Omg Desexing Is So Expensive!

[Kirty]

OMG CDM I can't believe how expensive it is in Canada!! Ouch!!

[madredeperros]

OMG CDM I can't believe how expensive it is in Canada!! Ouch!!

Sad to think, that's one of the cheapest clinics around In the city, you can hear the cash register ding before you even step inside

[bommy]

realistically though whats the $$$ cost when you look at the other social effects of not desexing... unwanted litters is a greater cost

BUT considering we pay $145.00 just to walk into the clinic here, its not that bad a cost...

[Jasla]

our local vet only charges $150. some of the prices are crazy! is it ok if i ask why females dogs cost more than males to desex?

In males it is a simple surgery. In females it is major abdominal surgery.

oh. thanks.

[Teebs]

Diesel cost $238.00 and he was 22.8kilos. When I asked for a quote the vet nurse did ask for his weight. She explained that was to work out how much anaesthetic he would require as it affects the price. It also covered the collar, a visit when he had problems after the desexing and the appointment for stitches to be removed.

Wow, never once paid for stitches to be removed, (and i have taken dogs to different vets to do this, so not the original vet who did the operation) I also never got charged when Kaos got an infection, i had to pay for drugs, but not the visit.

Does anyone else not get pain relief?

I cant remember what mine cost , kaos was about 3 years ago, and At about 2.5 years ago, my memory isnt that good!

[feher]

My vet comes out to my house for all consults (unless an op is required). No consultation fee, and no fee if nothing is required to be done :rolleyes: She is also available to my 24/7..

Rates go:

Male Cat: $55

Female Cat: $110

Male Dog: $110

Female Dog: $170

Vaccs: $45 C4 or $50 C5

Microchip: $40

Edited May 30, 2008 by *kiki*

[pennyw74]

We got our six month old 5kg Cavalier girl desexed last week.

We paid $244 for the desexing which included the anaesthetic, pain relief, hospitalisation and suture removal. The only pain relief she had was some sort of morphine before and a non steroid anti inflammatory after but nothing more than that. We didn't have to give her anything when she came home. She had to stay overnight.

We also had a pre-anaesthetic test, which tested to see if she was anaemic or had any kidney or liver problems. This cost an extra $70. We could have had just the mini screen that checks the red cells and that was $30 but thought we might as well pay the little bit extra.

We also had a choice of giving her fluids during the procedure which cost another $70.

She also had two puppy teeth removed which didn't cost anything and they also checked her eyes because she has bad tears. They were going to flush the tear ducts but unfortunately, she has no visible tear duct openings.

She has her stitches out on Sunday.

So all up, we paid $384.

We're in Sydney.

Edited May 30, 2008 by pennyw74

[Hounder]

Does anyone else not get pain relief?

We only got pain relief for Xena because we know she is a licker. Should also mention that the vet did sub-cut stitches to lessen the chance of her chewing them out. When Bree and Lockie both had to have emergency laporotomies (sp) :rolleyes: neither of them had take home pain relief.

We also had a choice of giving her fluids during the procedure which cost another $70.

I can't believe how much they charge for a ?$5 bag of saline

[kymbo]

Frodo ( 6 kg Papillon) is booked in for this monday. I am paying $97 ( I have $30 council rebate voucher that our shire supplies, so nornally $127) all up. That is with the safer anaesthesic for little dogs, and also because he had trouble after the last one. Also inc. pain jab. The vet said they don't go on cost/weight. My daughters 3 y/old 27 kg cattle x besser brick bitch cost her $127 with the voucher ( so normally $157)

I am getting chipping ( $45) and two hind dew claws ( $20 each) done at the same time.

[kymbo]

I can't believe how much they charge for a ?$5 bag of saline

I got charged $200 for a bag of saline for a drip for a 6 week old puppy, that was on it for about 8 hours :rolleyes: I was told up front that was the cost regardless.

Different vet to the one I use now tho :/

[Hounder]

I can't believe how much they charge for a ?$5 bag of saline

I got charged $200 for a bag of saline for a drip for a 6 week old puppy, that was on it for about 8 hours :rolleyes: I was told up front that was the cost regardless.

Different vet to the one I use now tho :/

You sure that is was just saline and not a bag of Hartmans? or something? Hartmans has platlets and nutrients in it as well. $200 is definately outrageous if only saline.

[Laika]

I live in Sydney and know vet costs differ dramatically. Always shop around until you are happy.

Also, with cats you can call the cat protection society and get discounted desexing done - unfortunately don't think there is anything like that for dogs.

I recently had a female 11 month old dog desexed which I was fostering and they gave me some liquid to paint on around the wound to stop her licking. She was walking around fine even the next day without any pain killers. From my understanding if you give animals painkilliers they are more likely to go running around and do something stupid lol.

[Rappie]

I'm not going to get into specific prices, but I think that something more important that the cost is what you are actually getting for your money.

Prices will vary between males and females, and between large and small dogs. Most desexing surgery is already charged at a discounted rate, to ensure that is affordable enough for it to get done.

Castrating a male dog is a fairly simple procedure, reasonably "superficial". You will probably notice less variability between different sized males, to different sized females - they need more of the induction drug but the procedure takes about the same time regardless of size.

Desexing a female dog is still abdominal surgery, regardless of how "routine" it might be. There are at 3 major times during a spey that it can all go wrong no matter how skilled the surgeon (but it rarely does), then theres a longer time to close the abdomen. A 6mth old Maltese is very different undertaking to a 5 year old fat Lab or Rottie spey. Big dogs take longer, a longer surgery needs the vet and nurse to be there longer, uses more anaesthetic agents etc etc.

As for what you get for the price I will give an example - our clinic is priced at the higher end of the local market.

- All animals undergoing sedation or surgery have a preanaesthetic exam by a vet, have a premed administered that includes opiate pain relief and sedation, and have an intravenous catheter placed prior to surgery (a safety measure so that a vein can always be accessed if needed).

- We use Alfaxan for our injectable induction agent, its one of the more expensive induction agents, but also one of the safer ones. Some clinics might use other drugs that are cheaper, some clinics still mask all patients down with gas, or don't give premeds or preemptive painrelief (current standard of care). Then our patients are maintained on isoflurane.

- Every patient is constantly monitored by a veterinary nurse for the duration of the procedure (including pulse oximeter, manual checks of anaesthetic depth etc), and afterwards during recovery

- All our suture material comes in individual packets, and is the same as used in human medicine. A new pack for each patient, it's not cheap but it is high quality and has fewer reactions and maintains strength for longer than other materials.

- Where possible all skin closure are intradermal so there are no visible external sutures, it takes a bit longer to do but the healing is faster and we don't see many patients licking their wounds.

- All desexings go home with a pain relief injection "on board", plus additional take home pain relief. We don't consider pain relief to be "optional".

This is just what we do. Every veterinary hospital is going to do something different - but it's important that you feel informed of what you are receiving for the money you pay.

[Danois]

I remember looking at the prices when I got Angs done and it seemed that the difference in price was a GA administered by injection or using the gas mask which usually involves an extra pair of hands from memory. The gaseous is a safer option than the intravenous I was told especially for breeds which are known to have problems under GA.

The other additional/ optional cost was the full blood work up.

[indigirl]

Got a 5 month old kelpiex foster boy desexed 2 days ago, he had a retained testicle and vet had to hunt for it. he also had to have a tetanus shot because of this and he has stitches in his belly like a desexed female does. Total cost $200, I thought this was fair considering his missing ball!

ETA: normally males <20kg cost $125, and males >20kgs cost $140

Edited May 30, 2008 by indigirl

[blacklabrador]

I got a quote for my kitten today.

AWL = $86.

Local Vet = $185

Local Cat Vet = $196

It's worth taking the day off work to have her done at the AWL!!

ETA I will pay extra for pain relief. I think that animals are very good at hiding their pain and don't accept that major abdo surgery is not good reason for extended pain relief.

Edited May 30, 2008 by blacklabrador

[peibe]

You are right rappie

I paid $365 for my female Shar Pei she was 18kg, she got a drip and 3 days worth of pain meds

I paid $245 for my male Shar Pei, he weighed 15kg

I currently pay $90 for males under 15kg $110 for over 15kg

Females are $120 for under 15kg and $150 for over 15kg

These are rescue prices

I do beleive if you are happy with the vet and they know what they are doing the price is irrelevant

ETA. $40 for 3 bags of saline and 4 days care for 2 sick puppies

I love my rescue vet, and he glues the pups, they heal so fast

Edited May 30, 2008 by peibe

[badboyz]

Recently paid $220 to have a 5yr old Shar Pei bitch speyed (the extra $20 was for pain relief). Umbilical hernia was also repaired at no extra cost. Seems to be reasonable, compared to some of the other prices. That's good to know.

Edited May 30, 2008 by badboyz

[kymbo]

I can't believe how much they charge for a ?$5 bag of saline

I got charged $200 for a bag of saline for a drip for a 6 week old puppy, that was on it for about 8 hours I was told up front that was the cost regardless.

Different vet to the one I use now tho :/

You sure that is was just saline and not a bag of Hartmans? or something? Hartmans has platlets and nutrients in it as well. $200 is definately outrageous if only saline.

I am sure I got told it was saline but this was quite a few years ago; maybe I am mistaken? The puppy had suspected parvo. I clearly remember going :D tho, LOL

[Rappie]

I got charged $200 for a bag of saline for a drip for a 6 week old puppy, that was on it for about 8 hours I was told up front that was the cost regardless.

Different vet to the one I use now tho :/

Then you probably got charged for "intravenous fluids". Again, depends on the fee structure but many vets charge only for the service of providing fluids for 24 hours - which includes all the catheters, giving sets, fluid bags, additives, use of a fluid pump 24/7, the time taken for people to go in and out of an isolation area to check the situation when an alarm goes off on a pump etc. It's not just 'a bag of saline'. Again, I'm not going to comment specifically on price, but often there is a set up fee, followed each day by a 'daily fee'.