Magnotherapy for Fido?

WE may be a nation of animal lovers, but spending thousands of pounds on physiotherapy for household pets is a step too far for most of us.

A pet owner from North Yorkshire made the news recently after paying around £5,000 for specialist physiotherapy treatment after her dog was badly injured.

Yet although most of us would struggle to afford - and balk at paying for - expensive alternative treatments for our four-legged friends, there is a way to ensure they can receive specialist care.

If you take out pet insurance you can expect the policy to cover the vet's bills for standard treatment. A growing number of insurers also pay out for alternative medical treatments, such as homeopathy, acupuncture and hydrotherapy.

More Than's pet insurance includes cover for alternative medicine for up to £6,000 per condition. Treatments covered include magnotherapy - wearing a collar to counter arthritis - Chinese herbal treatments and pulsed magnetic field therapy as well as the more traditional alternatives such as acupuncture.

Sainsbury's Bank also offers cover for alternative treatments including homeopathy and acupuncture under the terms of its pet insurance policy.

NFU Mutual's pet insurance includes cover for homeopathy and acupuncture.

But pick up the bill yourself and it would cost you dear. For example, hydrotherapy costs between £12 to £15 a session on average, while acupuncture can cost up to £30 for one session.

Pulsed magnetic field therapy - designed to maintain health and help natural healing by improving circulation and reducing pain - is even more expensive, at around £50 a session.

In contrast, pet insurance typically costs from less than £100 a year to around £300, depending on the age of your pet, breed, health and the extent of the cover provided.

And the good news is, the range of alternative treatments covered by insurance looks set to increase. More Than says it is considering adding behavioural therapy for pets to its list of treatments covered.