew that it was my time to finally get a husky. Being in California, there was no way I would ever own a large breed dog while living in an apartment, so as soon as I had the means (40 acres of land and a cute little cabin) I jumped on the chance to get my first dog. Koda was the gem of all gems when it came to dogs. Other than the limited research my mind could handle about raising Siberian Huskies, I went full force ahead and walked right into that large outdoor playpen in Idaho and found him. He came running up to me first, his floppy ears, giant paws and blue eyes, as my mom and sister explored the other pups in the pen. Granted I was holding a bunch of hard boiled eggs that the breeder had given us... he was perfect and precious and he wanted me. I could tell that he was saying "take me with you! oh... and give me that egg please". 

I carted him home in an big open storage bin and after a two hour drive, we stopped at a Walmart to pick up supplies. I was probably the most unprepared new pet owner ever, but I didn't care. I had no idea that Koda would give me the best 12 years of my life. He was my rock, that solid piece of my life that would never hurt me, only love me unconditionally. It broke my heart, and several others, to lose him in April to an auto-immune disease. I had no idea how much it would hurt to lose him and with every year that he grew older, I would always tell myself that I knew I only had one or two more years with him. It didn't prepare me for the amount of pain and absolute heart break we went through. 

It still hurts, to not see Koda laying at my feet while I work, but I knew that we needed to fill the silence. There is nothing wrong with that either, for those who say you need to wait several years to replace your lost furbaby. That's just it though... you're not replacing him. You're NEVER replacing him. You can't replace that piece of your heart that they took with them, but you can fill the silence. I never realized how quiet it would be without the jingle of Koda's collar. I knew that the only way to help me not be so sad and lonely, was to get a new dog. 

Marc and I (you'll hear me say Marc a lot because he's my loving and absolutely amazing boyfriend... 6 years, babes!) looked at all of our options, but deep down I knew that I wanted another Siberian Husky. I know that there will be people who say we should have adopted a shelter dog, and I definitely agree that all dogs need a home and to be loved... but I wanted the same experience that I had with Koda. I wanted to start from the beginning and watch our baby grow. I needed that sense of accomplishment, knowing that I had another opportunity to raise one of the best dogs in the world. 

And that's where we introduce to you... Echo. Now, I won't go into to much detail about our new pup in this post because we pick him up tomorrow and you know that there will be plenty of other things to talk about. This post was my obligatory get to know me post and even then I mostly talked about Koda, haha. Oops. I'm sure we will get to know each other along the way!

To many years of adventures with Echo. 

Jana

(follow us on Instagram for daily pictures! @hearts_4paws)

*All posts by this blog are my personal opinions and experiences. Please consult with a Veterinary or Trainer when it comes to professional advice.