Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Friday Fuzz: Rocket and Rosie

2009-11-20T05:55:00-05:00

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

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

2009-11-19T06:21:00-05:00

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

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

2009-11-18T06:55:00-05:00

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

2009-11-17T09:04:00-05:00

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.

Top 10 ways to prevent orthopedic issues in dogs

2009-11-16T08:16:00-05:00

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):

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!)
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.
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.
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
Preventative acupuncture:
An veterinary acupuncturist can find the weakest spot in your dog's ‘system’ and treat that before it gives clinical symptoms.
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.
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
Surgery:
Correcting conditions such as patella luxation can help reduce the likelihood of related conditions such as a cruciate ligament tear
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...
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

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

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