hi all im new here and joined because googling for answers almost always brought me here!

i have a german shepard bitch aged roughly 8 years old. she is a rescue dog and we dont know her exact age. a year ago we took her to the vet because she was a little stiff and struggled upstairs. the vet told us it might be hip dysplasia, and gave us some drugs.

we have pet insurance through tescos but it is due to be renewed on 9th august. the problem is the monthly payments have doubled. so i canceled with them and have decided to go else where. only trouble is her hips are really playing up (or at least i think its her hip) she is not putting any weight on the leg and is struggling badly. i am taking her to the vet this afternoon.

i never claimed on the tesco insurance as she didnt need a lot of treatment for her hips then. i dont know whether her hip condition would be covered by tesco insurance if i rang them back and tokd them i dont want to cancel.

are there any companies that will insure her and cover her hip dysplasia?

You can only talk to them and find out. The trouble with insurance as a whole they use discount methods to get you as a customer and then they double the premiums in the second year. If you opt out and join another insurance company you have to declare any previous claims. If this is an illness that may need treatment for a few years they may reject you. I'm afraid you need to do some research around insurance companies and find the best deal to suit you and your dog. This may mean a bit of time on the t'internet and on the phone.
Good luck

thank you. as i said in m first post i havent claimed anything before, as her hip problem wasnt too bad. does this mean that it can be treated as a new complaint even though i knew she had it before i took out the insurance?

Im afraid it is highly unlikely that you will find a company that will cover her hips now that it has gone down on her vet records


There are many natural remedies that can help with HD, it is worth doing a search or starting a thread over in helath and nutrition

wishing you the best


Vicki

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oh no my heart is actually breaking watching my baby hop along in agony. the silly doggy still wants to join in all the football and splashing in the pool, even though she cant walk. the idea that i will have to make decisions about her health based on price is so sad but who can afford thousands today?! im am very fearful that holly will have to have the cheaper care.

at the moment i am giving her glucosamine sulphate, cod liver oil and vetzime joint+. i am very much hoping her pain can be controlled with some slighty stronger pain relief.

Get your doggle swimming as much as possible to keep the supporting muscles nice and strong. Does anyone know if a raw diet would make a difference at this stage?
If the vet knows that her hips have started going and it's been noted on the records, then I'm afraid insurance companies will make hips an exemption...
Perhaps restrict access to going up and down stairs and try not to let her run on concrete too much.
It doesn't have to be the end of the world but you can always get another job if need be to cover vet costs.

Have you got any pictures of the girlie? I'm a sucker for a GSD (Not biased.. honest )

Our Gordon Setter has hip dysplasia and we've been told she will need two new hips by the time she's ten (she's 5 now). I'm afraid I can't be much help as my mother deals with it all, but just wanted to add that feeding raw could help, as well as adding apple cider vinegar as a supplement as it is great for their joints

Also, I may be wrong here, but I believe that feeding Fishy Body Oil (which you can get from Holland and Barratt - look for the cold marine fish bit on the back?) is much better for dogs than Cod Liver Oil. I think it's because CLO is much higher in Vitamin A and a few others and not so good for them. I'm sure somebody with greater knowledge on the subject will be along soon to help

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All of the above is great advice

thank you all for your wonderful adivce and care. been to the vet and she has torn a ligament in her back leg, due to walking on her toes because of the hip dysplasia. total toal rest for 6 weeks, which is completely and utterly impossible with my kids around. she wants to play in the garden and pool all the time. im hoping against hope that mother in law will have her for 6 weeks.

with the hip dysplasia, the vet was very good and explained that they dont do osteo there and she would need to be seen by someone else and we're looking at £5,000 for the op, and she explained that no insurer that she knows of will insure for the hip problem. so at the moment we're going for high strength anti inflamitories and lots of gentle exercise.

oncen again thank you so much for your advice and concern xx


okay how do i attach a photo?!?!?!

Ahhh well that's a better outcome for right now! Can you keep her occupied with lots of stuffed kongs and things? Do some mental training sessions to tire her brain out.

Just click the paper clip to the right of the [font] and [size] boxes above the reply box. Then click browse and attach from your computer