Vet price check
Discussion
Simpo Two said:
Boosted LS1 said:
As for a cat then it's an easy diy, just use sharp clippers.
Have you actually tried that? Mine would rip me to pieces!shedweller said:
My dog had an op on his foot - they made mess of it and it got infected.
£5 for latex gloves
£45 for a bandage change every 48hrs
Original estimate was 340 for everything
By the time he was right it was £1400 - all they kept saying was "you have got insurance haven't you?"
Isn’t that the bigger issue? It’s all done through insurance so they can charge a premium. Same as car insurance ten times the cost of an independent just because they can. £5 for latex gloves
£45 for a bandage change every 48hrs
Original estimate was 340 for everything
By the time he was right it was £1400 - all they kept saying was "you have got insurance haven't you?"
Boosted LS1 said:
Simpo Two said:
Boosted LS1 said:
As for a cat then it's an easy diy, just use sharp clippers.
Have you actually tried that? Mine would rip me to pieces!Never had to clip my cat's claws, they shed them naturally.
Just reading this thread, touch wood not much cost recently for our pooch. For the horses, however, I'd suggest you never get into nags. Vet bills here would bring a tear to a glass eye... recent events, Nag 1 scoping and diagnosed as low-grade stomach ulcer, treatment; £1200. Nag 2, spring grass, went tonto eating it resulting in the onset of colic as a result and wee trauma with the state he got himself in. Emergency vet, sedation, investigation (big arm glove on), clean up and drugs. £695.
Interesting topic, we live in Dubai with 3 rescued monsters, I mean cats. Love them, but 2 are getting on, and the youngest one had a hard start to life, so all three seem to be regular visitors to the vets.
Maybe we have been lucky, but i think their fees are reasonable - 7+ years at college, big overheads to set up and run the practice, all adds up.
By way of comparison, nail clipping for the youngest (has an ingrowing nail, probably caused by being kicked in the past...) about £10 a time for all the nails - (he would not let us near his claws...!) seems reasonable to me.
Other treatments/consults/minor surgery have all seemed reasonable to me.
Just to add, pet insurance is not really available out here, so maybe that has an impact
Maybe we have been lucky, but i think their fees are reasonable - 7+ years at college, big overheads to set up and run the practice, all adds up.
By way of comparison, nail clipping for the youngest (has an ingrowing nail, probably caused by being kicked in the past...) about £10 a time for all the nails - (he would not let us near his claws...!) seems reasonable to me.
Other treatments/consults/minor surgery have all seemed reasonable to me.
Just to add, pet insurance is not really available out here, so maybe that has an impact
We've changed vets due to incompetence on the originals, but from them a couple of beauts:
- £48.50 for a 4 minute consultation in the car park.
- £1400 quote for an allergy assessment. Done for free when I changed to poultry free dog food.
Our cat wasn't well and took it last Sunday to the hospital that's in the same group as our vet is.
Quite an impressive place, quite busy even at 9AM on Sunday morning. When we picked him up on Tuesday there were four receptionists on the desk!
Thank God we have him insured - I'm not even sure why we do, we've always had a cat and never insured them before. However the claim limit is £4K and those two nights in hospital plus a cardiology ultrasound scan and were getting perilously close to the limit.
The place must be raking in a fortune.
As for 10mins with the dentist - I see ours privately, bit of chat and then she's actually looking in my mouth for about 30 seconds. If you want a scale and polish then you see the hygienist.
Quite an impressive place, quite busy even at 9AM on Sunday morning. When we picked him up on Tuesday there were four receptionists on the desk!
Thank God we have him insured - I'm not even sure why we do, we've always had a cat and never insured them before. However the claim limit is £4K and those two nights in hospital plus a cardiology ultrasound scan and were getting perilously close to the limit.
The place must be raking in a fortune.
As for 10mins with the dentist - I see ours privately, bit of chat and then she's actually looking in my mouth for about 30 seconds. If you want a scale and polish then you see the hygienist.
Our cat has had a hip replacement that has failed some 5 weeks in. Next hip is a custom made dog one. Unfortunately I have a 20% contribution to the claim cost. My contribution would buy four more cats.
The bill is terrifying but it's quite a skill working on a huge variation of creatures and rare skills always seem to be expensive.
The bill is terrifying but it's quite a skill working on a huge variation of creatures and rare skills always seem to be expensive.
Big_Dog said:
Our cat has had a hip replacement that has failed some 5 weeks in. Next hip is a custom made dog one. Unfortunately I have a 20% contribution to the claim cost. My contribution would buy four more cats.
The bill is terrifying but it's quite a skill working on a huge variation of creatures and rare skills always seem to be expensive.
In any other industry, if something broke after 5 weeks you'd get a free replacement!The bill is terrifying but it's quite a skill working on a huge variation of creatures and rare skills always seem to be expensive.
My cat was £50 (well actually £40 but I made it up to £50), so cheap to buy if not to run...
We swear by our Vet. A smallish privately run operation with a fantastic team around her. She is a wonderful person who’s priority is the welfare of the animals she treats. The other vets in her practise have also been great. The practise charges fairly, in my opinion. Couple of things to note generally.
1. It takes many years to become a vet and many more to become a good one. A vet has to be a specialist in most things, unlike a doctor who are either GPs (Generally Poor) or specialists in one area. A vet’s patient cannot discuss its ailments, so the vet has to be able to read between the lines and use their expertise and experience earned over many years to narrow down the issue and try their best to avoid unnecessary tests/procedures.
2. Drugs are expensive. All drugs, including human drugs. We have the NHS to shield us from these expensive costs. There is no NHS for dogs, so we have to pay the market rate for drugs.
3. You can save money just getting a script and sourcing your animal’s drugs online. If, like ours, your vet is fair with their pricing, you will not be stripped of the shirt off your back. It is, in my view, important to support your local vet as far as possible because….
4. Equipment costs a fortune. Scanners, X-ray machine, laser treatment devices, theatre equipment for ops, the list goes on. Then there are staff costs, premises cost, utilities - vet practices tend to use a lot of electricity. Our vet probably earns less per hour than her receptionist relative to the hours worked. She practically lives there and when she is at home, she often has in patients at her home overnight.
I do not begrudge her or her practice a penny for what they do for our animals.
All of the above does not apply to corporate VC backed group practises who all may as well wear masks, berets and striped tops.
If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!” Brigade who have no idea about the realities of running a practice and the small fact that yesterday they saved your animal’s life.
1. It takes many years to become a vet and many more to become a good one. A vet has to be a specialist in most things, unlike a doctor who are either GPs (Generally Poor) or specialists in one area. A vet’s patient cannot discuss its ailments, so the vet has to be able to read between the lines and use their expertise and experience earned over many years to narrow down the issue and try their best to avoid unnecessary tests/procedures.
2. Drugs are expensive. All drugs, including human drugs. We have the NHS to shield us from these expensive costs. There is no NHS for dogs, so we have to pay the market rate for drugs.
3. You can save money just getting a script and sourcing your animal’s drugs online. If, like ours, your vet is fair with their pricing, you will not be stripped of the shirt off your back. It is, in my view, important to support your local vet as far as possible because….
4. Equipment costs a fortune. Scanners, X-ray machine, laser treatment devices, theatre equipment for ops, the list goes on. Then there are staff costs, premises cost, utilities - vet practices tend to use a lot of electricity. Our vet probably earns less per hour than her receptionist relative to the hours worked. She practically lives there and when she is at home, she often has in patients at her home overnight.
I do not begrudge her or her practice a penny for what they do for our animals.
All of the above does not apply to corporate VC backed group practises who all may as well wear masks, berets and striped tops.
If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!” Brigade who have no idea about the realities of running a practice and the small fact that yesterday they saved your animal’s life.
French bulldog went lame….what a surprise. Two new knees, two hips and spinal surgery. £25,000.00 was the quote. We went down the strong pain killers etc route reducing over 12 months. It cost about £500 in total and he is seemingly fine.
Our Vizsla at 8 yrs had been back and forth at £100+ a visit for 2yrs when they eventually did an ultrasound and discovered a huge ( grapefruit sized) cist in her chest. It was removed as was £2k.
Having never paid insurance in 20 yrs I think I’m winning.
Our Vizsla at 8 yrs had been back and forth at £100+ a visit for 2yrs when they eventually did an ultrasound and discovered a huge ( grapefruit sized) cist in her chest. It was removed as was £2k.
Having never paid insurance in 20 yrs I think I’m winning.
Superleg48 said:
We swear by our Vet. A smallish privately run operation with a fantastic team around her. She is a wonderful person who’s priority is the welfare of the animals she treats. The other vets in her practise have also been great. The practise charges fairly, in my opinion. Couple of things to note generally.
1. It takes many years to become a vet and many more to become a good one. A vet has to be a specialist in most things, unlike a doctor who are either GPs (Generally Poor) or specialists in one area. A vet’s patient cannot discuss its ailments, so the vet has to be able to read between the lines and use their expertise and experience earned over many years to narrow down the issue and try their best to avoid unnecessary tests/procedures.
2. Drugs are expensive. All drugs, including human drugs. We have the NHS to shield us from these expensive costs. There is no NHS for dogs, so we have to pay the market rate for drugs.
3. You can save money just getting a script and sourcing your animal’s drugs online. If, like ours, your vet is fair with their pricing, you will not be stripped of the shirt off your back. It is, in my view, important to support your local vet as far as possible because….
4. Equipment costs a fortune. Scanners, X-ray machine, laser treatment devices, theatre equipment for ops, the list goes on. Then there are staff costs, premises cost, utilities - vet practices tend to use a lot of electricity. Our vet probably earns less per hour than her receptionist relative to the hours worked. She practically lives there and when she is at home, she often has in patients at her home overnight.
I do not begrudge her or her practice a penny for what they do for our animals.
All of the above does not apply to corporate VC backed group practises who all may as well wear masks, berets and striped tops.
If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!” Brigade who have no idea about the realities of running a practice and the small fact that yesterday they saved your animal’s life.
I agree with most of that. We have recently had our black Lab pup and this time I wanted to support an independently owned vet. So we found a vet practice (not the closest), their website advertised the fact that they charge reasonable rates but, unlike the large company owned practices, don't make money on inflated meds etc. 1. It takes many years to become a vet and many more to become a good one. A vet has to be a specialist in most things, unlike a doctor who are either GPs (Generally Poor) or specialists in one area. A vet’s patient cannot discuss its ailments, so the vet has to be able to read between the lines and use their expertise and experience earned over many years to narrow down the issue and try their best to avoid unnecessary tests/procedures.
2. Drugs are expensive. All drugs, including human drugs. We have the NHS to shield us from these expensive costs. There is no NHS for dogs, so we have to pay the market rate for drugs.
3. You can save money just getting a script and sourcing your animal’s drugs online. If, like ours, your vet is fair with their pricing, you will not be stripped of the shirt off your back. It is, in my view, important to support your local vet as far as possible because….
4. Equipment costs a fortune. Scanners, X-ray machine, laser treatment devices, theatre equipment for ops, the list goes on. Then there are staff costs, premises cost, utilities - vet practices tend to use a lot of electricity. Our vet probably earns less per hour than her receptionist relative to the hours worked. She practically lives there and when she is at home, she often has in patients at her home overnight.
I do not begrudge her or her practice a penny for what they do for our animals.
All of the above does not apply to corporate VC backed group practises who all may as well wear masks, berets and striped tops.
If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!” Brigade who have no idea about the realities of running a practice and the small fact that yesterday they saved your animal’s life.
First visit for vaccination, second visit for second jab we mentioned that he had had some diarrhoea but it had improved after changing his food. Vet said we'll give him something to firm things up anyway, £23.60 for some stuff in a syringe which we then find that we could have bought the same without prescription at Pets at Home for just £13 !! and that's before searching on-line. I wouldn't have minded paying a few quid extra, but ripping us off to the tune of 100% (and that's just at the PaH price) has destroyed the initial thought of supporting the small practice.
We didn't use the stuff anyway as we wanted to make sure that the food change did the trick first, which it did.
Superleg48 said:
All of the above does not apply to corporate VC backed group practises who all may as well wear masks, berets and striped tops.
If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!” Brigade who have no idea about the realities of running a practice and the small fact that yesterday they saved your animal’s life.
The first line is incorrect, mainly due to its generalisation. It is also insulting to me and my team who work for a corporate business, saying we don't care about our patients as much as money. There may be vets, independent or part of a larger business who don't care about individual relationships, but it is not all of us by any means.If you can, find a good independent vet practice, even if it is not immediately local and strike up a relationship with them. They really appreciate it and makes a massive difference to the “how much?!” Brigade who have no idea about the realities of running a practice and the small fact that yesterday they saved your animal’s life.
I have been running, building and investing in this business for over 30 years and I am proud of how "my" practice performs. It is more to do with the people who now bwecome vets than who owns the business that you find the care or don't care attitude.
New graduates don't want to do on-call work, they don't want to work weekends, they want a 4 day week, and they expect £40k starting salary. It's sometimes hard to get the public to understand the overall difficulty of running a business like this, and it was even harder through covid. There is a national shortage of vets, driving up wages which, now that we have a parent company, means that the financial deficit no longer needs to come out of my house or pension.
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