Vet Comparsions - Am I Paying Too Much?

[Thelms]

First of all hello this is my first time here. Second - I've always owned pure bred west highland terriers. Ever since I was a young kid we had westies as my parents had a family friend who bred/showed westies for a hobby. My last 2 westies lived until they were 17 and 19 years old. Now that I've moved out, my girlfriend and I wanted to get a dog of our own. So we went to my family friend and told them we wanted one and about a year later one was available . That was back in 2009.

Now I told my parents how much vet has cost so far my mum thinks it's expensive and that I should change vets because I am paying too much. But I am unsure I've never really been the one to deal. When we first got our westie de-sexed. I called around and the prices I was given was $150-170 for the spay (not-including any optional items)

My vet gave me the option of a pre-anaesthetic blood screening, and to my surprise IV fluids and the RIMADYL injection/chews were also optional, even the Elizabethan collar was optional. So in the end it cost this much. My girlfriend was worried about sending our dog straight into an operation for the first time without ever having had a blood test, so we had one done.

Date: September 2009

1. 6230A Pre-Anaesthetic Screen - $75.76 (OPTIONAL)

2. IV Fluids - Surgical - $57.00 (OPTIONAL)

3. Elizabethan Collar - $10.60 (OPTIONAL)

4. Rimadyl Injection 20ML - $22.34 (OPTIONAL)

5. Rimadyl Chews 25MG - $19.91 (OPTIONAL)

6. SPEY DOG < 15KG - $160.00

Total: $344.00

I was quoted $150-160 at other vets, but they said it was only for the spay and not for anything extra. So I just assumed my vet was okay priced.

Now earlier this year - Our Westie got a grass-seed in her paw. We took her to the vet immediately. The vet tried to get it out but was unable. So they said they would have to open her up to get it as grass-seeds can cause a lot of trouble if left alone in the body. The vet ended up not being able to find the grass-seed and assumed she may have passed it. The vet said If he was unable to find it, he would do some dental work while our dog was under the anesthetic gas as she needed a cleaning. I am not 100% sure still if he charged at all for the grass-seed (because he didn't find it) or if everything charged here was just for the dental work and thats it.

This is what that ended up costing us. Note that none of these were optional.

Date: March 2011.

1. Hospitalisation level 1 ward care - $54.60

2. Anaesthetic GAS - For dogs - $168.50

3. Theatre fee - Dental - $22.00

4. Dental Materials - $18.00

5. Dental Treatment - Canine - Grade 1-2 - $108.00

6. IV fluids - Surgical - $74.00

7. Surgery fee - $82.00

8. Elizabethan collar 20CM - $12.76

9. Clavulox injection - $25.44

10. Clavulox tablets 250mg - $31.90

11. Rimadyl injection 20ml - $27.60

12. Rimadyl chews 25mg - $26.97

DISCOUNT - Preventative Dentistry Discount Canine - $67.50

Total : $584.25

Now here are some other costs the vaccinations

C4 Vaccination - $59.09 (july 2009)

C5 intranasal - $68.18 (jun 2009)

C5A Vaccination - $99.50 (july 2010)

Kennel Cough vacciantion - $60.50 (july 2011)

I'd really like to know what you guys think? Is my vet over-priced? Am I paying too much? I am REALLY happy with my vet in terms of service/care and stuff, but I don't want to be taken for a ride.

[Inevitablue]

Looks pretty standard to me

A dental at the age of 2 though Were the teeth discolored? If so, maybe look at a diet to help clean the teeth.

[Thelms]

Looks pretty standard to me

A dental at the age of 2 though Were the teeth discolored? If so, maybe look at a diet to help clean the teeth.

I was feeding her soft food for awhile thinking it was best for her ( like raw sort of feeding). Turns out that was doing her teeth harm.

We switched to using premium dry dog food now (mainly Artemis), and we give her raw bones often and I brush her teeth as well. Seems to have fixed the issue now. She still has soft left over food but not all the time like before.

I am just mimicking what my parents did for our previous westies because they lived for 17 and 19 years.

Edited September 22, 2011 by Thelms

[Staff'n'Toller]

It's hard to know what was done at the dental, but your spey is a very competitive price.

I wouldn't be looking at changing if you are happy with your Vet- you aren't being ripped off from what I can see.

[karly101]

Prices all seem very standard and reasonable to me, it can also depend on your area (inner city generally higher priced). I wouldn't be changing vets based on those prices especially if you are happy with the level of care and service you receive.

The 'optional' extras for desexing are also standard ways of pricing - working in a clinic we don't like it and try and get people to come in before a desex so we can explain everything as we also think its misleading when others quote $150 for a spey when the cost is really $300-400 to do it with fluids/hospital/buster collar & pain relief especially when we won't do a spey without fluids & pain relief!

[Clyde]

It all seems pretty reasonable to me. I think though, seeing as you are really happy with your vet, that it is worth a little extra for peice of mind rather than walking away and considering a second opinion elsewhere.

[Bluefairy]

I would say this is pretty standard vet prices too.

I had my last Pug desexed and it included this:

Dog Spey <10kg

Pethidine Pain relief injection

Alfaxan RTU 20ml x 2

Mono Dox #2/0 25mt Polydioxanone

Bandage

IV Catheter (optional)

Extension set (Tuta) 25cm

staples

Meloxicam pain relief injection 20ml

A.C.P 2 injection

Total $205.00

When ever there is a general anesthetic involved it adds up, as above, as it not usually always straight forward either. I had one dog, an Aussie Bulldog desexed and was allergic to one of the drugs they used on her, she had to have antihistamines straight after....this all adds up. So your vet is charging you normal prices.

Plus its hard sometimes to find a vet you and your dog are comfortable with. So even paying a little extra is worth it.

Lynn

[Guest donatella]

I'm in Qld and got quoted $313 just for the spey for my 6 month old girl plus all the extras like IV fluids, collar, bloodwork etc, the end price was something in the 500's I think the IV fluid is a sham, I work a nurse in a hospital and it costs a few bucks for a bag of saline and they would have an IV line already patent when getting the anesthetic. I then talked to my mum who put me onto her vet and she's now getting done for $212 (all inclusive) and $41.50 to be microchipped. It pays to get recommendations as well, but if they are an outstanding vet then some people are happy to pay the extra $$'s.

I won't opt for a collar for my girl, I don't think its necessary, especially for the 10-14 days as the original vet quoted me, i've had 3 female dogs speyed growing up and the never had collars and handled the sutures just fine.

Edited September 23, 2011 by donatella

[whiskedaway]

We paid over $500 to spay our 15kg girl. Actually she was 14.9kg at the time, so she was just under the cutoff for the next price range! So I think your price is fine.

Edited September 23, 2011 by whiskedaway

[luvsdogs]

Sounds reasonable to me. I was charged about $110 for the kennel cough vac in March 11 at my vet which included consult. Did yours include consult or just vac? I thought this was steep considering when she had the original 3 yr vac it was about $117 all up.

I had to use an Eliz collar on my border collie when she was spayed because she wouldn't leave the stitch/incision alone.

[Poppy's mum]

Sounds reasonable - I was told (secondhand) it cost $250 to desex small female dog recently.

[Jumabaar]

As others have said you can't just go on price for comparison. Its better to look at 'value for money' because it is a service.

There may be vets offering cheaper rates but do they have the same equipment your vet has. Do they offer the same quality of care and customer service. Are these things negotiable to you?

I tend to not look at my vet bills too much. So long as I am happy with the service they provide I am happy to pay what they need to keep their quality of care at the highest level.

[Sandra777]

I don't think the prices are too bad, but if I'd approved my dog to go under anasthetic to find a grass seed then they charged me $80 to do a dental (or are those prices after the discount?) I wouldn't have been paying the $80!

[melinda10786]

That's pretty good.. I just paid $430 to have my girl desexed (she's 10kg), some of that included an amount for an ear flush (she's had issues with ear infections since we picked her up). Our E-collar was $15..

[mita]

As others have said you can't just go on price for comparison. Its better to look at 'value for money' because it is a service.

Yes. I've certainly found that price charged is no direct match for quality.

In recent years, we've returned to a vet that we used to take our pets to, a number of years ago. Even though I have to drive over 3 suburbs to get to her. And where we'd have complete faith in the quality of her work and her willingness to listen & communicate.

We'd had a few dreadful experiences with more local, closer vets.

So it was in search of known quality of work that sent us back to her. Once there, I keep looking at her bills & thinking she must've made a mistake. They're so modest compared with poor experiences we've had elsewhere. All our neighbours now take their pets to her. But, again, it was quality of service that sent them there, too. The fairness of her bills is just the icing on the cake.

[Boronia]

Hi Thelms,

what suburb are you in? if you are near Victoria Point the Koala Park surgery charge around $200 (that was 18 months ago though)... and...do you know there is a Westie forum--> http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/106191-westies/ so you had better pop in

...and...there is a Westie Walkers walk on at Newstead this Sunday---> http://www.westiewalkers.com/

...and that'll do for now! :D

Edited September 23, 2011 by Boronia

[pebbles]

Ouch, don't think I'll ever complain about my Vet costs again. I'll only whinge about the cost of petrol for the 300k round trip

[Guest donatella]

Hi Thelms,

what suburb are you in? if you are near Victoria Point the Koala Park surgery charge around $200 (that was 18 months ago though)... and...do you know there is a Westie forum--> http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/106191-westies/ so you had better pop in

...and...there is a Westie Walkers walk on at Newstead this Sunday---> http://www.westiewalkers.com/

...and that'll do for now! :D

that's who i'm going to next month for my girl to be desexed on my mums recommendation, she has been going to them forever with her dogs and thinks they are the best (and so cheap too!). they are now $212 for desexing (female)

[aussielover]

As others have said you can't just go on price for comparison. Its better to look at 'value for money' because it is a service.

There may be vets offering cheaper rates but do they have the same equipment your vet has. Do they offer the same quality of care and customer service. Are these things negotiable to you?

I tend to not look at my vet bills too much. So long as I am happy with the service they provide I am happy to pay what they need to keep their quality of care at the highest level.

Totally agree.

I tend to find prices between vets in the same or nearby suburbs are quite similar. Consults fees may vary, but sometimes this is made up by cost of medications, hospitalisation etc.

[jrm88]

I'm in Qld and got quoted $313 just for the spey for my 6 month old girl plus all the extras like IV fluids, collar, bloodwork etc, the end price was something in the 500's I think the IV fluid is a sham, I work a nurse in a hospital and it costs a few bucks for a bag of saline and they would have an IV line already patent when getting the anesthetic. I then talked to my mum who put me onto her vet and she's now getting done for $212 (all inclusive) and $41.50 to be microchipped. It pays to get recommendations as well, but if they are an outstanding vet then some people are happy to pay the extra $$'s.

I won't opt for a collar for my girl, I don't think its necessary, especially for the 10-14 days as the original vet quoted me, i've had 3 female dogs speyed growing up and the never had collars and handled the sutures just fine.

Sorry but just had to point out that no, IV fluids are not a sham!

Yes, we would love to make it mandatory to put all animals on IV fluids, but if we do that, we have to bump up our spey/castration prices and then those people that can only JUST afford to get their pets done wouldnt be doing it. Some vets do put every single animal on fluids, and that is gold standard, but some clinics have to make that decision between making it mandatory or optional (even if optional, if blood pressure dropped too low we would put the animals health first and put them on IV fluids straight away.)

Yes, fluid bags may not cost that much, but what about the IV infusion pump, the giving set, the extension set, vetwrap, tape, catheter, the vet who went to uni for 5 yrs time to do it(or nurses), plus the nurses time to restrain.

Vets are not out to rip people off, but if we did everything for the bare minimum it cost us, YOU would have no vet to go to as they wouldnt be able to afford to keep running a business! Speys are also already discounted at a huge price, if we priced them out as a proper abdominal surgery (which it is), the cost would be much much higher.

It is a luxury to have a pet, not a right, so people need to make sure they have the money to provide basic vet care (which desexing is basic vet care) before they go out and get a pet.

Edited September 23, 2011 by jrm88