High cost of family pets......

[hillsdown]

I brought two of three dogs and the Kit Kat in for their yearly exam and boosters this afternoon. Not only was it a harrowing experience for one person to do on their own (what a zoo) but the cost floored me.

Are you ready for this????????????


$584.39......... :???: :shock:

Our 11 year old Border Collie Steffie has to go back next month and get two molars pulled, that will be another 300 dollars :cry2: :cry2: .

No wonder some people don't bother with vaccinating their pets. Our third dog gets her shots in the fall they were $168.00 last October.

Good thing they are all "healthy" "touch wood" or who knows how much that would cost a year. :?

I had to edit the price ,as I looked at my bill again and it was even more than I thought.

 

[bigbull338]

ouchies thats a killer vet bill just for yearly shots an a checkup for your dogs.

 

[Alice]

And I thought I paid dearly for small animal vet bills. What you are paying is outrageous!

Alice

 

[mnmtranching]

No wonder the Vets around here only want to deal with house pets. :welcome: :welcome:

 

[angie1]

Our large animal vets vaccinate ours when they do cattle calls.
Much much cheaper than bringing them into the clinic.

Sorry HD ~ that bites for sure.

 

[Jim62]

Our large animal vets vaccinate ours when they do cattle calls.
Much much cheaper than bringing them into the clinic.

Sorry HD ~ that bites for sure.

That's the way we do it , too. Just have to warn them so they'll have the right stuff on the truck. Lot easier than hauling 5 dogs and 3 cats into the city.

 

[dieselbeef]

jeffers has all the vac and can get you tags as well. just mail in the info to yur animal control office if yer worried bout it

 

[Victoria]

That is crazy. When our large animal vet branched off on his own we continued taking our dogs to the first clinic. Then the vet that saw our dogs branched off and we continued going to him but it was getting insane - prices like you are paying. I ended up switching and taking my dog to my large animal vets. They charge nothing in comparison. I think it is around $75.00 for shots and exam. Is this the same vet you use for your cattle?

 

[Brute 23]

What years shots do they need?

Dogs need wormer maybe bi-monthly and rabies shots every 2 or 3 yrs. Pups need the parvo shot as a pup and at around 3 mon.

Parvo (7-way) is like $3 at the local feed store. You can worm them with Safeguard for horses ($8). Just give each dogs a click or two. Throw a little Ivomec in there every now and then and you should be good.

 

[hillsdown]

Our large animal vet does the shots sometimes but usually we only see him twice a year (professionally) and the shots fall at an in between time.

Also my two dogs are getting up there in age and I want them two get a complete check up now and the small animal clinics are very thorough.

The dogs got : DA2PV 3yr
Giardia
Bordetella
Drontal canine

The cat got: FVRCP/FeLV 1yr
Rabies 3yr
Milbemax
His was only $128.95

I think I will be taking only my two favorites there from now on and the other two can be done by the cow Doc.

I forgot to add that $140.00 of that $584.39 was blood work for my Border Collie for her surgery next month.

I do know for a fact that the small animal clinics in Red Deer are gouging their patients because of the "boom" the city is going through now.Three years ago it was $225.00 for all three animals.

 

[bambi_boy]

Dogs need wormer maybe bi-monthly and rabies shots every 2 or 3 yrs. Pups need the parvo shot as a pup and at around 3 mon.

Parvo (7-way) is like $3 at the local feed store. You can worm them with Safeguard for horses ($8). Just give each dogs a click or two. Throw a little Ivomec in there every now and then and you should be good

Little off on your "schedule". Dogs don't get wormed 2x a month, however they do need heartworm protection every month. Ok with that said, you also mentioned Ivomectrin. Heartguard's main ingredient is Ivomectrin, so, yes you can give ivomectrin, BUT - some herding breeds are sensitive to it. the "throw a little" in is not an accurate statement. Too much and you can kill your dog. It is VERY SPECIFIC dosage. Ivomectrin does cover a broad spectrum of parasites.
***Dogs MUST BE HEARTWORM NEGATIVE BEFORE BEGINNING HEARTWORM PREVENTION!!!***

Parvo 7-way is inaccurate, there is only one Parvo strain.

5-way Puppy Shot is Distemper, Adenovirus Type 2 (gives cross immunity to Adenovirus Type 1 Hepatitis), Parainfluenza, (MLV) Parvo

7-Way is Canine Distemper, Hepatitis (CAV-1), Canine Adenovirus Type 2, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus Vaccine, and (MLV & KV) Leptospira Bacterin (Agri Labs)

here is the vac schedule according to SPCA & The Humane Society
VACCINATION SCHEDULES:

PUPPY VACCINATION SCHEDULE:
6-8 weeks - first vaccination of DA2PPv 10-12 weeks - second booster of DA2PPv
16 weeks - third booster plus rabies vaccination.


As far a Rabies is concerned, you have to check your local ordinance to see what is the LAW in your area. Again, using supply bought Rabies may not be legal in the sense of recognized in your area, so again running the risk of it not being so.


Personally I purchase my 7-way at my vets office (8 bucks) and that way I know that it is fresh. I have them do the rabies, so that I have the tag & the certificate. When you purchase the vaccine, there is a tab that you can pull (sticky) and just attach to your rabies certificate, put in your file – and boom your done.


There is much controversy about the boosters regarding adult dogs, as in the frequency, but until there is stone hard evidence, then keep with the yearly until proven otherwise.

 

[Alice]

You can now give Hartguard and Iverhart Max (this also controls and treats roundworm, hookworm and tapeworm) to heartworm positive dogs. My vet quit prescribing Interceptor altogether and is dispensing iverhart max only. And even tho the Harguard and Iverhart Max won't necessarily "cure" heartworms, I understand that it does kill the new heartworms that develop...or something like that. I don't remember, exactly. I just know that I was so excited to know that I could give my old heartworm positive dog something that could help her, even in a small way. She's too old for heartworm treatment and I'm leery of heartworm treatment ever since I lost a dog to it.

Alice

 

[bambi_boy]

The treatment is a near lethal dose. What kills the dog is the fact that it is killing the adult worms, and when the leave the heart it goes to the lungs. Causing the dog's lungs to collapse.

You can cure a dog of heartworms with Ivomectrin, it is tricky, pain staking & basically a PIA for the owners. What's the old saying, an ounce of prevention is worth ??can't remember the other part of the saying.

While I am a complete idiot when it comes to this cow stuff (learning & researching) dogs... however I know well, studied for the past 12 years everything from pedigrees to holistic treatment, training & everything inbetween.

The old dogs, got to love them. I lost my old girl to congestive heart failure. I still miss her.

 

[hillsdown]

Unlike livestock medications and vaccines you can not buy small animal meds or vaccines from your vet or feed store here it is illegal. All must be given by a licensed vet to the actual animal. The only thing you can purchase are ointments and mild dewormers and flee/heartworm controls like Revolution.

 

[bambi_boy]

Ugh - well that part stinks! Then there is no way to help control the cost!

Guess that is not a good enough reason to move to the States though ;-)

 

[Alice]

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

My other dogs have always been on heartworm preventative...this old dog is a rescue, bless her heart. The one I lost to the treatment was years ago, before heartworm was prevalent in my part of the world. Heck, the vets never even mentioned it back then. We had moved to Virginia for 1 year and that's where she contracted it. I was heartsick. She was a beautiful, wonderful, sweet chow chow. I wish to goodness I hadn't decided to even have her checked for heartworms back then, but after moving to Virginia I discovered that heartworms (well the mosquitoes carrying the heartworms) were really bad there. I know the "cure" isn't as radical as it once was, but I remember it too well...and the "treatment" turned out to be worse than the "cure."

Alice

 

[Brute 23]

Dogs need wormer maybe bi-monthly and rabies shots every 2 or 3 yrs. Pups need the parvo shot as a pup and at around 3 mon.

Parvo (7-way) is like $3 at the local feed store. You can worm them with Safeguard for horses ($8). Just give each dogs a click or two. Throw a little Ivomec in there every now and then and you should be good

Little off on your "schedule". Dogs don't get wormed 2x a month, however they do need heartworm protection every month. Ok with that said, you also mentioned Ivomectrin. Heartguard's main ingredient is Ivomectrin, so, yes you can give ivomectrin, BUT - some herding breeds are sensitive to it. the "throw a little" in is not an accurate statement. Too much and you can kill your dog. It is VERY SPECIFIC dosage. Ivomectrin does cover a broad spectrum of parasites.
***Dogs MUST BE HEARTWORM NEGATIVE BEFORE BEGINNING HEARTWORM PREVENTION!!!***

Parvo 7-way is inaccurate, there is only one Parvo strain.

5-way Puppy Shot is Distemper, Adenovirus Type 2 (gives cross immunity to Adenovirus Type 1 Hepatitis), Parainfluenza, (MLV) Parvo

7-Way is Canine Distemper, Hepatitis (CAV-1), Canine Adenovirus Type 2, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus Vaccine, and (MLV & KV) Leptospira Bacterin (Agri Labs)

here is the vac schedule according to SPCA & The Humane Society
VACCINATION SCHEDULES:

PUPPY VACCINATION SCHEDULE:
6-8 weeks - first vaccination of DA2PPv 10-12 weeks - second booster of DA2PPv
16 weeks - third booster plus rabies vaccination.


As far a Rabies is concerned, you have to check your local ordinance to see what is the LAW in your area. Again, using supply bought Rabies may not be legal in the sense of recognized in your area, so again running the risk of it not being so.


Personally I purchase my 7-way at my vets office (8 bucks) and that way I know that it is fresh. I have them do the rabies, so that I have the tag & the certificate. When you purchase the vaccine, there is a tab that you can pull (sticky) and just attach to your rabies certificate, put in your file – and boom your done.


There is much controversy about the boosters regarding adult dogs, as in the frequency, but until there is stone hard evidence, then keep with the yearly until proven otherwise.

Sorry bi-monthly may not be the word... I meant every other month or so.

Collies can not have it... but you can not kill a regular dog with too much Ivomec... nor can you kill them with too much Safeguard.... Trust me. ;-)

Do all that that... but don't wonder why you have a $500 vet bill. :tiphat:

 

[dieselbeef]

Unlike livestock medications and vaccines you can not buy small animal meds or vaccines from your vet or feed store here it is illegal. All must be given by a licensed vet to the actual animal. The only thing you can purchase are ointments and mild dewormers and flee/heartworm controls like Revolution.

i buy from petshed in austrailia. maybe they can ship to you in canada??? also jeffers has rabies shots that most other internet or mail order companys do not and offer excellent service. im sure they will ship to canada. even cold items are overnite shipped ina cooler. theyre great .
mostly anything in need as far as flea stuff or hartwerm i use petshed in austrailia as thyere cheaper but theu dont have rabies..only otc stuff..but its cheap

 

[bambi_boy]

Collies can not have it... but you can not kill a regular dog with too much Ivomec... nor can you kill them with too much Safeguard.... Trust me

There are several herding breeds that have a sensitivity to it (ivomectrin).

I find your other statement to be on the dark side, as in you have tried it.

Please be careful what you write on a public forum, as this is not a knowledge base statement, and I would hate for the false information to cause the demise of another's pet.

 

[hillsdown]

Unlike livestock medications and vaccines you can not buy small animal meds or vaccines from your vet or feed store here it is illegal. All must be given by a licensed vet to the actual animal. The only thing you can purchase are ointments and mild dewormers and flee/heartworm controls like Revolution.

i buy from petshed in austrailia. maybe they can ship to you in canada??? also jeffers has rabies shots that most other internet or mail order companys do not and offer excellent service. im sure they will ship to canada. even cold items are overnite shipped ina cooler. theyre great .
mostly anything in need as far as flea stuff or hartwerm i use petshed in austrailia as thyere cheaper but theu dont have rabies..only otc stuff..but its cheap

They won't ship any meds to Canada because of our laws.
I even called Valley Vet and all they could ship me was supplies like halters and tack no meds at all. There are so many medications that you guys in the States have access to that our government has banned.So we are at the mercy of the Vets, it also p's them off too because there are a lot of meds that they would like to use but can't because of residual residues etc.We actually just got Calf Span boluses back on the market after being pulled last fall because too many residuals were being found in slaughter calves.