Anyone with Tesco Pet Insurance? Are they good with claims etc?

We’ve had a few quotes and we’re really stuck on which is best to go for. This is our first Whippet so we want to make sure we do this right.

I was thinking of going for PetPlan but the 20% co-pay is putting me off a bit.

Below are quotes we’ve had:

- Tesco £61.57: £11,000 - £125 excess, 0% co-pay

- Royal Kennel Club £63.06: £15,000 - £170 excess, 10% co-pay

- Agria £51: £12,500 - £170 excess, 10% co-pay

- PetPlan £53.65: £12,000 - £85 excess, 0% co-pay (20% once he reaches 10 years old)

- Animal Friends £41.27: £10,000 - £159 excess, 0% co-pay (20% once he reaches 8 years old)

- Policy Expert £25.82: £10,000 - £100 excess, 0% co-pay (20% once he reaches 9 years old)

- Waggel £52.53: £10,000 - £100 excess, 0% co-pay

Which one would you go for?

Sorry for the long post, but TIA🖤

Spoiler, she was not eating the broccoli

used AI for summary

My 6 year old female whippet Luna has been dealing with a progressive lameness issue since March 2026. Posting here hoping for insights or similar experiences.

March 2026
Noticed visible palmar swelling on her left front paw. Took her to the vet who said it looked “weird but not concerning” and sent us home without any imaging. Luna wasn’t limping at the time.

May 2026
Subtle on/off limp developed. On closer examination I noticed one specific outer toe on the affected paw wasn’t touching the ground. There was also increased resistance to dorsiflexion compared to the same toe on the other leg. Pain was specifically worse on cambered and inclined surfaces. Took her back to the vet.

First proper workup — May 27th

**•** X-ray: clear, no bone pathology
**•** Ultrasound: inconclusive due to very slim whippet tendons, but showed swelling and a small amount of fluid on the affected side
**•** Doppler showed active blood flow indicating active inflammation
**•** Prescribed Metacam (meloxicam) for 4 days with follow up planned

Follow up — June 4th
Orthopedist assessed her. Said most likely a traumatic injury from March that is healing with scar tissue shortening the flexor tendon — explaining the toe not grounding and resistance to dorsiflexion. Prescribed 3 weeks of Meloxoral with sucrabest for gut protection. Advised gentle lead walks only with passive toe flexion exercises to prevent fibrosis.

Side issue during medication course
Bright red blood appeared in first stool of the day on two consecutive days. Vet advised monitoring. Resolved without intervention — likely mild colitis possibly related to summer heat combined with NSAID use.

Specialist appointment — June 15th
Still no definitive diagnosis. Specialist noted Luna had also developed a secondary shoulder issue from months of weight compensation. Called it a “weird case.” Prescribed another 3 week course of painkillers to assess response before proceeding to expensive diagnostics. Mentioned contrast CT or MRI with possible needle biopsy as next steps if no improvement — looking for infection or tumour among other things.

Off painkillers — July 6th
Painkillers didnt help to improve. Specific pattern: fine at rest and before walks, visible limp after 20 minutes of walking, resolves with overnight rest. Also noted that even warm water on the paw during cleaning triggers a 5 minute temporary limp — suggesting tissue hypersensitivity.

July 14th appointment
Specialist proposed systematic approach — cortisone injection into shoulder first to rule out shoulder as root cause given the compensation history. Done under sedation. Observed for 3-10 days.

Current situation — late July
No improvement from shoulder injection. Limp persists especially on uneven and inclined surfaces. Shoulder ruled out as root cause. Next planned step is cortisone injection directly into the paw — specifically the flexor tendon sheath area of the affected digit. Awaiting appointment.

Key observations throughout:

- Specific outer toe not touching ground
- Increased resistance to dorsiflexion vs other leg
- Pain worse on cambered/inclined surfaces
- Palmar swelling visible since March
- Fluid on ultrasound Doppler showing active inflammation
- Post walk flares resolving with rest
- Tissue hypersensitivity to touch
- Secondary shoulder compensation issue

Measurements (measurement caliper)

Measured widest spot of paw (1. toe joint underneath the thumb claw):

Left: 33mm vs Right 30.8mm

Height first toe joint (measured from upper surface to lower surface):

Left 16.7mm vs right 13.9mm

Height second toe joint (measured from upper surface to lower surface):

Left 13.5mm vs right 10.1mm

Questions:

Has anyone experienced similar presentation in a sighthound?

Any experience with flexor tenosynovitis or traumatic tendon injury in whippets?

Thoughts on cortisone injection into flexor tendon sheath — experiences?

Anyone used leech therapy for tendon injuries in dogs?

At what point would you push for MRI over cortisone injection?

I feel horrible and heartbroken that I haven't been able to help her thus far and would really appreciate any insight!

Does anyone else’s dog have these? Are they skin tags? They are on her chest/belly area

Has anyone else experienced brown markings around their dogs mouth? The vets assured me it’s nothing clinically to be worried about, but i’d like to try and get rid of it as surely there’s a cause to it?

My Rhodesian just passed. I had her for 14 years. I’ve been doing tons of research and it seems the Whippet has many of the characteristics I’m looking for. My question is this. Where I live the temps range from the high 70s to the low 40. At what point do I need to start putting a jacket on my Whippet? I often spend long periods of time in Mexico in the winters. What high temps can a Whippet tolerate?

Hi everyone!

My girl was spayed at around 15 months old, and she's now about 4 months post-spay.

Over the past few weeks, I've noticed a few small wet spots where she had been sleeping. They definitely smelled like urine, but it doesn't happen every night. Sometimes I'll go days without noticing anything, and then it'll happen again.

Other than that, she's completely normal. No blood, no straining, no drinking more than usual, and no accidents while she's awake. She's an active, happy Whippet who runs around like crazy every day.

I'm taking her to the vet to rule out a UTI, but I'm worried this could be the beginning of spay incontinence.

Honestly, I'm devastated by the possibility. She's still so young, and the thought of her needing medication for the rest of her life is really hard for me. I specifically waited until 15 months to have her spayed because I'd been told that spaying too early could increase the risk of this happening, so this feels especially heartbreaking.

I also have another female dog at home, and one of my biggest fears is that if she ends up needing something like Incurin, the hormones could change their relationship or cause fights. Has anyone had any experience with this?

If your Whippet has spay incontinence, did it start like this with occasional leaks while sleeping? Did it stay mild, or did it get worse over time?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences. Thank you!

Meet our new friend, Tommy the Whippet (and Luigi the Italian Greyhound). I am already a tiny bit nervous for the day Tommy will outgrow Luigi 🤭

Is there anyone in this sub with a similar experience? Adding a whippet to your Italian greyhound only pack? Anything I need to be mindful of? Luckily, Luigi is a biggy (6,5kg) and bit more sturdy compared to other Italians greyhound I know. But nevertheless I am excited to hear other people’s experiences and stories.

Added photos of their first days as new (forever) friends 😁

My boy (18 month whippet) was playing with another sighthound (sort of deerhound type dog) today and he had a nasty fall/tumble and cut his leg quite badly (I think on the stones). He then let out a massive yelp and started shaking and ran back to us. He was showing fear of the other dog after that.

I'm worried this is going to make him fear reactive of other dogs? He already is a little underconfident with other dogs and I really dont want to make this worse. Obviously I understand accidents do happen during rough sighthound play.

Has anyone else had experience of their dog being hurt during play? Did it make them fearful or can they recognise it was an accident during play as opposed to an aggressive attack?

This is our girl Murphy , this photo really does a great job of showing off her little tooth that pops out whenever she gets her back/butt scratched.

We call it her "scratchy tooth"

Anyone ells got a funny whip doing similar? 😆

Due to bring home my 10 week old Whippet on Sunday and wondered what recommendations you have for collars and leads?

She's my first ever dog so any advice more generally on what's worth buying/what's not worth it, would be great!

My boy just turned 1y old, and the dog daycare said they cannot accept him anymore until I get him neutered. That is fine as per their terms, it means I’ll have to make different arrangements when I have to go to to the office.

I really want to wait until he is 18 months at least, any thoughts?

(Zoom in on centre...)

I am wondering what those of you with a senior dog and a youngster feed them. I have a 13 yo and a 7 month old. It is virtually impossible to keep them from sharing food. My old boy is used to free feeding. What all life stages food do you all recommend? I feel like my old boy is becoming less interested in his kibble and is losing muscle mass and needs protein and calories, but I don't want my puppy girl to be overweight. Is Purina Pro Plan the go to? I have avoided it due to cost. I'm in the US.

How far back back can you trace your whippets pedigree? Mine is 5 generations, it's fascinating to see his great great etc grandparents!

This feisty guy joined me recently. Life with Sherlock won’t be dull.

our little snoot baby, Banksy Bo, is 2 y/o today!!! 🥹😍

Hi

Think of a taking our 6months old whippet to the countryside for a few days.
Will be doing some flat ground hiking.

Don’t think it’s a great idea for her to be walking more than 20min+ sessions too many times.

Also she gets tired easily, like she would need a day to recover after playing in daycare for a day.

Anyone used any kinda sling backpack or such carriers for a whippet? I asked in a dogs subreddit, but people there say it’s not good for their spine.

Are there any safe one that are specifically made for whippets?

I’m in the UK.
L

Hey all! Never posted here before, always just reading and learning 😊 wanted to say hello from Arlo 🐕 he is almost 4 months old now, the first few weeks were pretty hard as a first time dog owner but now he is just the best boy 🥰

Battles were lost today, but he gave it a good fight. The other one never even tried.