[Laura L]

I recently got insurance for my puppy and my 13 year old lab mix through Pet Plan. They do not cover pre existing conditions but i decided to go with it after last year when my dog (now deceased) had 2 bouts of pancreatitis and. Lymphoma and I did not have insurance. It was very expensive treating these issues so when I got my puppy I decided to insure them the puppy and my remaining old girl.The puppy’s premium is only around 20 dollars per month, and my old girl is much more expensive. Since I got the insurance my older has needed surgery and also had a shoulder injury so the insurance has paid for itself. When looking for an insurance company I looked for one that covers alternative therapies, medication and emergencies. I have a 200 dollar deductible per incident and then they cover 80%. My vet is great and they bill the insurance company and then I pay whatever balance .there is after they are reimbursed. There was a form I had to sign giving the insurance company permission to pay them directly. I really debated wether it was worth doing but then decided I never wanted finances to be part of a big decision on treatment for my girls. I did not go with a company that pays for preventive treatment such as vaccinations, exam etc.

[Laura L]

The vomiting started before I switched to the blue and continued while on the Blue for 1-2 days per month (april and may) before that she was on the Fromm which she tolerated for a long time before issues arose. Choices were so limited for large breed puppy food that I tried it and she seemed to do well except for the episodes of vomiting. I will look into the Nutrisource, Kenzie may like it better and eat better and then I wouldn’t have to worry about switching Libby when she is older.

[Laura L]

She is currently on Blue Wilderness chicken and rice large breed puppy food (since March or so).
I do feed them separately but my old girl has anxiety so I need to be around or she wont eat and she is also very picky so I pick her bowl up (she prefers to eat late so when Libby goes into the crate I put Kenzies food down but I am not always successful getting it picked up in time. I may also try to find something my old girl likes better so she will be a little more enthusiastic about eating. I am going to keep a diary for a while too and jot info down.

[Laura L]

Good info, thank you. The vet tonight said to try with the current food and take everything else away and add things one at a time over a period of time (after doing a bland diet and slowly adding her food in). Things get complicated as she is a typical lab and she will pounce into my older dogs bowl if she even lifts her head to look around (my 13 year old of course eats Natures Variety Beef). So many of the commercial foods have multiple protein sources so that is hard too.
Libby is at 63 pounds right now and looking good body scale wise, I think she has filled out some but she certainly doesn’t look overweight. I can’t wait to get her swimming so she will have more exercise.

[Laura L]

Hi Pitove, thank you for your help. I actually just had her to the vet as the vomiting increased today, in speaking with the vet I expressed concern over the apparent cyclical nature of the vomiting episodes and he indicated she could actually have a beef sensitivity and about a week after Heartgard she is having these episodes.
I started her on Fromm large breed puppy when I brought her home in August and and she was great for 5 months, she then got a very distinct odor (I could smell her all over the house) so I switched her to blue wilderness large breed puppy (chicken) and she has done well except for these 1x a month episodes. The odor was gone and stools were regular. A beef sensitivity makes sense, yesterday I cooked ground beef (I was thinking it was a chicken issue) and today she was worse. I will be seeing my regular vet on Thursday and will ask about an allergy panel.
I have been encouraged to switch to large breed adult to cut risk of too fast weight gain but am not comfortable with that so I am staying with large breed puppy.
Thank you for your help
Laura

[Laura L]

Thanks Susan, I have signed up for the dog pancreatitis group so hopefully will be able to access the site soon. I had my girl on a low fat food in an effort to lose weight and she did not get into anything she should not have prior to this attack so I am kind of perplexed on the trigger. The vet thought we could reevaluate in a week regarding diet but I don’t want to go back on previous food which was not a good food anyway (prescription weight loss). I hated to put her on it in the first place but weight loss was a priority at the time. We walk daily but with the below zero temps we have been having that has been difficult to do consistently in recent weeks. She has one speed and it is slow, never had an interest in any toys and would just look at me if I threw a ball as if to say “why did you do that”. The thing she has loved best is doing therapy work and I just retired her in December secondary to her joint issues. Has anyone had success feeding the Fromm weight management formula (gold line) or Wellness complete healthy weight. I am not sure of the balance of fat, protein and fiber I am looking for as I am in the research phase.

[Laura L]

My dog also has bouts of gulping and swallowing, I get funny looks when I describe episodes to the vet and he is convinced it is acid reflux. When MacKenzie starts one of these episodes she goes into a “blind panic” and will eat anything. She will lick dirt and hair from the floor, chew the curtains, eat socks, dried leaves and grass. She will eat anything she can get in her mouth and it is difficult to watch and stop. She also has bouts of vomiting around one time a month that is not related to gulping episodes (she generally will vomit after grazing but then it settles down). I have had some success using Prilosec or Pepcid. We recently started seeing a chiropractor and she always gulps or reverse sneezes when her jaw is being adjusted. I think episodes have decreased since starting the chiropractic treatments although I have noticed that during the night when she grooms herself it will often trigger an episode. Maybe the Prilosec with help Quincy, if I find anything else that works I will be sure to post.

[Laura L]

My dogs both had high PH and crystals and the vet put them on vitamin C, we started with one a day and moved to one in AM and one in PM. Most recent urinalysis was great and we are continuing the vit c. We did not change foods.

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