Is Your Vet Ripping You Off? Choice Article

[sandgrubber]

If you're going to a franchise vet, you are probably being ripped off. Not by the vet(s); by the practice.

[Rappie]

Vets shouldn't judge people. Some will add to their to their mortgage or cancel overseas holidays that they have been saving for 10yrs for to save their geriatric pet and you cant tell unless you give them the opportunity to decide for themselves.

Absolutely. I always discuss treatment options without judgement, regardless of the financial situation of the owner. I discuss all the valid options and then we work out what we're going to do. Sometimes we do 'the works', sometimes we have try to find the best solution we can with very limited funds. I have clients who think nothing of spending $10k on spinal surgery and other clients who are trying to save up for a surgery that their dog might need from their pension, just in case. My role is an advocate for the pets, it's not my place to judge people.

[elle]

And here we are 10 years later and nothing has changed.

Veterinary clinics charging what they like.  

Just paid $1200 to get my 25 kg female de sexed by my vet ,only to find out all the other

surrounding vets are charging around the $650 mark.  I trusted my vet and thought this was the average cost.

There is absolutely no excuse for that kind of mark up.

 

 

[Adrienne]

I paid $265 to have a 22kg female desexed last year and $235 to have a 7kilo male desexed a couple of months ago... so $650 seems a lot to me (perhaps other times were involved).

 

I paid $500 two years ago for a teeth check and clean on a 12 month old dog - that seemed like a lot to me but I was seeking peace of mind, which I got.

 

I once took a female with a phantom pregnancy to a vet for them to confirm she was indeed empty. I figured palpation would be sufficient to confirm, however I agreed to an ultrasound to confirm their palpation and then left when they wanted an X-ray to confirm the ultrasound!  

[Diva]

I paid $900 to get a 32kg girl desexed this year, but that included bloods first - she was an older girl so I do a blood test to check things are ok. I will pay $1000 for a dental clean and X-ray on a possibly damaged tooth in a few weeks for a different dog. Up to $3k if the tooth needs work. 
But at least those vets send them home in good shape, they know how to anaesthetise a sighthound. I don’t think their prices are expensive for the area, not much is cheap here, but even if they were I’d pay it to not be handed back a dog that can’t walk or wake up for 10 hours. That confidence is important. 
 

[jemappelle]

I live in a rural area and my vet has 10% off dental Mondays and 10% off desexing Wednesdays.  They have a vet that only comes in those days to do those things.  It certainly helps keep the costs down and it would appear there costs are pretty reasonable as well.  

[DogsAndTheMob]

I think there is some justification for the recent, huge increase in veterinary fees. A cow on agistment in our paddock wouldn’t stand up and its owner called out the vet. I was amazed by the variety of equipment used by the vet,  including a portable ultrasound machine. Vets now need so much more equipment, which comes with a huge cost. Add in staffing costs and rental of premises, and fees must rise.

On the other hand, fees are growing beyond the budget of many owners. Last year I purchased a “runt of the litter” puppy, with a great working pedigree. She seemed a little fragile then suddenly became quite ill. I took her to the local vet on a Friday morning and blood tests indicated congenital kidney failure. I drove to a specialist vet, knowing that they probably couldn’t see her until the Monday. There, I was told she would probably not be seen until the Tuesday, and I was quoted $6000 for care over the weekend and another $6000 for specialist diagnostics - with unknown costs for treatment, if treatment was possible. I accept that specialist care centres have additional costs, and I could have paid if a positive outcome was likely, but I was distressed by  the difficulty I had getting information on a prognosis. I finally asked, “have you ever seen a puppy survive with this degree of kidney failure” and the answer was “no”. 
I was also upset that there was no specialist veterinarian available at a specialist hospital for 3 or 4 days. I know there are many specialties but I would have expected a specialist physician to be available, particularly as local vets in this area no longer offer the range of specialist and emergency care that they once did.

The cost for care at the two vets plus euthanasia on that day was approximately $1250.
 

[asal]

56 minutes ago, DogsAndTheMob said:

I think there is some justification for the recent, huge increase in veterinary fees. A cow on agistment in our paddock wouldn’t stand up and its owner called out the vet. I was amazed by the variety of equipment used by the vet,  including a portable ultrasound machine. Vets now need so much more equipment, which comes with a huge cost. Add in staffing costs and rental of premises, and fees must rise.

On the other hand, fees are growing beyond the budget of many owners. Last year I purchased a “runt of the litter” puppy, with a great working pedigree. She seemed a little fragile then suddenly became quite ill. I took her to the local vet on a Friday morning and blood tests indicated congenital kidney failure. I drove to a specialist vet, knowing that they probably couldn’t see her until the Monday. There, I was told she would probably not be seen until the Tuesday, and I was quoted $6000 for care over the weekend and another $6000 for specialist diagnostics - with unknown costs for treatment, if treatment was possible. I accept that specialist care centres have additional costs, and I could have paid if a positive outcome was likely, but I was distressed by  the difficulty I had getting information on a prognosis. I finally asked, “have you ever seen a puppy survive with this degree of kidney failure” and the answer was “no”. 
I was also upset that there was no specialist veterinarian available at a specialist hospital for 3 or 4 days. I know there are many specialties but I would have expected a specialist physician to be available, particularly as local vets in this area no longer offer the range of specialist and emergency care that they once did.

The cost for care at the two vets plus euthanasia on that day was approximately $1250.
 

 

 

you were lucky you asked the right questions. if you dont, the impression given is we will do our best to save. (but not give you the chances. unless you ask first)

 

over the years i have learned to be suspicious of runts, many times it turns out there is a reason and its either kidney or liver malfunction. first thing my vet does is check for both. way before they are considered candidates  for a new home.

 

another not often seen, the brain shunt is blocked.  can be operated on for  a child with this condition but no tubes small enough to save a puppy.

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by asal

[Deeds]

6 years ago I purchased a pedigree dog from QLD.  When I arrived at the airport to collect the dog I was shocked that the dog was so small.  Especially since his sibling sister in the crate next to him and was substantially bigger..

 

He was sickly and didn't want to eat.  I couldn't figure out what was wrong as he kept whimpering I thought he may have hip dysplasia.  We booked him into the vet for an x-ray and I was asked if I wanted to do bloods etc as they normally didm't do bloods etc on a dog so young.

 

I insisted on the bloods & urine because I knew there was something wrong with the dog. The urine showed high levels of creatine so they didn't go ahead with the x-ray.  We were referred to SASH.

 

SASH did an ultra sound and found he had kidney dysplasia. The specialist at SASH was wonderful.

He has been on a special diet all of his life but he is well and very robust and his life is that of a normal dog. 2/3 walks and plays daily .  He's just smaller than breed standard.  He is now 6 and a half years old.

 

Just lucky we insisted on blood and urine tests prior to anaesthetic otherwise we would have lost him.

 

 

 

 

 

[DogsAndTheMob]

3 hours ago, Deeds said:

6 years ago I purchased a pedigree dog from QLD.  When I arrived at the airport to collect the dog I was shocked that the dog was so small.  Especially since his sibling sister in the crate next to him and was substantially bigger..

 

He was sickly and didn't want to eat.  I couldn't figure out what was wrong as he kept whimpering I thought he may have hip dysplasia.  We booked him into the vet for an x-ray and I was asked if I wanted to do bloods etc as they normally didm't do bloods etc on a dog so young.

 

I insisted on the bloods & urine because I knew there was something wrong with the dog. The urine showed high levels of creatine so they didn't go ahead with the x-ray.  We were referred to SASH.

 

SASH did an ultra sound and found he had kidney dysplasia. The specialist at SASH was wonderful.

He has been on a special diet all of his life but he is well and very robust and his life is that of a normal dog. 2/3 walks and plays daily .  He's just smaller than breed standard.  He is now 6 and a half years old.

 

Just lucky we insisted on blood and urine tests prior to anaesthetic otherwise we would have lost him.

 

 

 

 

 

This made me briefly question my decision for euthanasia but I don’t think she could have been saved, even in the short term. In the two hours between our arriving at the local vet and our arriving at the specialists she went from a bright, alert puppy that had been vomiting to an obviously unwell puppy. They took her away and when I next saw her (to hold her for euthanasia) she was shuddering and seemed barely aware of her surroundings. I thought they would have stabilised her and felt guilty that I’d taken over an hour after arriving at the specialists to make a decision.

Edited April 11, 2023 by DogsAndTheMob

[Deeds]

We thought we were going to have him PTS.  And he was a replacement for an older dog we had to have PTS several months prior. 

 

We sat in our car at SASH waiting for the CT results with both of us crying our eyes out.

 

We were just lucky to be able to see that particular Kidney Specialist and we both agree she saved our pup's life.

 

Sorry you had to have the pup PTS DogsAnd The Mob.

 

I agree with asal and would never choose the runt of the litter ever again.

 

[DogsAndTheMob]

 

On 11/4/2023 at 8:58 PM, Deeds said:

We thought we were going to have him PTS.  And he was a replacement for an older dog we had to have PTS several months prior. 

 

We sat in our car at SASH waiting for the CT results with both of us crying our eyes out.

 

We were just lucky to be able to see that particular Kidney Specialist and we both agree she saved our pup's life.

 

Sorry you had to have the pup PTS DogsAnd The Mob.

 

I agree with asal and would never choose the runt of the litter ever again.

 

I’m glad that you and your vet were able to save your puppy and that he’s gone on to have a good life.

 

With regards to runts, I have seen quite a few puppies that were born small but were catching up with their littermates by six weeks. It used to be said that this was due to their position in the uterine horns, but I don’t know what current medical thinking is on this.

My puppy and another puppy with kidney failure that I know of were both normal size at birth then started falling behind at weaning.
I had a GSD that, in retrospect, had many of the symptoms of a liver shunt and died under anaesthetic at 5 yo with extremely abnormal liver markers. At birth, he was the size of a newborn kitten.

Edited April 12, 2023 by DogsAndTheMob