Westie x Poodle with skin condition - insurance

Nikkita

Hi,

Me and my husband have within the last 2 weeks taken on our mother in laws Westie cross Poodle and all he does is itch - we know he has dry skin and a skin condition which is common with his breed.

He went to the groomers yesterday and since then his tummy is all red when he scratches and he keeps making himself bleed, he is booked to go to the vets on Saturday to get checked over if he doesn't improve in the meanttime

I need to obtain Pet Insurance for him so presume I need to disclose this even though a claim for his condition has never been made in the past? As any treatment he has had has been below the excess (he's just needed shampoo in the past)

Thanks

Red-Squirrel_2

Yes, it needs to be declared. Its a health problem and you are aware of it so not to would be insurance fraud I'm afraid. Most policies have an exclusion period anyway so you wouldn't be able to claim for this.

As well as taking him to the vet though, try adding a spoon of natural yoghurt to his food. Someone on here recommended that and I've been doing it since with my old dog with scabby skin. Its not a cure but it has made a difference.

LusciousLuce

You say a claim has never been made for him in the past - is he already insured then? If so, can you not maintain this cover? Any other insurer, or new policy with the same insurer, will exclude anything related to skin, and he's likely to need treatment for the rest of his life. I'm not sure how strict all insurance companies are about what is disclosed at the time of inception, but any claim you make will require a full clinical history so if it's been noted by your vet the insurance company will see that when assessing your claim.

However, if you don't disclose a condition at the time of inception and the insurance company use that reason to decline a claim for an unrelated condition, I'm fairly sure FOS would overrule them, so I doubt any insurance company would risk it.

krlyr

As the other replies have said, yes, it will be considered a pre-existing condition. There are a couple of insurers who will cover pre-existing conditions if the pet has been symptom and treatment free for a period of time though - usually 2 years. Vetsmedicover are one I know of, but there are some others.

Just wanted to add that Westies prone to allergies - have you tried an exclusion diet at all? I would be tempted to move to a raw diet, introducing one protein at a time, if that's something you would consider - or if not, a grain-free single protein dry food (e.g. fish & potato).

Scottie_dog

What are you feeding the dog on? I have a Scottish terrier with very sensitive skin and stomach issues. He does very well on Lily's kitchen dry senior dog food. I would highly recommend it. I did try my dog on raw for a while but it didn't agree with his sensitive tum.

JIL

I have a westie poodle cross, she has a brownish stripe down her back and this fur is very different from the rest of her fur and the skin can get quite dry underneath. Apart from that she doesn't usually suffer from skin conditions. However I am also careful with dog shampoo, is it worth rewashing him using a sensitive skin product? Like humans sometimes the shampoo we use can cause problems.

I use fish oil capsules,they seem to do the trick. There is also a good food brand "fish for dogs" that is recommended for westies and poodles.

Hope you can work something out.

Frezka

I think you'd better go to the vet. I have a poodle Axel. I know how difficult it is to maintain the coat and the skin of the pet in good condition. He often has knots in his coat. Recently I found a good article on the Internet, I think that you will also be interested in reading mypoodle.info/your-poodle-bathing/brushing-and-drying . You need to ask the veterinarian what cosmetics you need to use to care for your pet's skin. I hope you will soon solve this problem.

unholyangel

OP if you haven't already, try putting coconut oil on his skin where its irritated and changing his diet to perhaps tuna steaks, chicken breast or pork loin (can put rice & peas/carrots in it if you want). Doesn't have to be fresh, frozen will do.

We went through years of problems with our westie. She would itch and then bite/scratch at the itch until she was red raw - made worse by yeast from her saliva working its way in where she had broken the skin by biting/scratching. It got progressively worse until her skin was turning black and looked truly horrific.

Anyway....wipes & shampoo from vets at £50-60 a pop didn't help but coconut oil and a strict diet did. She actually hasn't had any skin issues since and thats been nearly 2 years now

krlyr

unholyangel wrote: »

OP if you haven't already, try putting coconut oil on his skin where its irritated and changing his diet to perhaps tuna steaks, chicken breast or pork loin (can put rice & peas/carrots in it if you want). Doesn't have to be fresh, frozen will do.

A raw diet needs to be balanced - feeding these things alone may help where allergies are present, but won't provide a balanced diet long-term. I would suggest to OP researching raw diet if they want to go down that route.

unholyangel

krlyr wrote: »

A raw diet needs to be balanced - feeding these things alone may help where allergies are present, but won't provide a balanced diet long-term. I would suggest to OP researching raw diet if they want to go down that route.

Who said anything about raw?

Westie_Fan

Royal Canin WHTW food has done wonders with my westie's itching - I really think diet is the place to start. A steroid-based shampoo from the vet might give some relief in the short term.