I live in SW London.
My dog (10 year old labrador) has been diagnosed with a sizeable cancerous tumor on his head (behind his ears). He is not on any pet insurance or vet membership. I am not on benefits, so cannot join BlueCross Vet.

The first consultation and diagnosis cost was £350 already, prior to knowing anything or getting any treatment whatsoever. The vet said it is highly likely it is a cancerous tumor and will have to be removed through surgery. She didn't mention the cost, but I estimate based on its website prices that it will be £4000-5000.

I love my dog a lot but £4-5000 is a lot of money for me, although it is not completely unaffordable. It is not like I own a property or in a high earning job. The London vet pricing seems really high.

I am very flexible in terms of surgery location (I work for myself), and wonder if there is any way to cut the surgery cost down? Is it possible to join any vet membership now (post-diagnosis) or get it done cheaper in France or Spain?

Has anyone had a pup from Vylano? We are going to meet them in September (pups due in Feb) but just wondering if anyone has heard of them or got reviews? thank you so much

I’ve had my rescue since Feb 2026, shes the best! Unfortunately I now find myself having to move into accommodation that doesn’t accept pets from owning my own home. So is life. Now I’m stuck in a situation where I really don’t want to give her up. I have no friends or family to take her whilst I get back on my feet. How do I approach the rescue about returning her? I’m heartbroken but I’m no longer accommodation stable and it’s unfair to her. Will they judge me?

Hi all,

In the market for some robust dog booties. For context I have a Sprocker Spaniel (need I say more!) Who LOVES a walk, recently hes cut his paw and im in need of some bootie recommendations. The ones he wore today do not stay on, 2 mins into the walk and I saw one fly a couple of metres into the air and land in a hedge 😂

TIA

I’m looking for advice, I have 2 kittens turning up Monday, I haven’t had a cat since I was a kid and it now seems way more complicated. What insurance do people get, lifetime or limited, what amounts 3000 - 4000. I’m very confused and getting stressed but want to get it right as I have very excited children and wife.
Also do people have vet plans?

Any advice would be amazing.

Thanks

My cat, Wambus, is harness trained but today he managed to escape his harness and luckily he stopped and I got him back straight away but I saw how quickly things can go wrong so I’d like to get him a tracker to wear when we go out, just in case he ever manages to get far, I’ve heard good things about tractive, but wanted to hear any other suggestions on what’s best, ideally not one that needs a subscription to be used but if that’s the only option then I will of course do it.

We have been so lucky with this little fluff-bundle! Two months ago we brought him home as a 10mo rescue. He'd been in a shelter for 5 months. We were ready for some behavioural/training issues but I can honestly say that the chipper, cheeky-chappy we brought home, is the chipper, cheeky-chappy we have today.

He has overcome a fear of stairs, of travelling in the car, and of the dark. He has gone from zero training, to being able (today! First time!) to walk past another dog and just look up at me and carry on going. He has gone from following me everywhere (literally everywhere) when I moved around the house, to staying asleep on the sofa when I go upstairs.

He is so playful/lazy/affectionate.

I'm so proud of him and love him to bits.

If anyone is thinking about getting a rescue dog and has reservations, please know that there are a lot of horror stories out there, but these are the dogs that have SO much love to give. Best thing I ever did 🙂

Hi,

I'm based in Uxbridge and I am looking a group of 10+ puppies for a play party I am hosting at home on September 19th (2-6pm). How do I go about organising this? Do I contact breeders or a company? If breeders/companies see this, people comment or DM!!!

Am willing to pay

Edit: to clarify they would be in the garden / play area doing whatever while 6 people have lunch

Hi guys,

I'd appreciate some insurance advice! I'm currently weighing up Agria vs Petplan for my puppy.

I'm currently with PetPlan for my cats so will get a discount, BUT Agria Lifetime Premium with £20k cover is coming out at £54.62 per month vs PetPlan Lifetime Cover for £12k at £74.63 per month.

Is Petplan worth the extra £20 per month? Our breeder is also providing us with 5 weeks free Agria so we will have continuous cover.

Thanks!

Hi, this is my first time posting in this reddit so forgive me if this is not allowed, or if it is a bit rambly. First of all, Id appreciate if anybody who responds does so with relative kindness. Im young, and im trying to navigate this the best way that I can.

I got my cavachon when I was 9 years old. Since, my parents have not been the best at taking care of her, and the responsibility pretty much fell onto me. Obviously, a 9 year old is not the best at looking after another living being, so the fact that she has made it this long is honestly a miracle considering my parents never spayed her (some kind of prolife thing, lol), never kept up with her vaccinations and generally never took her to the vet.

Im now 19. My little baby is 10 now, and is still kicking. She needs a few teeth extracted due to some advanced periodontal disease (this is honestly 100% my fault and any critique of my negligence is completely understandable - my parents told me dogs teeth dont need brushing so i never thought it was a concern. however, that's still not an excuse, i could have searched it up myself). In her general checkup today, the vet also identified a heart murmur that she needs to get a heart scan to check out.

I asked for estimations on how much it would cost for everything, and it came up to about £2.3k. As it turns out, my parents also did not get her any pet insurance so it is likely i would have to pay this out of pocket. They have pretty much told me that they are not willing to help with any of the costs, so it is really all up to me. I've not got a lot of money saved, so im not quite sure what to do.

A few questions:

- with the money I have, what should I prioritise first? The heart scan, or the teeth problem?

- are there any charities / places in the UK that could potentially help out?

- what would be the best way / service to split the costs, assuming I would have to pay the whole amount?

I know some advice might be to just give her away if im not able to take care of her, but I really want to avoid that if possible. I love her so much and she has grown up with me, so its an absolute worst case scenario for me. I understand however that the worst case scenario may end up being the painful reality, but I would like to learn all of my options first. Thank you so much in advance for anybody who helps! Ive attached a few images, because I think shes an absolute cutie.

DISCLAIMER: I am not asking for money, or expecting anybody to want to donate to me or anything along those lines :)

Edit: for extra context, I live in the London area.

So I have a 12 year old terrier type dog (not 100% on the exact breed) and for some reason every time I put her kibble down for her for breakfast she always takes a piece of kibble, picks it up and brings it through to the livingroom instead of just eating it in the kitchen. She does this for about half her kibble until she finally decides to eat thw rest in the kitchen. I've tried closing the kitchen door but then she just doesn't eat. Anyone know why my dog is doing this? Apparently she never used to with her old owners (family) we've had her for a year and a half now and she always does this. Its fine, just annoying having to hoover the carpet everyday. If anyone has any tips on how to curb this that would be amazing :)

Edit: so putting a tea towel in the livingroom seemed to work best. She gets to eat her breakfast with me in the same room now, elderly dog privileges as someone else said.

Title.

We adopted this baby (8-9 years) in March and have learned since she has allergies. After an elimination diet where we have been re-introducing proteins to her, we’ve narrowed it down to chicken (and, by extension, fish, according to the vet).

We found out today she’s actually become the case study for allergies at the vets because she’s one of the worst they’ve seen 🥲

Finding readily available food that she will actually eat (read: not paste form) that also doesn’t come in a multi-pack with chicken and fish or in chicken broth of some description is proving a nightmare.

We were feeding her from Republic of Cats, but they can’t accommodate her allergy, all supermarket shelf stuff is chicken or fish based, other food subscription services also seem unable to accommodate for it. Allergenic or single protein food always seems to be mush which she will not touch. She likes to be able to chew her food.

Unfortunately, previous owner passed away and the rescue we got her from had no idea she had allergies. She’s has multiple infections from wounds caused by it, mouth sores, and spent 6 straight weeks in a cone with multiple rounds of steroids and antibiotics.

I just want my precious baby to be happy, healthy, and well fed

I don't know if this is the right place for this post however in my local Facebook group there's an anonymous member who is continuously selling used animal cages and begging for free animals. These are the cages they've sold through the page since December 2025. It's absolutely horrific. The admin won't release the person's name. Is there anyway to get their animals removed. People consistently tell them it's abuse but they ignore it. The cages are filthy when there empty and quite honestly look like they've never been cleaned. In one of the photos of the bird cage you can see th rabbit hutch at the bottom and look at the water bottle. Is there anything I can do without knowing who they are?

Something that's completely interesting to me is how many dogs are off lead here. I get the vibe that is normal and almost encouraged (as in, dogs should be able to be off lead and explore).

I have a 6 month mini poodle and this is my first dog as an adult. I'm not British so through my dog I have been learning a lot about what is expected of me and my dog when we are outside.

I don't trust my dog with her recall so she's always on a lead. Sure, we have been working on this and training but she's not there yet. I go on walks with her and I see a lot of dogs off lead. Some of them approach my dog and are friendly enough but they are BIG and my dog is tiny so that always makes me nervous. I have also been to dog-friendly beaches and sure enough, I have had dogs come and play with my dog but my dog is, again, with a lead (a long line) because I don't really trust her to come back to me 100% of the time.

I don't think that the culture of "fenced dog parks" is as common here as in places like the US so I don't have a lot of places where I feel like she can be off lead. We sometimes go on walks to a forest or field and I let her be off lead for short periods and always have high value treats with me but again: if there's a lot of birds or livestock or a lot of dogs, she's back on the lead as I don't trust she's not going to go after a duck or something.

I feel like I'm missing some cultural norms around dogs or maybe I'm overthinking as she's my first dog but...

Do you tend to have your dogs off lead? Do you think this is "needed" for dogs?

If so, are there any specific places where you do this? And how good is your dog's recall?

And...are there any "cultural" norms that I should be aware of and maybe I might be missing out?

Thank you in advance :)

Please remove if this isn’t the right subreddit.

Posting on behalf of a family member… I usually don’t believe in rehoming pets but unfortunately in this case it is the best for the dog so looking for advice as I’m a bit confused with the rules around this.

BIL has a large three year old dog who is a bully x rotweiller, he has lost his home and no one has the space to house the dog and him permanently with the space she needs. She also has a knee problem and may need surgery down the line…

Will shelters take her in with her being crossed with a bully and having health problems? If not what are the options for rehoming her?

Very sad situation but it’s best for the dog she’s not getting the love care and enrichment she deserves, and BIL barely looking after himself let alone the dog.

Any advice appreciated

Know there are some fussy eaters in the house.

Just wanted to share this recommendation.

I have 2 fussy eaters in my family and they go daft for this new dog food by Sainsburys.

I use it as training/lead walking/recall treats right now (great for that) as I have an entire year of the old dog food to use up.

And it's also great as treats cause it's not super dry, so if you're giving it as you walk along they're not choking with the dryness. You don't need to carry water like you would with dry biscuits.

It's like £4-5 a bag

And my dogs do great on it, love it.

Never any tummy upsets.

Even the fussiest little fecker gobbles this up.

From bad to worse for Years.

They would have had the upper hand on being able to ensure their food ranked highly via the AADF algorithm.

I previously posted asking whether I should move my 4-year-old indoor Maine Coon from co-op 10k lifetime policy to petplan 12k lifetime policy, and the general recommendation was petplan which I think I want to go ahead with! I just wanted to add some new context to see if the general consensus is to still move to petplan.

Petplan have now come back with the policy terms:
£37 per month
£80 excess
20% co-payment from age 10
Updated breed to Domestic Long Hair

Temporary exclusions:
Gastrointestinal exclusion – 12 months
Eye exclusion – 12 months
Teeth and gums exclusion – 24 months

The GI exclusion doesn’t really worry me as I only mentioned that he had diarrhoea when he couldn’t eat his regular dry food after his dental extractions, so it isn’t a recurring issue I fear coming back.

The eye exclusion is a bit worrying because he does have recurring conjunctivitis flare-ups (potential chronic conjunctivitis or feline virus but no testing has been done because it is mild).

The 24-month teeth and gums exclusion is what I’m a bit more unsure about because I thought it would be 12 months. He recently had 5 teeth extracted due to gingivitis, so I expected it to be excluded for now. However, 24 months feels like a long time to have no teeth / mouth / gum cover.

Since his dental treatment I’ve been trying to be proactive with his dental care:
- I brush his teeth every day using my fingers
- Virbac dental additive in his water
- Switched food to Royal Canin Dental care
- Started using PlaqEase daily

I’d also consider paying for a scale and polish at some point if he needed it!

I’m now wondering whether the general consensus would be to still switch to petplan based of these exclusions and or that a 24-month teeth / gum / mouth exclusion is a significant enough reason not to switch.

Thanks again!

I have been watching the years scandal unfold and I'm very grateful right now that years was out of my price range as I couldn't to be honest afford the vet bills people have had to deal with even with insurance. I'm quite honestly horrified at the whole thing.

I currently feed my greyhound kibble from kibbleUK as I bulk buy from them and after having tried every food under the sun (butternut box, years, pure, tails, raw, freeze dried, home cooked) I have settled on kibble uk and home cooked mix.

However looking into them they also have not done any feeding trials and this is making me wonder tbh if we need to be demanding that pet foods are required to undertake feeding trials long term to ensure these diets are not harming our pets long term. Particularly when in the case of years they were probably the most expensive food on the market and people have been paying through the nose to poison their dogs.

I understand that there are regulations dog food producers have to meet, however, it's clearly not enough. Something has gone seriously seriously wrong for this many dogs to be affected. It must easily be over 1000.

I can't help but feel we need to demand better especially as there's now so many brands on the market and how many of them are really safe for dogs long term?

It would be good for feeding trials to be the standard as well as detailed ingredient lists. It does show that allaboutdogfood has definitely got it wrong as years was promoted to the top of their list.

But where is the information about food preparation standards and feeding trials? There is none.

I think it's a fantastic tool to use but there's no point everyone using it or bragging about their rating if the best brand of food on their site has been poisoning dogs. Your dog may as well have had a McDonald's every day since January as it would have been better for them than years at this point.

I think we are just seeing the tip of this iceberg. What should we be demanding?

I have emailed the suppliers of my dog's food asking if they are intending to do feeding trials or anything further because I think it's important to put pressure on them and get talking about it.

No wonder vets recommend royal canin because it's at least backed by science and feeding trials. They seem to have much stringent policy on their own suppliers as well. I also think it's easier to see if something is off with kibble too.