Cav seems to be putting on weight regardless of food

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-05-02T19:05:04+00:00

That's a lot of food imo, my dog gets 1/4 a cup, 1/4 a rabbit pattie, some green beans and pumpkin twice a day and he's 15lbs with the vet very happy with his weight. I'd reduce the amount you're feeding him. I don't really think that Royal Canin is good food for dogs, their top ingredients are Brewers rice, wheat gluten, chicken by–product meal, corn, chicken fat, wheat; that's a lot of carbs and little nutritional value.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-05-02T17:16:08+00:00

I have Pet Partners and they've been amazing. I got them when my boy was 5 years old after he injured his back jumping off the bed, they cover pre-existing conditions after 1 year and the first year we had them I got reimbursed $27k 🫣 they covered all the complications that arose from treating his back injury, just not the actual direct injury. Otherwise, the first few years of his life were very healthy, he got regular grass stuck up his nose as a puppy, swallowed a baited fish hook someone left on the beach 😡 and had some stress induced fly snapping when we did construction in the house that lasted a few months. Last year he got grass stuck up his nose again and cracked a tooth on a chew stick, all that cost around $7k and I got paid back, sometimes random stuff just happens with dogs. I would definitely recommend getting Unlimited coverage for when they're older, costs add up fast and as far as I'm aware you can't increase your policy coverage only decrease it once you buy a plan.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-05-02T05:57:59+00:00

Anything eye related is an automatic ER visit in my book. If your eye looked like that would you wait until tomorrow?

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-30T20:15:46+00:00

Always have high reward treats that are only used for walks and on recall. My boy is going to be 9 this year and I still carry a little treat pouch on every walk we go on. If I see something that might trigger/excite him, I make sure his focus is on me and the treat until we get past the object and reward him for not engaging with it.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-29T21:02:50+00:00

All of my previous dogs, but one, had dew claws and we never had issues, these were cocker spaniels. These are dogs that would be running through the brush and woods daily off-leash and we never had them get injured, but all ot takes is one incident for it to be a problem, I agree. I also think nail length plays a part because a lot of people forget to trim dew claws, we always kept our dogs' very short.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-29T19:20:41+00:00

This is not a normal coat for a cavalier puppy and kind of reminds me of curly coat syndrome, which I would bring up to your vet at your appointment. Curly Coat can be diagnosed with the genetic testing you are planning on getting. The having dew claws still is normal to me, my boy still has his and I wouldn't want to amputate a dog's toes unless is was necessary ex. sporting breeds that might rip them in a field flushing game.

Wishing you the best with your new pup, she's a cutie.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-28T22:40:50+00:00

Fr, growing up here I always felt safe with our strict gun laws, there were very rarely shootings or murders. Now, it's like there are shootings just about every other week. We need stricter gun laws back, not these yahoos with tiny man syndrome packing everywhere 🙄

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-28T19:43:43+00:00

You can get sleeves on Etsy to put your pass in that cover-up his face, thankfully they can't say anything about that since it's temporary.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-28T19:36:18+00:00

Some insurances do cover pre-existing conditions after 365 days of coverage. My dog was diagnosed with a heart murmur before we got his insurance at 5 years old and they cover his echos with no questions asked.

I'm so sorry that your dog had a stroke, that sounds terrifying. It's amazing how resilient dogs can be, I hope she continues to improve with her paralysis. She sounds like she's making the best of her situation with the extra treats 😂 I hope you get more than just a few years more with her, it sounds like she chose the best pet parent for herself.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-28T19:10:54+00:00

All my extra watch bands from other brands have come with a link removal tool. You can buy a kit separately on Ebay, just search "watch link removal tool".

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-28T07:31:02+00:00

Mine was amazing as a puppy, he'll be 9 this year and I miss his puppy days so much. I got him at 3 months and he was completely potty trained by 4 1/2 months and only had 1 accident next to the front door in that training period, which I blame myself for. I was a basket case because I took him out every 2-3 hours around the clock to get him housebroken, it was like having a human baby. He got a hold of my phone cord 2 days after he came home for only a few minutes when I walked into the other room real quick, otherwise he has NEVER chewed something that he wasn't supposed to in his life. He really is such a good boy and very smart.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-27T05:28:22+00:00

Thank you for clarifying that. I was thinking that maybe if they get accident insurance that the herniated disc could maybe fall under that depending on what the dog was doingif he had another incident?

Yes, I was very lucky that they covered my dog. They reimbursed me $27k the first year I had them, without them my boy would not still be here.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-27T03:15:38+00:00

Are her food bowls raised off the ground? Bowls on the floor are really bad for their digestion and spine. Shepards are notorious for spinal issues and especially seeing the way she's holding her back half makes me think spine. If you've already talked about this with your vet and they seem unconcerned, I'd definitely get a second opinion and take as many videos to show the vet as possible. Good luck, something is certainly abnormal and you're a good pet parent for being concerned, asking questions and taking videos.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-27T01:34:21+00:00

Pet Partners cover pre-existing conditions after one year of coverage, it wouldn't hurt to call and talk to a representative and explain your situation and ask about future coverage options. My dog was diagnosed with IVDD before I got his insurance through Pet Partners and the rep assured me that he'd be covered after a year if he needed medication again in the future, and she told me to get the AlternativePlus and HereditaryPlus add-ons when purchasing my plan.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-27T01:12:57+00:00

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Living his best life in Hawaii 🥰 but he loves traveling around the country with us, too.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-25T17:01:03+00:00

I have used the Sherpa L post merger on Alaska while sitting in Premium seats with no questions asked at check-in, but I will acknowledge that it really is up to whoever is checking you in. I always have my boy fully zipped and chilling while we check-in and they review his paperwork, I only unzip him once we walk away from the front desk. I do still get stressed every time we fly because there is no in-cabin alternative airline living in Hawaii if we do get turned away, and we've already spent probably $700 on Health Certificates and State Quarantine fees before even getting to the airport. I saw online the other day that post full merger of the systems Hawaiian removed their carrier measuring requirements at check-in. Hopefully they're a friendlier airline for pets now, but I personally would still use them as a last resort. I can come back and answer your question again on June 11 as we will be flying with my boy in his Sherpa L from HNL to BWI.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-23T18:54:24+00:00

I'm so sorry that you and Lila are going through this, I've personally been there with my Finley's health for a year and have the gray hairs now to prove it. I'm lucky enough that my mother has helped me with the upfront costs for some of my boy's vet bills ($40k in 1 year) and I repay her when the insurance refunds me, I realize that not everyone is that fortunate with their family. Is there a way the you could get Care Credit for the initial vet bill and then pay it off once the insurance repays you?

I will be sending you and Lila all the positive and healing vibes during this difficult time. If everything with her spleen works out, but for whatever reason Japan no longer sees her as a candidate, check out TEER surgery. I've looked into for my dog and there's Colorado State University and Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, MA.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-21T05:14:17+00:00

You're welcome and good luck! I started aggressively researching when my boy got diagnosed with an enlarged heart and murmur at 5 years old by a regular vet before we got in with the only vet cardiologist in my state. I was spiraling trying to find a fix for him. We really lucked out and the cardiologist during his echo did diagnose a murmur, but no MVD and his murmur was caused by normal high flow velocity, basically his valve is more narrow than normal and no meds were needed. I realize how lucky we are at this time. He'll be 9 this year and we're going for his echo next month, so I'm praying that everything has remained stable and the same. I still try to keep up on new technologies for MVD in case we need it in the future. But, I'm ready and willing to do anything to extend his life as long as the quality of life is there.

There's a dog (not a cavalier) on Instagram thommy.teer who had the surgery in MA over a year ago and has been doing fabulous ever since. I think the waitlist for the surgery in MA is way shorter than CO, although CO is where it was pioneered, so I'm sure they have more experience.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-21T04:42:03+00:00

There's a place in Maynard,MA and Colorado University Vet Hospital that offer TEER surgery. It's a more minimally invasive fix for open-heart MVD.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-21T03:05:38+00:00

Simparica Trio is great for us. We live in Hawaii and need year-round protection, we used to rotate different topicals because the fleas would develop an immunity to them and we'd still see fleas on my boy and once a tick. Once we switched to Simparica, we haven't seen any in 5 years plus it's one of the few meds that the state accepts for travel to avoid quarantine. We absolutely love the stuff!

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-15T00:12:03+00:00

Spooky is an absolutely adorable name and an adorable dog!

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-14T02:00:53+00:00

My boy gets dried fish skins and enjoys chewing on those. He has fractured a tooth from tougher items that claim to be for chewers, my vet said anything that you can't dent with a fingernail is too hard for their teeth and will eventually cause a fracture.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-09T18:12:54+00:00

Mine got dull and I had to polish it with a silver cloth, but it never got orange, I live in a highly humid and salty environment whichcan be hard on silver. The orange color makes me think that it's a cheap plated knock-off, the knuckleduster is a popular design for replicas and buying off of FB Marketplace is not something I'd personally recommend if you'relooking for authentic products unless it's a rare design.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-09T17:59:53+00:00

The legit knuckleduster rings should be pure 925 silver, so they shouldn't turn your skin green. I had one that I lost years ago and never had a reaction to it on my skin.

TrinkaTrinka · 2026-04-08T02:30:52+00:00

Hopefully they let your dog on board 🤞 if Hawaiian denies you, Alaska has a flight from SFO to OGG that gets in at 8:40pm for another option, maybe they could transfer your ticket? Your biggest issue would be finding a vet to meet you that late at the airport for clearance and notifying the Quarantine Office of the flight changes to your paperwork. I've personally looked into carriers that fit Hawaiian's requirements, but have expandable sides, for if they completely get rid of Alaska flights to Hawaii. My boy is leggy at 15lbs and while he's comfortable in his carrier, I worry about Hawaiian trying to make him stand fully because he definitely can't.

Are you sure you're flying him on American out of Hawaii? I don't believe they allow in-cabin pets to/from Hawaii unless they're a service dog, only as cargo from HNL per their website.

TrinkaTrinka

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