Insurance for Gundogs

Why buy pet insurance for your gun dog?

All responsible dog owners would agree that their dogs’ health and well-being is of high importance to them. However, while pet dogs can get sick often, the claims most of these incidents incur are relatively low (in the hundreds of pounds). By contrast, gun dogs may get injured while out on a shoot and, while generally less frequent, claims for these injuries can run into thousands.

Some of the injuries gundogs can suffer include cuts and gashes caused by jumping wire or jagged and abrasive obstacles, as well as more severe injuries such as cruciate ligaments, lameness, cut pads, and muscular strains. Additionally, gundogs are not exempt from genetic health conditions that many dog breeds can be prone to.

The different roles performed by the dogs mean injuries can be varied. Another factor is the type of shooting the owner practices - Roughshooters and Deerstalkers will be out on hunts more regularly, often in hostile terrain, whereas an Occasional Shooter's dog will have less frequent trips out, but might encounter other health issues while not working. Finally, Wildfowlers may suffer water-related injuries or illness.

Do normal pet insurance policies cover gundogs?

The answer here is not clear-cut. In our experience, most basic pet insurance policies will not cover dogs for injuries sustained while on a shoot, and many other policies will not pay out twice for the same condition or injury.

If you are considering buying pet insurance for your gun dog, unfortunately there is no shortcut to reading the fine print of the policy terms to make sure you know exactly what it does and doesn’t cover.

Why join the Gun Dog insurance group?

We believe the pet insurance industry needs to create more options for gun dogs. It isn't satisfactory that so many companies' position on insuring gun dogs for recreational activities is unclear.

By joining this group, you can get an exclusive 10% disount on your policy, and add your voice, along with other UK gundog owners, to demand a fairer deal from the insurance industry, to make sure your trusted helper is protected.

Which dogs are classed as gun dogs?

There are four types of gundog:

Retrievers: The most popular breeds for this role are Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever and Flat-coated Retriever.

Spaniels: The most popular type of Spaniel to use as a Gundog is the Springer. However, they are extremely energetic and often restless dogs and so, sadly, prove to be too much for many people, which means many Springers end up in shelters. Other breeds used include Cocker Spaniel and Clumber Spaniel.

Pointers and Setters: the popular breeds for this role include English Setter, Irish Setter and Pointer (English Pointer).

HPRs or Versatile Gundogs: this multi-tasking role can be performed by a variety of breeds, including the Hungarian Vizsla, German Shorthair Pointer and Weimaraner.

More information on choosing the right Gundog for each purpose can be found on Totally Gundogs.

By Ronny Lavie

Top questions answered by us

• Which insurance companies cover gundogs?

  BASC, Country Alliance and NFU Mutual all provide specialist policies for working gun dogs, with different levels of cover. Tesco, VetsMedicover, Petplan and MoreThan also provide cover, but not as part of their Basic pet insurance, and so it is essential to check the small print of the policy and always disclose your dog is a working dog, to avoid invalidating the policy.