Embrace Pet Insurance Blog

Guest Post: Allergy Questions with Dr Patrick Mahaney

2012-05-17T22:32:55-04:00

As we continue with our focus on allergies this month at Embrace Pet Insurance, I chat with Dr Patrick Mahaney about allergies and your questions for him on the topic.

Carl: Our dog, Sammy, licks and chews his feet regularly and occasionally has bacterial sores on his belly. We've given him Benadryl for the licking and chewing and Vet prescribed antibiotic for the sores. We've been told he has allergies. We keep treating these issues but they keep reoccurring. How would we find out what allergies he has?

Caroline: At what stage do you suspect a yeast infection over allergies, because aren't the symptoms very similar?

Linda: What would cause a 5 year old lab to suddenly develop allergies and how do you determine
what he is allergic to?

Laura: are there certain types of dogs and cats that are more prone to allergies?

The answers to these questions and more are discussed in the audio below

Laura Bennett & Dr Patrick Mahaney Allergies Q&A

The omega-3 fatty acid supplement mentioned is made by Nordic Naturals. Do you have more questions on allergies for Dr Patrick? Post in the comments and I'll get some answers for you.

Claim example: a rather expensive Labrador

2012-05-14T11:20:27-04:00

The Labrador Retriever is the most popular purebred dog in the US but if you are at all familiar with them, you know they can get up to a lot of trouble and have all sorts of health issues as well.

Danno, a 2 year old Labrador living in Menlo Park, CA is a prime example. He has allergies, elbow dysplasia, and tends to eat what he should not, totaling $16,000 of claims in his young life - wow!

We cover a lot of Labradors with allergies. For Danno, just the allergy costs alone total more than $5,800.

Vet Visit	Condition	Claimed	Paid
4/9/2010	Suspect Panosteitis	90.15	0.00
5/11/2010	Staph Pyoderma	223.35	49.08
4/19/2010	Panostetitis, Allergies, Atopy	206.50	165.20
6/11/2010	Allergic Dermatitis	410.18	148.80
6/11/2010	Panosteitis Right Proximal Ulna	124.30	99.44
7/9/2010	Allergic Dermatitis, demodex	378.51	215.68
8/3/2010	Drug: Ivermectin for Demodicosis	15.00	12.00
8/6/2010	Elbow Degenerative Joint Disease	901.86	721.49
8/7/2010	Dysplasia	4,869.10	3,698.68
9/3/2010	Potential Obstruction & Gastroenteritis	1,154.46	747.57
9/14/2010	Allergy, Demodex, Otitis Externa	362.10	236.80
9/30/2010	Food Allergy, Possible Atopy	158.18	0.00
9/29/2010	Bilateral Dysplasia & Swallowed Sock	190.50	152.40
11/11/2010	Food Allergy, Atopy	440.63	151.48
11/12/2010	Bilateral Elbow Dysplasia	256.00	204.80
11/22/2010	Bilateral Elbow Dysplasia	215.30	99.84
1/3/2011	Bilateral Elbow Dysplasia	236.00	188.80
2/11/2011	Atopy, Food Allergy	368.27	0.00
3/14/2011	Allergies / Inflammation	191.70	123.44
3/22/2011	Bilateral Elbow Arthrosis	251.00	200.80
5/1/2011	Allergies	61.50	49.20
6/6/2011	Allergies	429.16	26.88
6/13/2011	Foreign Body Ingestion	203.50	120.40
6/28/2011	Atopy, Otitis Externa	306.25	245.00
6/27/2011	Elbow Dysplasia	130.20	104.16
7/18/2011	Elbow Dysplasia	341.00	272.80
7/21/2011	Allergies	145.50	116.40
8/1/2011	Histiocytoma	120.75	96.60
8/26/2011	Atopy / food Allergy	1,220.94	663.20
9/6/2011	Elbow dysplasia	130.20	104.16
11/30/2011	Elbow dysplasia	341.00	272.80
11/4/2011	Food allergy	467.11	232.80
11/8/2011	Elbow dysplasia	164.45	104.16
12/20/2011	Food allergy	434.69	219.60
1/12/2012	Elbow dysplasia	174.58	104.16
2/24/2012	Foreign material ingestion	241.50	33.20
		15,955.42	9,981.82

Danno's Embrace Pet Insurance policy has a $200 annual deductible, $10,000 annual maximum, 80% reimbursement and prescription drug coverage, all for just under $51 a month.

Pet Food Recalls: where to find information

2012-05-12T07:28:55-04:00

The pet food recalls continue and another two people have become sick from the salmonella contiminating their pet's food making that 16 people. No-one knows how many pets have been affected [update: 2 cats in a Canadian shelter are known to have died after being fed Diamond Naturals cat food]. I thought I should alert you to the details of the recall in case it affects you or other pet lovers you know.

If you are just catching up on the news, there have been numerous pet food recalls over the last couple of weeks. The recalls are due to a potential Salmonella contamination and involve many brands of dry dog food manufactured at a Gaston, S.C., plant operated by Diamond Pet Foods of Meta, Mo.

Here's a current list of brands involved in the recall:

[list updated May 21, 2012]

If you use any of the above brands, please use the link for brand-specific recall information from the FDA, including production codes and expiration dates. If you have been feeding your dog or cat recalled food, stop use immediately and consult your veterinarian and doctor.

Since the recalls are being updated frequently, check the FDA website frequently for new recall updates here and click on the Animal Health tab to narrow the recalls to pet-related issues.

Salmonella in Dogs

Symptoms may include decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans.

Salmonella in Humans

Individuals handling dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.

If you would be so kind as to share this post with your friends and family who have pets, I would be very grateful.

Be well,

Laura Bennett, your Chief Embracer

Claim Example: Pugsly the Bulldog with allergies

2012-05-07T16:07:58-04:00

Poor Pugsly. As long as we've known him, he's suffered multiple ear and skin infections over the years; a classic sign of allergies in a dog. If you have a Bulldog, you likely aren't surprised as Bulldogs are certainly prone to allergies more than some other breeds.

Some pet insurers consider allergies hereditary conditions and do not cover them. Obviously Embrace does cover them.

Here are his Embrace Pet Insurance claims since 2007:

Vet Visit	Status	Diagnosis	Vet Bill	Covered Amount	Paid Amount
2/12/2007	Paid	Allergies	412.48	412.48	250.06
3/10/2007	Paid	Allergy treatment	202.79	202.79	182.51
12/6/2007	Deduct	Allergy	24.52	24.52	0.00
11/21/2007	Paid	Immunotherapy	147.00	147.00	132.30
3/1/2008	Deduct	Allergies	175.65	136.65	0.00
3/12/2008	Paid	Allergies	147.20	119.20	72.33
4/1/2008	Paid	Allergy treatment	170.30	102.30	92.07
6/23/2008	Paid	Otitis externa	258.05	167.05	150.34
1/7/2009	Deduct	Otitis externa	91.00	91.00	0.00
1/4/2011	Deduct	Otitis Externa	59.86	59.86	0.00
1/5/2011	Deduct	Otitis Externa	43.41	43.41	0.00
9/28/2011	Paid	Otitis and Dermatitis	118.22	118.22	19.34
			1,850.48	1,624.48	898.95

The claims cross 6 policy terms so the annual deductible of $200 applies every year but Pugsly also had some other claims as well. Pugsly has a 90% reimbursement rate.

FYI, the items that weren't covered were non-medical charges for turkey patties and mineral soap. Lucky Pugsly!

Guest Post: top 4 signs of pet allergies

2012-05-03T09:31:00-04:00

Achoo! Yes, it is allergy season and our theme this month is allergies. Dr Riggs goes over the reasons why allergies look different in dogs and cats than they do in humans and the most common signs that your dog (and cat) has allergies.

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Boy…is it allergy season again in Ohio! It seems like this has been the worst season in years. Could be due to the fact we had such a warm winter and spring. I am sure there are many of you that have used your quota of Allegra, Zyrtec or the plethora of other antihistamines available. Animals are suffering through their allergies too. In fact animals have allergies to the same pollens that we do; the difference is that we most often have respiratory signs, such as sneezing and watery eyes, where dogs and cats have problems with their skin.

A very important difference to remember is the fact is that our allergies are caused mostly due to histamine release and which is NOT true of animals. Animals’ allergies are mediated by other chemicals. That is why antihistamines are so effective for our allergies but only effective in animals, 10 -30 % of the time.

So what is an allergy? It is the body’s exaggerated response to something it sees as foreign. Many people think allergies happen when the immune system is down, but it is just the opposite. Allergies form when an animal is exposed to some protein (an allergen) and the body produces specific cells called helper t cells. These t cells wait for the invader to come again, (which with pollens happens seasonally) and when it does….POW…allergic signs. It normally takes at least 2 years for the animal to develop, or become sensitive to the specific pollen allergen, then when it does, then animal develops seasonal allergies.

Now that we know all about the cause of allergies, what are the signs in our pets? So…..here is my list on the 4 most common signs, I see when your pet develops allergies.

Ear infections:
We see a lot of ear infections. What is an ear, but a tube of skin stuck to the side of a head. Ear infections in dogs are almost always the result of an allergy. The skin on the inside of the ear becomes inflamed and swollen and that shuts off the air coming into the canal and it makes a magic environment for yeast and bacteria to grow.
Licking the paws:
A very common symptom of dogs, especially in small dogs, is licking their feet. How many of you have been wakened by the disgusting, slurping sound of your dog gnawing on his/her feet. Why the feet? They have direct contact with the ground where the pollens are, so there is often more inflammation there. And also, I think they are just easier to get to then any other part of the body.
Skin infections:
There is normally a number of bacteria and yeast cells that take up residence on the skin. They live happily in balance, until something disrupts them. A dog chewing or scratching will do the job. We often see staph infections, especially in the lower belly area. Dogs must have a minimum 3 weeks of antibiotics, because dogs’ skin cells turn over every 3 weeks, so if used less then 3 weeks, it will reoccur…guaranteed. Very commonly dogs will develop secondary yeast infections, which if not treated, are often mistaken for inhalant allergies. I see a lot of “allergic dogs” become symptom free after properly being treated for yeast.
Diarrhea and vomiting:
Just as in people, pets can become intolerant or allergic, to a specific protein in the food. When this happens, they can show skin signs and/or gastrointestinal problems. There is a huge amount of misinformation out there regarding food allergies, pet foods and how to treat them. Right off the bat, there is no quick and easy way to diagnose food allergies. No blood test is reliable in detecting the causative protein. The only way to diagnose is to perform a food trial with a food with a single protein, which the dog has never been exposed to and one carbohydrate. Often people run to the local pet store to find a hypoallergenic diet. You will find many the make that claim but unfortunately there are no true hypoallergenic diets sold at pet stores. The quality control of the companies making the foods is lacking. Many companies do not even make their own food. A study was performed by Dr Raditic and associates (Raditic DM, Remillard RL, Tater KC. "ELISA testing for common food antigens in four dry dog foods used in dietary elimination trials." Journal Animal Physiology Animal Nutrition. October 2010). They analyzed four popular novel protein diets bought from a pet store, to see if they were contaminated with other proteins than the one listed on the label. All the diets had other meats and proteins present, therefore making the food worthless for allergy food trials. To rule our food allergies, a prescription diet is needed and the food trial can take up to 16 weeks. The proteins that cause allergies most commonly are beef, dairy and chicken, including eggs. Interestingly enough, grains are not a common cause of food allergies. Less then 1% of dogs have intolerance or allergies to grains. High protein low grain diets are the latest fad in pet foods. It is probably a result of the recent increase in people being diagnosed with gluten intolerance Dogs and cats are not humans.

Finally, if you so suspect an allergy of any kind in your pet, please consult with your veterinarian to see how you can discover and manage your pet's condition effectively.

Do you think your dog has allergies after reading this?

Other posts by Dr Riggs
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Dr. Rex Riggs grew up in Wadsworth, Ohio, near Akron. Dr Riggs is co-owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is also on the board of the North Central Region of Canine Companions of Independence, a board member of The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Society and Small Animal Practitioner Advancement Board at The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Riggs lives in Lewis Center, OH with his wife Nancy, their dogs Maggie and Ossa, and cat Franklin. Outside of work, Dr. Riggs is an avid golfer and cyclist, and enjoys travel and photography.