Staff'n'Toller Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) Last year the price was ~200 for us to send the blood to Gribbles then on-send to WA. We couldn't spin it because we didn't have a centrifuge. Then there would be a consult fee +\- a blood draw fee depending on the clinic protocol. Cert IV nurses can certainly draw blood but at the direction of a Vet so this needs to be a policy within the clinic. Again, there would most likely be a blood draw fee as you need to account for the time of the staff member to draw it. I don't think vets are reluctant to change, I think they are widely not requested. When we sent a letter to our clients about the new WSAVA recommendations people were more confused than anything, have never had an over vaccination related disease with their pets, ever, so used that basis to stick to what they knew. I would say less than five clients chose to pick it up and one or two of those were already on a different schedule due to liver or immune related probs i.e. Dog has extreme symptoms of vaccine uptake. It would be interesting to know if any of the other vets and nurses on this board are ever asked by their clients. Edited March 27, 2014 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Thanks SnT for your input - its much appreciated to see it from the other side of the fence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) You have to remember too, owners of breeds susceptible to immune system disease; dog sports and the well informed such as on this board are a tiny minority of the dog owning population and it's difficult to teach vaccine immunity, and sell a service for 3 times the previous price when the dog is now not receiving an injection, without offending the owner, appearing as though we have been flogging vaccines for no reason all this time and do it in a 10 or 15 minute timeslot. It will take time...:p (This was just an addendum to my previous post). Edited March 27, 2014 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Today I rang Dr Saranyu Melinda Pearson at Paws to Heal 5277 0554 - what a nice lady - she answered the phone, and was fantastic - yes she sends them to Perth, she is trying to change the culture in Victoria, but its a long slow battle. Cost is $110 for Parvo and Distemper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Thanks Staff'n'Toller. My lovely vet agrees that there is little to no interest in titre testing. At least she was interested enough to follow up on the print out I gave her. As it stands I will probably pay the $170 per dog that she quoted me to titre test them. This, she reminded me, is not normal practise for their vet practice and suggested I ensure that I see her for the titre testing. Put simply, the vet practice is not titre testing animals at this time but she is happy to titre test my dogs if I want it done. $170 is certainly a more acceptable quote than the $350 per dog that the other partner quoted me. In time things will hopefully change and pet owners will be more informed and more interested in titre testing rather than regular vaccinations. Really it's up to us as pet owners. If we show interest then the vets will respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Had fantastic dealings with Flemington Vet Hospital today - I decided to name them - because they were good. Receptionist said she would get vet to call me and the vet did within a few minutes. As SnT explained there is no demand for titre testing. The vet and several in the practice had done TT in the past - but costs made it impractical to continue so they went back to vaccinating. They would have to send the blood to Gribbles who would possibly forward it to Vet Path - so in effect you are paying for a middle man. They are prepared to take the blood, spin it and hand it to the owner. $100 (which is a bit expensive) - but at least they were more than prepared to hear me out and work with me. The one interesting thing was that they had a locum Singaporean vet working with them last year who did a lot of titre testing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Thanks Staff'n'Toller. My lovely vet agrees that there is little to no interest in titre testing. At least she was interested enough to follow up on the print out I gave her. As it stands I will probably pay the $170 per dog that she quoted me to titre test them. This, she reminded me, is not normal practise for their vet practice and suggested I ensure that I see her for the titre testing. Put simply, the vet practice is not titre testing animals at this time but she is happy to titre test my dogs if I want it done. $170 is certainly a more acceptable quote than the $350 per dog that the other partner quoted me. In time things will hopefully change and pet owners will be more informed and more interested in titre testing rather than regular vaccinations. Really it's up to us as pet owners. If we show interest then the vets will respond. I can remember talking to Dr Bob Cavey about it at Stud Park - so that must have been 5+ years ago and he nodded and smiled and replied "yes, we should be doing more of that". I will ask him next time I'm at his practice how many he's done since then. :laugh: There are definitely low socio-economic areas of Melbourne where Parvo is still a massive problem, and there's obviously very little herd immunity, I can imagine those clinics have enough trouble getting clients to finish puppy vacc schedules. They are probably reluctant to discourage yearly vacc or triennial vacc at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 There are definitely low socio-economic areas of Melbourne where Parvo is still a massive problem, and there's obviously very little herd immunity, I can imagine those clinics have enough trouble getting clients to finish puppy vacc schedules. They are probably reluctant to discourage yearly vacc or triennial vacc at this time. I thought Parvo was mostly a disease of the past. I need to get out more and find out what's going on around me. I didn't know Parvo was still a serious issue in some areas of Melbourne. I understand in these areas titre testing is an insignificant issue and convincing people to vaccinate is of great importance. Though why people would need to be convinced is beyond me. Surely if you decide to get a pet dog you'd want to vaccinate against a fatal disease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canine Coach Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Can one of my Victorian Friends help me please. I am after a vet around the Brunswick West area who does titre testing - and pushing the boundaries - does anybody know how much they charge for parvo and distemper? I am spoilt living in the West and so close to VetPath Many thanks I pay about $75.00 for each dog for titre testing . My vet Bob Cavey, Ultimate Vet in Narre Warren South sends blood to VetPath in WA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canine Coach Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Vets can spin it if they have a centrifuge in-house, not all clinics have them. The clinic that said they send it locally probably don't realise where it goes, although it would tell them in their handbook! Unless the Greencross lab is doing them?? Is a vet likely to hand over a vial of blood to a client for them to send it overseas. I know my vet will, but unsure if this is "normal and acceptable practice" or not and out of interest if I want blood drawn - do a need a consult to do this - or can a vet nurse do it (no I don't want results interpreted or need to chat to anybody about it) If it has to be done as part of a consult - are there added charges to draw the blood? IF it is a VET I use regularly, for multiple dogs, they will come out to the lobby, draw blood & send it away without a consult fee. I do NOT use ASAP Labs in Fitzroy Vic. cause they charge about $350.00 for the same tests I can get done by VetPath in WA for $75.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Can one of my Victorian Friends help me please. I am after a vet around the Brunswick West area who does titre testing - and pushing the boundaries - does anybody know how much they charge for parvo and distemper? I am spoilt living in the West and so close to VetPath Many thanks I pay about $75.00 for each dog for titre testing . My vet Bob Cavey, Ultimate Vet in Narre Warren South sends blood to VetPath in WA. Canine Coach do you have a phone number for this practice please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 This is the clinic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 This is the clinic. Thanks SnT - I will ring them tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disintegratus Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Oh wow Canine Coach, that's a lot less than I was expecting. I really like Dr Bob, he was excellent when Zehra had her skin/allergy issues and has been great with my sister's awful pig, but TBH, he can be a tad expensive, so I hadn't even thought of him for titre testing. He's the vet I go to when there's actually something wrong with the dog :p If it's something straightforward that still needs a vet (eg vaccs or that time Harley sliced his leg open and needed stitches), I usually go with someone slightly cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 This is the clinic. I rang this clinic this morning - yep they do it $180 for parvo and distemper and yes they send bloods to Perth. CC it looks like you get a special price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Then it seems my local vet's quote for $170 to titre test is reasonable. I think what we need is a list of vets in Melbourne who do titre for a reasonable cost. I wonder are other states having the same issues as we here in Melbourne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) A list would be very handy, especially for somebody like me, who is on the other side of the country trying to find somebody to do it, who isn't charging an arm and a leg. I guess the problem is that prices could change......... My vet has moved to Sydney, and comes back to WA every couple of weeks, so once she starts practising, I will be ok for my puppy people in Sydney Edited March 28, 2014 by Ptolomy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 A list would be very handy, especially for somebody like me, who is on the other side of the country trying to find somebody to do it, who isn't charging an arm and a leg. I guess the problem is that prices could change......... My vet has moved to Sydney, and comes back to WA every couple of weeks, so once she starts practising, I will be ok for my puppy people in Sydney You're in WA right? Perhaps more vets there would use VetPath as they are also in WA. Maybe a call around would help you to find a local vet who does the titres for a reasonable price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 I would guess and say 99% of vets here would have an account at Vet Path and would happily pulls bloods and send it off. My vet comes to my house, so I can just wait until she is on one of her return visits and have it done (my kids were all done a couple of months ago, so don't have to worry about it for a while), otherwise I have used the local vet practice. So its not an issue here in WA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Oh wow Canine Coach, that's a lot less than I was expecting. I really like Dr Bob, he was excellent when Zehra had her skin/allergy issues and has been great with my sister's awful pig, but TBH, he can be a tad expensive, so I hadn't even thought of him for titre testing. He's the vet I go to when there's actually something wrong with the dog :p If it's something straightforward that still needs a vet (eg vaccs or that time Harley sliced his leg open and needed stitches), I usually go with someone slightly cheaper. I'm not nursing currently, so I drive 35 mins to go there. If the reason he is more expensive has anything to do with paying nurses well and keeping staff, and hiring well-experienced vets when he is not there, then I will happily pay the extra. Starting a practice from scratch is insanely expensive. I am just stoked he is still practicing and will hopefully always remain independant. He's the type of 'old-fashioned values' vet we need to support as there is much more money in non-practicing areas of veterinary science. Greencross have plans to buy 8-10 practices in Vic this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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