Does anyone else have a dog with weak claws?

blue_monkey_2

Thanks FF, I did look on the site and I am now signed up (hope it is the right one though) but it seems to be mainly Americans? Some of the foods mentioned are not available here and I just wanted to switch to something non-allergenic and because it was the day after her op, I only bought a couple of small bags for skin conditions and then came on here to ask. There are so many out there. I did not just want to get Hills because it was all the vet had, I wanted to be sure, it is not Prescription Diet so this is why I wanted to check and I know everyone on here knows a lot about foods. A girl in the store told me that Purina was all her dog with skin conditions could eat. I guess all dogs are going to be different , did not want to keep on swapping and changing.

I called the Insurance company today and asked for another form and also found out the vet have sent her last form off as seperate claims so I have had 4 excesses to pay (£360). Well. I am not happy so I'll be gunning for them when I get the next form to hand in. After the 2nd one I said to them it must be something else and could they run tests, they said they would do tests and they never did, after the 4th I mentioned auto-immune and they said it was not possible. Hmmmm. The Ins company said if the vets send them a letter saying all conditions are related they will refund me the excesses so that is good, however, not happy that the vet filled the last claim form in (May) saying that she got it because she runs around too much because why on earth would they have been sending nails off for tests if this was the case? She doesn't even like going on a walks, let alone running around too much and she is always on lead because her recall is pants. I specifically told them I wanted it as a continuation claim bcause she quite clearly had a problem.

I am hoping that meds might change her stubbon mindset. Or am I hoping for too much, LOL. Figured she might be miserable having this condition, when I get her lead she goes off and hides as she hates going for walks. I feel awful that I've been dragging her around on walks for hours at a time when she is in pain from her nails. Poor girl.

Fire_Fox

blue_monkey wrote: »

Thanks FF, I did look on the site and I am now signed up (hope it is the right one though) but it seems to be mainly Americans? Some of the foods mentioned are not available here and I just wanted to switch to something non-allergenic and because it was the day after her op, I only bought a couple of small bags for skin conditions and then came on here to ask. There are so many out there. I did not just want to get Hills because it was all the vet had, I wanted to be sure, it is not Prescription Diet so this is why I wanted to check and I know everyone on here knows a lot about foods. A girl in the store told me that Purina was all her dog with skin conditions could eat. I guess all dogs are going to be different , did not want to keep on swapping and changing.

I called the Insurance company today and asked for another form and also found out the vet have sent her last form off as seperate claims so I have had 4 excesses to pay (£360). Well. I am not happy so I'll be gunning for them when I get the next form to hand in. After the 2nd one I said to them it must be something else and could they run tests, they said they would do tests and they never did, after the 4th I mentioned auto-immune and they said it was not possible. Hmmmm. The Ins company said if the vets send them a letter saying all conditions are related they will refund me the excesses so that is good, however, not happy that the vet filled the last claim form in (May) saying that she got it because she runs around too much because why on earth would they have been sending nails off for tests if this was the case? She doesn't even like going on a walks, let alone running around too much and she is always on lead because her recall is pants. I specifically told them I wanted it as a continuation claim bcause she quite clearly had a problem.

I am hoping that meds might change her stubbon mindset. Or am I hoping for too much, LOL. Figured she might be miserable having this condition, when I get her lead she goes off and hides as she hates going for walks. I feel awful that I've been dragging her around on walks for hours at a time when she is in pain from her nails. Poor girl.

Try not to beat yourself up, you have been as responsible an owner as any dog could want. :grouphug: I work in (human) physical activity and we get clients with auto-immune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, who have to balance the negatives of pain with the health benefits associated with exercise. Humans and dogs are evolved to move - for humans walking 10,000 steps a day at any pace massively reduces the risk of a raft of lifestyle health conditions. Dogs suffer from many of those conditions too.

Once you have a firm diagnosis, I would write a polite but strongly worded letter to the practice manager at your vets expressing your concerns - not complaining as such. Point out your dog is insured, you suggested a possible condition, you asked for tests which were not done, the dog has been in pain and the condition may have worsened while they faffed. I think you should be offered a year's supply of Hills food free as an apology, tho obviously let them offer recompense. If you don't get satisfaction, move to another surgery and threaten to lodge a formal complaint with the RCVS.

If you can get confirmation from the Yahoo group of exactly which ingredients in dog food need to be avoided, I am sure someone on here can help with UK brands. Do ask them about fish body oils - the long chain omega-3 it contains is anti-inflammatory and effectively treats skin allergies and hayfever in humans. Do you want a wet food, dry or both? In general dry foods have far more ingredients than wet, so it can be harder to avoid allergens. One option that you might not have considered is a raw (BARF) diet - you can buy it ready made or prepare your own, which is surprisingly easy if you have freezer space. For commercial wet food you might consider Chappie which is very MSE and hypo-allergenic IIRC.

bagginslover

I am so sorry that it looks likr your dog has SLO I really hoped it wouldn't be that.

The yahoo group is populated by mostly american members, but thereare some highly knowledgeable people on there, and they will all help you as much as they possibly can with info and advice. I beleive there is a SLO expert in the UK that they can put you in touch with, look through the old posts and see if her details are still there.

Chappie is wheat and dairy free-I feed the dried variety, its super MSE, and my dog loves it (we can even use it as treats for training he likes it that much!).

renegade

My dogs also had started to chew his nails and actually pulled 2 of them out, I was worried sick so I had a look on on this site(not this thread) and it was suggested that he needs his anal glands cleaning out, had this done by my groomer at a cost of £5 and no problem since! He is 11 years old by the way don't know if that makes a difference, but it may be something you could try if it has not already been done.

blue_monkey_2

Thanks for posting r, no the vets has said it is a problem already, that the nails are brittle, not shiny and seem to separate from the nail bed easily. She has learnt to get around on 3 legs quite quickly, holding the offending paw in a 'look at my poor foot' kind of way, LOL, and we are back to the vets tomorrow.

Going to give Chappie a try, I signed up to Amazon Prime trial and decided to carry it forward so I'll have the food the next day, I'll order it for Monday, only £16 for a 15kg bag on there. That IS cheap and I am used to paying £40 for a 15kg bag of Burns. Wow. They are on dried foods but for that price I will get it and give it a go. Always felt I should be buying the more expensive foods.

baggins, do you have the same issue with nails? Do they have outbreaks rather than having it all the time and the meds stabilise it? I'll go through the SLO board later on tonight and read some more, I have wasted all of today doing nowt, I hate it when I have days like that but I couldn't get motivated for some reason.

blue_monkey_2

Hi all, I thought I would update with what is happening, My dog got diagnosed with SLE a few weeks back - Systemic lupus erythematosus

She has a supplement and some strong steroids for it, her bloods were done and she is fine with those but since starting the medicines she has been very tired and lethargic and is drinking and so weeing a lot. They said they would blast her with the steriods and see how things go. The place that tested her actually had no other cases of SLE in dogs to compare her against because it is so rare (I am told).

So it is trial and error now, she cannot have the steroids long term as she could get Cushings instead.

Bloody insurance company are arsing about with the claim as well and, despite the vet telling them otherwise (I have the paperwork) they had processed each op as a separate case. Headache.

I thought I would let you know, thanks all for pointing me in the right direction, at least we got there in the end and we can look after her now. I;ve stopped walking her though, she really does not like going, we have a big garden and with her nails breaking off it is obviously causing her pain. I;ve changed her food to Chappie as well.