Pet Care

[dawnwes]

Can we discuss pet care?

I feel like I was blind sighted yesterday.

I took my dog to the Vet and she reamed me for not providing the most expensive care for my dog. She wants me to get the $65/mo prescription for doggy arthritis and the $65/mo prescription for some sort of heart worm prevention, both purchased directly from her. She refuses to write prescriptions for outside vendors because "you don't know what you are getting" and won't even give my dog more meds until I do a $40 kidney urine test.

My dog is quite healthy. She does have some pain and now has been diagnosed with arthritis.

I don't need the fancy chewable, I just want a pill. I don't even mind getting a pill for a 100 pound dog (my dog is 50 pounds) and cutting it in half, but they will absolutely not entertain that idea.

I guess she gets a cut of the meds she sells at her office.

I am DONE with her. For one thing, she basically called me a bad pet owner who must not love my dog. And for another, she won't discuss cheaper alternatives or let me go anywhere else to get any meds.

Suggestions for meds for:

Heart worm
Flea/Tick
Arthritis


I have a feeling I will need to go pay for another Vet to even get a stupid script to save money.

[creditcardfree]

It's your dog and yes, you should find another vet!! You might call and ask the charges for the meds and their willingness to work with you to control costs before you schedule an appointment. Very unprofessional to call you a bad owner when there is no real basis of that.

[rennigade]

Your vet sounds like a peach.

We buy heartworm and flea meds from 1800petmeds. We pay an up front cost (around $300) and can take our dog as many times as we want to banfield (they are inside petsmart.) No complaints...they have been great. All shots, deworming, fecal exam, etc etc included in plan.

The vets have to call in to petmeds and let them know we can order the heartguard stuff I believe. Either that or the flea meds...I forget.

We have a 30 pound dog...for the flea meds I get the largest dog size vials and split them up. They come in 2.5ml vials...he only requires 1ml. We store the remainder in a contact lens case until next time. Saves a nice chuck of change. I also discussed this with the vets and they said that was a good idea and shouldnt run into any issues.

[Fishindude77]

Just give your dog an aspirin daily for the arthritis.

[msomnipotent]

As someone with arthritis, I would say to do your dog a favor and get a prescription for prednisone. It is dirt cheap, you can get a higher dose and split the pill, and it is very effective. Everyone is miserable when they are in pain. Your vet sounds like a pill herself. It sounds like someone is in dire need of a scathing Yelp review and a few less clients. My vet price matches online retailers, so I just print out the cheapest price I can find for all their meds and bring it in. The savings adds up between the dog and cats, and now I have to make an appointment for my daughter's goldfish. A goldfish!!!! But I think its eye needs to be removed and I'm not willing to do it. It is just hanging there, all gross and rude-like.

I forgot to add that Walmart has the 5mg prednisone on their $4/$10 plan, so you can get 90 pills for $10, split them in half (should be plenty for your dog), and have a six month supply for $10. I have heard that other places do that, too.

[97guns]

i got a buddy with a dog that has bad arthritus, for the past year hes been throwing him glucosomine pills and the dog gets around much better on them, the stuff really works, no way it could be psychological

[FLA]

I have to go take both dogs to the vet in a few weeks. I'm dreading it because I feel pushed to get the $500-700 teeth cleaning, "your dog will live longer because gum disease won't go to her heart". Twice I've done that and a perfectly healthy dog became suddenly ill with other things within the year and were dead anyway, at least they had clean teeth! My income has dropped significantly and I cannot afford the teeth unless it is an absolute necessity. And I'm not 100% sure she'll be honest with me. Last time she suggested it for one dog who had white teeth and I thought, why? So I said I didn't have the money right then and she let it go.

I know you shouldn't own pets if you can't afford them, but my income changed suddenly and unexpectedly. My dogs get good care and it wouldn't make sense to get rid of them just because expensive teeth cleaning has become issue.

[dawnwes]

I have to go take both dogs to the vet in a few weeks. I'm dreading it because I feel pushed to get the $500-700 teeth cleaning, "your dog will live longer because gum disease won't go to her heart". Twice I've done that and a perfectly healthy dog became suddenly ill with other things within the year and were dead anyway, at least they had clean teeth! My income has dropped significantly and I cannot afford the teeth unless it is an absolute necessity. And I'm not 100% sure she'll be honest with me. Last time she suggested it for one dog who had white teeth and I thought, why? So I said I didn't have the money right then and she let it go.

I know you shouldn't own pets if you can't afford them, but my income changed suddenly and unexpectedly. My dogs get good care and it wouldn't make sense to get rid of them just because expensive teeth cleaning has become issue.

OH MY GOSH! I have never gotten my dogs' teeth cleaned. Never. I have brushed them myself, but never had it done.

As for the bolded.....it is all relative. What does "afford" mean? That is like saying if you can't afford kids you shoudnl't have them....but what does one mean by that statement? Provide private school, all the extra curricular they want, college costs? What college is good enough for one to think I am "affording" a child?

I have a dog. I love my dog. I feed my dog, play with my dog, give her lots of attention, take her on walks, give her treats, and get her shots.

I do NOT....do doggy daycare, pay for teeth cleaning, take her to the canine psychologist, pay for doggy acupressure or chiropractic services, etc....

[dawnwes]

Your vet sounds like a peach.

We buy heartworm and flea meds from 1800petmeds. We pay an up front cost (around $300) and can take our dog as many times as we want to banfield (they are inside petsmart.) No complaints...they have been great. All shots, deworming, fecal exam, etc etc included in plan.

The vets have to call in to petmeds and let them know we can order the heartguard stuff I believe. Either that or the flea meds...I forget.

We have a 30 pound dog...for the flea meds I get the largest dog size vials and split them up. They come in 2.5ml vials...he only requires 1ml. We store the remainder in a contact lens case until next time. Saves a nice chuck of change. I also discussed this with the vets and they said that was a good idea and shouldnt run into any issues.

Ok, I looked up Banfield. I should go that route next year maybe. Is $300 for the lowest tier?

[rennigade]

Ok, I looked up Banfield. I should go that route next year maybe. Is $300 for the lowest tier?

Im not sure what tier it is. I know when he was a puppy it was more since puppies require a bunch of shots...and it also covered neutering.

He's 4 now so the price dropped. I think we have the essential wellness plan.

[MichaelHulse]

Well it is nice to read various post on pets. But sharing my own views I don't like pets.

[Permanent Temp]

Im not sure what tier it is. I know when he was a puppy it was more since puppies require a bunch of shots...and it also covered neutering.

He's 4 now so the price dropped. I think we have the essential wellness plan.

I didn't like Banfield. I had to use it before because I had a really inflexible job and a 3 hour commute so Sundays were the only days I could really take the dog to the vet for scheduled appointments. They space out the payment through the year and they are really expensive. They also try to push all sorts of things on you.

I would recommend them for the free visit that often comes when you adopt a pet but other than that I'm good.

I now take my dog to a local vet because he no longer is under watch. When I got him he needed to gain a lot of weight and had kennel cough. Aside from a few upset tummy issues he's been fine for years.

OP, your vet reminds me of vets I've had at Banfield, there not all bad but I have had a few like that there. I hope you find someone better! If your doc has a lot of issues though try pet insurance maybe?

[Gailete]

Goodness, that reminds of the vet I had to use for awhile (don't have the dog anymore as this was 20 years ago). They of course insisted on all sorts of shots including if we had to leave him in a kennel! We were not rich people and if we did have to take a trip without him, he sure wouldn't have gone into a kennel for that time. It would have cost more than the vacation. I finally knew my vet was a nut when they suggested I take Fred to the AIRPORT to help socialize him! An airport an hours drive away and Fred was not in training to be a service job so he wouldn't have been let in the airport anyhow! Like we were supposed to pays heaps of money to park in the parking lot and walk him around the parked cars? We could have done that at the local grocery store.

No pets now, but I do get tired of vets putting people under guilt trips for not providing very expensive and almost outlandish treatments. We can't even afford $500 dentist visits for ourselves so why should we pay that for an animal?

BTW - I would proceed with caution about the use of Prednisone. It can have a lot of side effects (bad ones) in people so unless specifically told to by a vet and the proper amount I wouldn't give it. I have bad arthritis myself and I can no longer take even a minimal dose as it spikes my BP so high plus it bothers stomachs prone to ulcers. However, it is cheap.

[Nutria]

Well it is nice to read various post on pets. But sharing my own views I don't like pets.

Sometimes you have to just not make a comment.

[frugal saver]

First of all, to respond to a previous poster, my dog was put on 5mg prednisone. Yes, I agree the cost was fine. Within 3 months she was in total liver failure and died. I'm sure that's not what usually happens, but at the time I was hearing that long-term use in dogs is a lot more dangerous than in humans.

I currently have 3 dogs and 2 cats, all rescues or "can you watch him for the weekend" dumps. I have a wonderful vet--but I say right off the bat that I have a fixed income and I will have to shop prescriptions. Only one vet refused (they even said that most of their profit came from the markup), but everyone else has been great.

Second, I have my own pet insurance. I looked into all the companies, what they cost, and what they cover; chose the best plan I could afford, and then instead of signing up with the company, I put that amount into my "pet insurance" savings account every month. The plan (if we ever get good interest again) is that every emergency will be paid for with part my savings and part bank interest.

I have a great respect for vets but they're there to basically make money, and I'm there to keep my pet healthy for the least amount of money. Hopefully we meet in the middle.