Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Holiday shop shop shopping for your pets at the Embrace Pet Community

Planning to shop for your pet and other pet lovers this holiday season? Who isn't!

Make sure to check out the Embrace Pet Community for special pet deals for Community members such as:

Waggintails: ultrapremium pet food - 10% discount on non-sale items

Poochie Bells: designer doggie door bells - 10% discount

Doggie Depot: cyber dog supply store - 10% off and free shipping on orders $75 or more

There are many more merchants with pet gifts. Happy holiday shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009 from Embrace Pet Insurance!

I am thankful for

...my family's good health (children, kittens, cats, and adults alike)
...Embraced pet parents who take the time to email me with their comments
...my neighborhood babysitting co-op
...my funny and exceptional and caring Embracers - the Embrace bedrock (yabba dabba dooo)
...random people who kick me up the rump every now and then
...my friends all around the world - I do miss you so
...smiling faces at the dinner table

I know everyone is stuffing themselves with turkey and dreaming of shopping and not reading blogs but I did want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that your list of thanks makes you feel as good as I do.

Breed Focus: Chihuahua

Yes, I'm one of those goofy people who can't help but say "Chi-hooa-hooa" when I read this dog breed's name but there's something quite funny about such a small dog with such a big name. Perhaps it's because the breed often lives up to the big name with such big personalities.

Chihuahua's can also have big claims, particularly for luxating patellas and Legg-Perthes Disease where the vet bills can range in the $2,000 - $6,000.

The write up of the Chihuahua in the Embrace Pet Health Center is fascinating.

Don't ever buy a Chihuahua puppy from a pet store or internet seller. Because of their popularity and their small size, Chihuahua puppies are frequently exploited by puppy millers and other breeders with easy profit on their minds. If you're tempted to buy a puppy at the mall to go with the purse you just picked up, resist. Not only will you be supporting a cruel and abusive industry, your carelessly bred Chihuahua will be at much greater risk of developing health and temperament problems, and of being even more difficult to housebreak or train than usual. Walk past that pet store, quickly and without a glance.

To read more about the Chihuahua, check out the Embrace Pet Health Center.

Thank you to Sailor John on Stock.xchng for the great photo!

Running Theme with our Embraced pet parents

Perhaps we shouldn't order the milk-bone flavored paper anymore? Within the last 2 weeks, we received these 2 emails:

Hello Chris,
Sorry for the delay. I had every intention on signing that paperwork and sending it back, except I really believe that my dog ate it. I know I know, that excuse doesn't even fly with grade schoolers, but I found little bits of it and half of an envelope. Would it be posible for you to remail it or email it to me again. Thanks.
george

And...

Hello!
Thank you so much for checking on the check. :)
We DID receive it but then my husband left it on the table and, this is true, the dog chewed it up. The puppy decided that since it was for his vet. services, it was his check to destroy!
Sigh...
Would it be possible to tear the check up completely and be reissued a new one or perhaps to do the instructions below and setup our account for direct deposit?
Thanks again...you guys have been so wonderful!!!

Dog ate your Embrace paperwork anyone?

Friday Fuzz: Rocket and Rosie

Why not lighten the mood today with the Rocket and Rosie show:

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The first one is Rocket age 3 weeks snuggling at the Embrace office; the second is at Halloween - Rosie age 10 weeks; the third is Rocket and Rosie snuggling on the couch.

I'll try to get some video next week. If they'll stay in one place that is!

Q&A: issues with an amputated toe in a dog

One of my more popular posts is on the topic of toe amputations in dogs and cats.

Recently, one of my readers, Heather Z, posted a question about her lab's post-surgical toe issues that I thought was worth separating out as its own post.

Hi. We have a 111 lb black lab and just had his third (III) toe removed on the front right paw in the middle of October. He still walks with a limp and holds it up when he stands. We keep it wrapped in a sock with a cone on his head all day every day because he wants to lick it. When he goes out, we wrap it to keep it dry.

He has been on antibiotics and about the 2nd week it started to pus and the swelling of his fourth (IV) toe was still huge and didn't go away. Brough him in and they upped his antibiotic. Nothing was said if it was infected but that's what I think. We also put a drying solution mixed with water on it twice a day and blow dry it as recommended.

I'm just worried that something else could be wrong with swelling not going down still going on a month. It is a pain. I think we did the right thing but its just hard seeing him like this and there's no improvement with the swelling! Anybody know of this?

I passed the question on to Dr. Heather Carleton, one of Embrace's veterinary advisors and this is what she had to say in response:

My question would be why was it initailly amputated? Was is broken, arthritic, had a tumor, etc? If it was amputated because of a tumor, I would be concerned that there is recurrence. If not, I would have the foot x-rayed and make sure there is no bony involvement with the infection (i.e. with the bone above the ampuatation site). If there is, the area may need to be debrided. If it is just soft tissue that is infected, antibiotics should take care of it.

Heather Z's got back to me with an answer for Dr. Carleton:

We had it amputated because it had a hard tumor growing connected to the bone. We had it sent into the lab and it is benign. He has been on cephalaxin and ciprofloxacin, which did not work, and now we went to clindamycin. I took him in last Thursday and had the desolvable stitches they left in taken out. I started to cut them out and they took the rest out. Our vet says it should clear up and to call and talk to him Monday. Well, that is tomorrow and it is still swollen. He said the next thing will do is move up to a more expensive antibiotic that costs $100 bucks or so.

This is still really frustrating because it is not getting that much better and he still limps. I hope this next option he has in mind works or else the next move will be going somewhere else and getting a second opinion and probably an x-ray and possible debridement as you suggested.

Here's an update from Heather Z.

When I brought him in last Wednesday, the vet thought he was doing much better now that the desolveable stitches had been romoved and the swelling around the scar tissue started to heal better. I just don't get why they left them in there. I heard from other people that desolveable stitches can cause inflammation. I also think when they wrapped his foot postoperately with the sticky wrap they did it too tight and was supposed to remain that way for 7 days. I also talked to other people and they said that they rewrap and change around the 3rd day.

The vet said he looked like he was healing well and the inflammation of his big toe should not be a concern because it is part of his healing process. He is moving around better and the outside toe looks almost back to normal size but the middle toe is still very swollen but may have improved a tad since suture removal. I am supposed to check back with him in two weeks and keep giving him his clindomycin 4 pills twice/day.

So, somewhat better but he still has to have a cone on his head when we are gone and something on his foot so he doesn't lick it like mad. I left the house for an hour and he somehow pulled it off and yanked his booty off and was licking it till it bled. Uh. But that is how it is going so far. It is now one month and 1 day. Buddy is a crazy licker anyway and is always grooming. I just hope things start getting better faster!

Have you found yourself in this situation? Let us know what happened in the comments...

Related Posts:
Toe Amputations for Cats and Dogs
Ask Laura: the impact of toe amputation surgery
Ask Laura: dog weight bearing toe amputation appropriate or not?  
Ask Laura: infected ingrown toe nail on cat  
Ask Laura: to amputate or not to amputate the cat's toe, that is the question
Corns on a greyhound's toe: Dr Riggs discusses

A New Feature: The Embrace Orthopedic Waiting Period & Report Card

If you bought an Embrace dog insurance policy after the start of August 2009, you would have noticed a change to our policy's waiting period and a new Embrace form for the new orthopedic waiting period. [Sorry - it is a useful form :)]

What is all this about you ask?

First, let's back up a bit. Our old terms and conditions had a waiting period defined as:

14 days for accidents or illnesses except for cruciate injuries which is 6 months (paraphrased)

(The waiting period is the length of time you have to wait after you buy your insurance policy before your coverage kicks in.)  

Furthermore, under the old terms and conditions, you could reduce your cruciate waiting period to 14 days if your veterinarian examined your pet's knees and found them fit as a fiddle and faxed in to tell us so. Then we'd reduce the waiting period down to 14 days.

The new terms and conditions extend the cruciate waiting period to all orthopedic conditions for dogs as follows:

14 days for accidents or illnesses except for orthopedic conditions, which is 6 months.

For cats, it's just 14 days for accidents and illnesses - there's nothing different for orthopedic issues (cats just don't seem to have as many ortho issues as dogs - lucky cats!)

In a similar way to the previous terms and conditions, have your veterinarian examine your pet for orthopedic issues using the Canine Orthopedic Exam Report Card to document his or her findings and fax the result into Embrace. 

We have more details on the Canine Orthopedic Exam & Waiver Process page on the Embrace Pet Insurance website to answer your questions such as:

• what the process is to get the ortho exam done (use the new form!)
• when should you get the orthopedic examination done (any time after policy purchase), and
• what happens if an orthopedic issue should show up on the examination (the waiting period reduces down for the other orthopedic areas)  

Don't forget though - you must get the exam done after you have purchased your policy.

Questions?

Patellar Luxation Surgery: Destino, A Chihuahua Mix with Bilateral Luxating Patellas

You might not have imagined that jumping off the couch for a little dog could be the start of big knee issues but poor Destino was destined for 2 major knee surgeries before he reached the age of 4.

Patellar luxation is a slipping knee (the patella) that can move out of position too easily. It's measured in grades (grade 1 being the least problem, grad 4 being the worst) and is treated with pain medication in less severe cases and corrected with surgery for the higher grades. 

After Destino jumped off the couch one day, he started to limp a little and after a veterinary exam, his owners discovered he had a 3.5 grade out of 4 patellar luxation in his left knee as well as a grade 2 of 4 patellar luxation in the right knee. His pet parents had no idea.

Destino had two surgeries over 2 years and is now back to his old self.

Here's an example of the costs associated with the most recent surgery on the right knee performed in Parkland, Florida in January 2009.

ITEM	BILLED AMOUNT
Baytril 68mg Qty 7	$ 21.70
Clavamox 125mg Qty 14	$ 16.80
Tramadol 50mg  Qty 21	$ 21.00
Metacam 10ml	$ 26.50
CBC	$ 43.00
General Health Profile IH	$ 84.00
Electrocardiogram Pre-Anesthetic	$ 60.00
IV Catheter	$ 45.00
Fluid Intravenous per Day	$ 38.00
Infusion Pump daily	$    5.00
Anesthesia General	$   105.00
Anesthesia 1/2 hr	$ 50.00
Anesthesia Electronic Monitoring	$ 28.00
Buprinex Inj x4	$   108.00
Baytril Inj	$ 37.00
Hospitalization per night	$ 40.70
Daily Dr. Exam	$ 21.40
Metacam Inj	$ 36.00
Infectious Control Fee	$    5.00
E-Collar	$ 19.50
Surgery	$    1,100.00
	$    1,911.60

Destino's refund check was $1,463.04 after a $200 deductible and 10% copay (the Prescription Drugs & Dental Illness add-on was not chosen for Destino's policy) for a monthly premium of $24.76.

Related posts:
Guest post: A General Discussion of Orthopedic Issues in Dogs
Guest Post: Four Most Common Orthopedic Problems in Dogs
Top 10 ways to prevent orthopedic issues in dogs
How much did you say patella luxation cost to treat in my dog?

Top 10 ways to prevent orthopedic issues in dogs

I've done a lot of talking about orthopedic issues after the fact. Today I turn my attention to preventing orthopedic issues in dogs (cats seem to have far fewer issues with their bones than dogs):

1. Keep your dog nice and trim:
   Starting with the most obvious approach, slim dogs have fewer orthopedic issues. Excess weight can wear on cartilage, causing limping, pain, and worn joints. Find out from your veterinarian what your dog's ideal weight is, how many calories your dog should eat to keep to that weight, how often you should feed your dog, and in what form (not too many treats now!)
2. Exercise your dog in water:
   Another way to keep a dog's weight down is to exercise. Running and walking are all good but one excellent way to reduce exercise's burden on your dog's joints is exercising in water. The water's buoyancy supports and lessens stress on the joints, encourages freer movement and provides a safe environment for exercise. If you have access to an ocean, lake or river, make sure your dog feels safe in the water and is a comfortable swimmer first. You might want to start off in a kiddie paddling pool so your dog is nicely comfortable in water before larger and deeper bodies of water.
3. Feed your dog daily supplements:
   Some supplements such as methylsulfonylmethane, glucosamine hydrochloride, glucosamine sulfate, and glucosamine hydroiodide are thought to help joint health and perhaps prevent arthritis, which often occurs alongside other orthopedic issues. They come in pill form or are now being added to some dog foods.
4. Use elevated dog bowls for your dog's food and water:
   Dog bowls that are raised off the ground keep the spine aligned in a more natural manner, putting less stress on the vertebrae, leading to less wear and tear
5. Preventative acupuncture:
   An veterinary acupuncturist can find the weakest spot in your dog's ‘system’ and treat that before it gives clinical symptoms.
6. Good behavioral training:
   A well behaved dog that listens to commands and behaves well in public and among other dogs is much less likely to be in the position to have an accident, whether it be overly aggressive play leading to a cruciate ligament rupture or a car accident with multiple broken bones. I don't know how many times we've seen a dog park accident cause a tramatic hip dysplasia incident leading to surgery.
7. Preventative tests and examinations:
   Get your veterinarian to perform PennHip or OFA tests, as well as a thorough orthopedic examination to spot hip dysplasia, cruciate ligament tears, luxating patellas before they becomes a serious problem. Knowledge is the best weapon against serious disease and once you know if your dog is likely to have problems in the future, you can really focus on weight reduction, arthritis prevention through supplements, and appropriate exercise regimes
8. Surgery:
   Correcting conditions such as patella luxation can help reduce the likelihood of related conditions such as a cruciate ligament tear
9. No breeding:
   Do not breed a dog with hereditary orthopedic conditions such as patella luxation, hip dysplasia or osteochondritis dissecans. These conditions can be passed down through genes to their progeny perpetuating these serious canine health conditions,
   ...and finally...
10. Neuter at 6-months old and onwards:
    Some studies have shown a higher incidence of hip dyslasia and cruciate ligament tears with early-age neutering. As your veterinarian about the right time to neuter or spay your dog

Related Posts:
November is Orthopedic Month At Embrace Pet Insurance
Guest post: A General Discussion of Orthopedic Issues in Dogs
Guest Post: Four Most Common Orthopedic Problems in Dogs   

See this video of Rottweiler Lula working on her hips and back in a hydrotherapy tank...

Embrace pet: Tahlula, a seven year old rescued Rottweiler

For some blogging fun, we're going to highlight some of our staff pets. Today, we’re here with Tahlula, a seven year old Rottweiler, to talk about her life as an Embrace pet.

Q: Hello, Tahlula. Tell us a bit about yourself.
A: Hi, My name is Tahlula, but everyone calls me “Wu”.

Q: So, Wu, what do you like to do for fun?
A: I like naps in my little bed near the space heater, but when it’s warm outside, I prefer lounging outside in the sun, watching the birds in the garden.

Q: So you’re pretty laid back then?
A: Yes, sometimes my body is sore, so I like to nap more than most. I had to have surgery in both of my knees a few years ago when I tore my cruciate ligaments, whatever those are! Mom said that her $50 shelter dog ended up getting $4,000 bionic knees, but I feel much better with them. They still have some arthritis and I also have hip dysplasia, but I take pain relievers for that now, and it doesn’t bother me much. I guess it’s just part of being a senior Rottie.

Q: So you think that these issues are because you’re a Rottweiler?
A: Well, probably. My back pain is also part of being a big dog.

Q: Ow, a back problem?
A: My mom says it’s called IVDD. It means one of my discs slip and put pressure on my spinal cord, which is not only painful, but scary. The first time it happened, I couldn’t walk so well. I would fall over like a baby deer, but I didn’t even realize my legs weren’t working.

Q: What do you do when that happens?
A: My people give steroids, and they drove me to a vet’s office that gave me physical therapy in the underwater treadmill to help me walk again. I got to go every week for a long time! Everyone said that was much better than another surgery, and I agree. It’s on youtube if you want to see.

Q: So you liked therapy?
A: Yes-it helped me pump up my big muscles. Rottweilers look funny with little scrawny legs. Plus, I liked it when they used the blow dryer on me afterwards.

Q: How did the back injury happen?
It flares up if I get too excited and put strain on my neck. Like, a couple of weeks ago I saw a cute puppy on our walk, and we played, but then I was paying for it the next day. Mom says I can’t wear collars anymore-only harnesses, so I don’t strain.

Q: But otherwise you’re life is pretty normal?
A: Yep, it’s good. I can do most everything I want, including visit my friends at the Embrace office. They’re nice, and some of them share their lunches with me. But, that’s off the record, because I’m not supposed to tell my mom.

Q: You like to eat? What is your favorite food?
A: Oh yes! I love fruits and vegetables. My favorites are bananas and apples but most of all green tomatoes! Speaking of which, I should be going. I think I need to remind my mom that it’s almost time for dinner...

Thank you Wu for joining us today. I've got some noms at my desk when you come to visit - we won't tell mom :)