First pet stores began selling clothes for pets. Then kennels upgraded from a wire cage to four-star hotels for man's best friend. Now you can even buy insurance for your four-legged friend. Everything from health insurance to third party insurance for the family pet is getting to be big business in the animal world.

Pet owners can find insurance for a myriad of pet related problems. For example, assistance in finding Fido if he goes missing; third party insurance in case Rex gets a little perturbed and bites the neighborhood bully; life insurance. All are valid reasons to consider buying pet insurance. But like insurance for your family, you should research the different insurance companies thoroughly before plunking down your hard earned money. So how do you decide what insurance company to go with and what type of insurance you are likely to need? Easy?know your pet.

Ask yourself these questions before you begin your research. What physical ailments is your pet's natural enemy? For example, German Shepards are prone to hip displasia as they get older so a good health plan is something you would want to consider.

What percentage of the dog bites reported to the police are instigated by your breed? For instance, Pit Bulls are responsible for a good percentage of dog bites in the United States, though Rottweilers and German Shepards come in a close second. If you own one of these breeds, no matter how docile and kind you believe your pet to be, third-party insurance would be a good idea.

Finally, will your dog be a show dog, watchdog, breeder or family pet? If he or she is a show dog, life insurance may be good idea. Since Fido is helping to put food on the table, life insurance would help cover those losses.

Once you have the answers to these questions, begin your research. Go to any search engine on the Internet, type in "pet insurance" and you will be whisked away to an unlimited number of websites that sell what you are looking for. But like insurance for your family, some of the websites can be confusing. Ask your vet what company has given him the least amount of problems. Ask other owners of your breed what insurance company they use.

There are so many insurance companies out there that offer a wide variety of insurance plans at a low price (some companies offer full coverage for as little as $9 a month) that you are likely to sign up for something you do not need. So the answer to the insurance question when buying a new pet is unfortunately the same as every other pet-related question?Research, Research, Research. Though in my personal opinion, unlike clothes for your darling Tinkerbelle (which I think is more embarrassing for the owner than it is for the animal), or over priced training (which you can do yourself if you are willing to put in the time) pet insurance is a necessary expense. If you don't believe me, wait until the bill comes due.

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Allen Shaw is a successful author who provides information on pet insurance and dogs.

"I am the news director at USA News Network and have been working as freelance writer for 2 years. I've been published in a few magazines, newspapers and websites and my specialty up to this point has been movie and music reviews."