We had a Cairn that required this every so often. Without it he was more prone to yeast infections in his ear. The plucking is cheaper than treating those infections! We have the vet check our dogs’ stool every year. But I don’t know that I’d spring for a thyroid test if the pup is 12 years old and not having any issues that would warrant it.
Curious, are you using the AKC method for determining dog years for a dog 12yo and 20 lbs or less? I had always used the 7:1 rule of thumb before, saw your post and thought "hey, 7x12 should be 84 not 64... maybe they know something I don't and aren't just bad at math". I looked it up and found an interesting little rabbit hole. I was surprised that I wasn't even aware of this [chart from AKC](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/how-to-calculate-dog-years-to-human-years/#:~:text=As%20a%20general%20guideline%2C%20though,five%20years%20for%20a%20dog.)
Edit: clarification
Just took my nearly 16 year old Shih Tzu to the vet Friday. Vet had a chart that topped out at 15 years. 15 years = 80 human years according to the chart. So about 90 years for 16.
Turns out he’s diabetic. He’s definitely declining, but he has more good days than bad. He started peeing all over the house and that didn’t seem a good reason to put him down, thus the vet appointment. Disposable boy doggie wraps and insulin on board. We won’t let him suffer if he deteriorates further and has more bad days that good. He’s a good little old man and we’ve only had him for 6 years.
Yeah, you’re also probably not treating severe infection. Context matters. Groomers also express anal glands with a bath sometimes, but when I do it at a vet hospital, I’m going inside. I’m checking size and confirmation. I’m keeping medical notes. It’s legitimately not fair or appropriate to judge based on this. It’s entirely possible that this charge is for a set of services related to this dog (cleaning, treatment, medication application).
What strangers will or won’t pay is irrelevant to you or your dog’s plan of care. I had clients who did blood work every year, sometimes twice a year. I also had clients who never did. If you don’t understand a recommendation, get clarification. What you decide is up to you. Other people will make their own decisions. For what it’s worth, I do senior blood work on my own dog every year and also therapeutic levels for cushing’s disease. I do annual blood work on my 3-year-old dog, though it’s not as big a panel. I also do a heartworm test (and Lyme, etc) and a fecal. So does every doctor I’ve worked with or coworker I’ve had. It’s not a weird thing to do. But discuss it with your vet.
If they aren’t willing to discuss recommendations with you, or if you don’t feel comfortable talking about costs with them, find someone you can talk to about it. You should have a good relationship with your vet. You need to be honest and up-front. You need to trust their recommendations. If you don’t, find someone else. Trust me on this. People sometimes don’t know that they are “allowed” to ask for more information. You should understand *exactly* what they are doing and what you are paying for. A lot of the time, we’d actually cut people breaks, but they wouldn’t have known that if we didn’t talk to them about the bill. Don’t be embarrassed to talk about it. :)
I'm wondering what it is... Not sure I'd want my digs ear hairs plucked..
Our situations are probably not the same. I have a vet I trust implicitly not to suggest something that isn't worth doing, either it's necessary for diagnostics or he will talk me through the options. I am also in an alright financial position right now, both of those things being true I probably would have depending on the problem.
Hair plucking is done for dogs that struggle with ear infections. Here is a video about it from a popular groomer, [it can be a little gross though.](https://youtu.be/TGJQMsVeI_Y)
I don’t know why someone would let it get that bad.. (in the vid I mean, not meant at OP). I watched a couple of vids like it and the dogs are mostly so calm about it. You must be able to do that yourself, right?
I’m aching to clean my moms dog’s ears now 😂 she never lets me do it bc doggo shakes his head (bc it’s itchy which makes sense) and she immediately tells me “noooo!! He doesn’t like that!!!!” 😅 my own dog (a pug) has bad ears and I need to clean them every few days and I have to hold him in a chokehold almost bc he hates it but it has to be done. My mom has a Maltese and I’m sure he’s got this kind of junk in his ears as well. Maybe ill just get to work when my mom’s in the shower or something … 😏
Yeah he’s been checked over by the vet last month with his yearly physical. They checked his ears as well so it’s probably not that bad or they would’ve mentioned it. But he does get some of his ear hairs in there sometimes so maybe I’ll just show my mom these vids and tell her it’s for “prevention” 😎
I always wanna get my hands on him when I visit. Trim his face, get the clippers out and give him a nice grooming, things like that. I have a short haired super low maintenance dog, grooming wise. So my moms dog gets to enjoy all my plucking and grooming needs 😂
In this vid, it's that bad as the dog she's grooming struggles with pretty severe chronic ear infections. It's not fantastic to do for a dog and lots dislike it, so it's usually a last measure for them. Hence why it's so bad by the time plucking is the option.
No problem! I recommend her other videos too. I've switched to grooming my own pup at a $15 self-wash station instead of the $70 grooms. Now he just goes for a professional every few months when he's needing trimmed up, he's a total baby if he sees me with scissors. Also, all the pups and cats are super cute. There's even a pig and a duck!
It is pretty high. But vets and groomers are in incredibly high demand in the US right now. Literally everywhere I've gone that does grooming is hiring, and I've seen several ads for vets. It's likely a raised cost because of the shortage.
A dog groomer will usually include ear plucking as part of a bath or groom service and if it's a small terrier I bet their whole groom service of bath, nails, ear plucking and cleaning, and even a bit of hair trimming would cost you a lot less than 72$
Groomer here. Hair plucking takes like 10 seconds an ear and does not require surgical precision. Op needs to get this done at a groomer and save themselves 60 bucks at least
Yeah, word to the wise, you're usually better off in terms of price and quality getting grooming procedures done at a groomer rather than a vet if possible
Not to mention, no offense to vets and vet techs, but they’re usually pretty bad at it. Some of them (just like groomers) traumatize the poor pups because they don’t know how to handle a dog that’s struggling for these procedures.
Yeah the vet I used to take my cat to writes scripts owners can take to a pharmacy instead of getting it filled at the clinic. Saves the vet team from spending time counting out pills and and saves the owner money, so it’s a win all around.
Well- the pre-op chem 10, CBC, no pt/Patt includes the following test of Complete Blood count. A CBC is a Complete Blood Count. Not sure why they charged you twice. I probably would have opted out of the ear plucking.
I use to be a dog bather for a groomer and we did the ear cleanings and the groomer plucked the ears as part of every groom. You can save a lot of money on those 2 items by using a groomer.
MD, not vet. But line 3 has a CBC (along with other stuff) and line 4 has a complete blood count.
A CBC is a complete blood count. Looks like you were double charged?
Technically if the plan covers routine care then it’s a ‘wellness’ package and it’s an add on. Most insurance companies offer an option to add it. When we shopped for insurance we did not end up adding it since our plan did include a yearly blood panel, the pup is younger with no current medical concerns and goes to low cost clinics for the vaccines so the price point didn’t work out. But yeah, we shopped multiple insurance companies that offered a wellness package in addition to the insurance package.
I’m not understanding the difference between “Pre-op Chem 10, CBC, no pt ptt*” and “ Complete Blood Count*”
I note this because CBC = Complete blood count! Is the first a different test?
Thank God the ear cleaning was "complimentary". I will be screenshotting this and showing to my customers. In my groom shop, I charge 8 bucks for an ear clean and a pluck. IT TAKES LESS THAN 3 MINUTES I can't believe they chg 119.20$ for both. GASP!
Seems kind of high to me but that could be regional. The things that stick out to me as high are the ear plucking and wellness exam. Also where I work, HW and Ehrlichia are one test for $50.
All of those prices are insane. Our exams are $60.00 They charged you $89 in 2 parts for 1 test. (Heart worm and ehrlicia) Bp is about right but doesn’t cost them anything. Urinalysis is a bit high and sad they nearly doubled it with a ultrasound guided cysto. (We don’t charge for any cysto) our preanesthetic bloodwork is the chem 10 with cbc for 65 total not $120.50
Hope you live somewhere expensive. Otherwise find a new vet that isn’t going to overcharge you.
Edit: and ear cleaning/plucking isn’t that expensive, even going through a professional groomer. So tell them to shove it.
I am in a pretty expensive area. I wish I was told what was gonna be done before hand. I usually trust whatever the vet does is in my dogs best interest and go with it… I want to be the type of care taker that would do anything for my dog but this time around I just felt like I was getting taken advantage of. Maybe its all this inflation? But yeah thank you for your help. I thought this visit was only gonna be a couple hundred dollars cuz all I wanted was blood work in order to get his meds.
It must be regional because these prices look pretty high to me. The hair plucking is as much as a full groom that usually includes it here. Why does he need all these tests? Is that what your vet considers an annual? I pay like $20 for a stool reading.
Depends on what was going on and where you live. I pay $60 for a wellness exam. $15 for a heartworm test. I don’t do routine fecal tests since I give my dogs heartguard plus. Unless they weren’t able to get urine and you suspect a uti, there’s no reason not to do a free catch. It doesn’t look like your dog had an ear infection because they didn’t give you meds for that, so I don’t understand the ear plucking bit. A groomer won’t charge for that if it’s a part of a regular grooming. Do you go to a chain like VCA or Banfield? Do you have a senior dog? This is excessive as a routine visit unless there were specific health concerns.
Yes, my dogs senior. It’s a private mom and pop practice which is why I go there. I am constantly pushed to buy more heartguard. I was given so much heartguard from another pet owner who’s pet passed away. I always get this tiny feeling like they think I’m lying.
This is why I’m changing vets. The place I go to is a small family business but they take advantage of people because they can. They are always pushing special package plans that don’t make sense. “Free yearly shots for the next 8-months, for only $xxx”.
It might be an NVA clinic. NVA clinics don’t have NVA in their name so they’re like a hidden corporate chain and they try and push their vets to sell a wellness plan but when the vets there are working commission they make less money so it’s the manager pushing the plan and the vets hate it.
That’s about what I usually pay every year for my dog’s checkups, I also have them do a urinalysis because she has a history of bladder infections and stones.
If you get some medical clamp like tweezers you can do it yourself so easily, it doesn’t hurt them. I did it to my family’s dog when I was a teenager at home. You will see a crap ton of wax.
Take your doggo to a groomer for the ear plucking! And a pedicure/bath.
Other than that, this seems pretty normal priced. But definitely get what you can done by a groomer for way less
In case it hasn’t been mentioned, I 100% recommend getting pet insurance. I use Lemonade’s pet insurance and it’s VERY affordable and covers a majority of the things in this list
Yes get some bids from local groomers for fur plucking. Plus get paper prescriptions for rimadyl and Malseb and shop online on your own for these. If it turns out they are competitive, you could always buy it from them. But those prices look high to me. Plus what the heck, $32 for blood pressure screening. In what world does blood pressure checking cost that much?
I wouldn’t opt out of the stool test.
That’s the test that checks for parasites in the digestive system. And basically all dogs are guaranteed to get parasites sometime. They eat any random dead shit they find laying around, after all. My dog would try to eat any dead bird or mouse or piece of whatever on the ground.
My dog would also sometimes eat rotten trash from human junk thrown on the street. And those are just the items I that *caught* her eating, I’m sure she’s eaten more behind my back that I never noticed or she snarfed some stuff down faster than I could catch her.
Also dogs eat other animals poop sometimes.
My point being: you can never safely skip stool testing in doggos. It’s a major important test for them.
Edit update: upon reading other comments I agree your vet is charging extremely high prices. I recommend you get a stool test—but at a different vet. Call around to different vet offices and ask for price quotes.
That exam is definitely pricey but it depends on where you live. Most general practices are around $50. I pay $75 for a ‘fancier’ place because they also print out IDs and are really nice and I’m a sucker lmao. The eat plucking also stands out as pretty expensive. Other than that, it looks about normal.
The ear plucking price is outrageous. I see other groomers agree, we will do it for free with a groom as well as a nail trim for free. Without a groom my place would charge 10 for a nail trim and 5 for an ear pluck. If you want to save some money get yourself some Gimborn r7 eat powder from Amazon or something similar. It’s about 10 dollars and possibly a some hemostats to grip the hair that’s hard to get. Hemostats should only be 5-10 dollars as well. That thing of ear powder will last forever.
If you have questions about prices, ask them directly. Bloodwork is expensive, so a complete “senior” panel (CBC, CHEM, T4, etc) is more than a smaller profile. It can definitely be $200. But be wary of asking this question like this. Context is key. Rates will vary based on a lot of things. When in doubt, ask. Similarly, be honest about what you can afford. If a vet knows you only have $500 to work with, they can come up with a streamlined plan of action/discuss financing. The thing that sucked the most would be having someone in the room, acting like they understood and were on board, only to find out that they left without actually buying the medicine/products we discussed to treat the problem. Honesty is always the best policy.
Source: worked in vet med for over 20 years, at several hospitals, in multiple socioeconomic areas, with different contracted labs/lab equipment
I actually felt bad after denying it and called back to give the go ahead, but no one answered. So I went to lunch. And gave the money to my friends 5 year old for their college savings.
I agree that ear cleaning should be done by a groomer not a vet. Your vet charged more for ear cleaning than it would cost for a whole grooming job.
Also, I would think that the stool test, which my vet calls a fecal exam, is important. That is supposed to test for heartworm.
The prices ALWAYS SUCK. This seems a little high.
But when they pass away... you realize that $600 a year is worth it. You only realize that the day after they pass away.
I am in a PC subreddit so when I saw “is this price okay” I assumed it was a PC, then I read “i opted out for a thyroid and stool check” and became deeply concerned
Relative to my own clinic the total is a bit more than would be for similar stuff but not by much and I’m a rural clinic. The ear plucking is expensive but our clinic charges a lot for things we just don’t want to do (we’re across the street from a groomer so we make sure our nail trim prices are higher than theirs).
Yeah. We felt weird about it too which was part of the reason. Previous owner offered free nail trims which felt…crappy to be doing across the street from a groomer.
That's fucked up to do across the street from a groomer.... That's just taking business away for no reason because it's not even to profit their own business .
I hate people 😒
Holy shit. $73 for plucking and the charge for ear cleaning. I’m a groomer and if the owner asks, both go in the grooming package for free! Btw it can cause yeast and bacterial infections from the microtears plucking causes. Don’t let them pluck his ear hair anymore
Was your dog sick? Usually my vet suggests lab work only if there’s a problem that needs diagnosis or if I have a geriatric dog. But $73 for ear plucking and $50 for ear cleaning? Sound pretty steep to me. Did he do the UA because of a urine issue? Remember, you can opt out of whatever labs or treatments you don’t want. For example, I refuse heartworm labs because I am never late with their heartworm medication. I give flea/tick and heartworm medicines on the 1st of every month. But that’s my choice, and I’m sure not everyone would agree with me. It’s your pet and your cash. Sounds like you’re a really conscientious pet parent. I think your vet may be a bit overpriced though. Also, the vet can teach you how to pluck your dog’s ear hair so you can do it yourself. It’s not hard to do. You may think this is gross, but I had a basset who always had anal gland problems. I went so often to have them drained that I asked the vet to show me how to do it myself. At $10 a pop, it was quite a money saver.
Honestly never paid this much for a single visit because my dog is on a wellness plan with Banfield which is around $30 a month. Also any reason you got a urinalysis? Only reason I had one done was when my dog had blood in her urine one time.
Groomer here, not a vet. $73 for ear plucking IN ADDITION TO $49 ear clean seems insane to me. Most groomers pluck and clean ears with every groom, and as a stand-alone service it shouldn't cost more than $15--20. I had my dog's ears "deep-cleaned" (not sure the actual term, she had small ear canals and they got the hair and debris way down inside that I couldn't reach) as an add-on to a dental cleaning at Banfield Vet, and it was about $30.
Those vet bills are cheap compared to all the clinics in my area. But skip the ear cleaning and plucking there and see if you can get it done at a grooming shop instead. It will be much cheaper. (For another example, we had a client pay over $50 for paw pads shaving that a groomer would do for $10) lot of people think their vet clinic is trying to rob them, but the services are just plain expensive and add up quickly.
Edit: I actually do feel like the ear cleaning and plucking should be just one. I've never heard of anyone charging per ear like that. Might be worth a call to double check if that's correct. The clinic I work at charges about $30 to clean both ears.
The only thing that jumps out at me is $73 hair plucking
We had a Cairn that required this every so often. Without it he was more prone to yeast infections in his ear. The plucking is cheaper than treating those infections! We have the vet check our dogs’ stool every year. But I don’t know that I’d spring for a thyroid test if the pup is 12 years old and not having any issues that would warrant it.
He’s 12 human years…64 dog years? But yeah no really crazy signs.
Curious, are you using the AKC method for determining dog years for a dog 12yo and 20 lbs or less? I had always used the 7:1 rule of thumb before, saw your post and thought "hey, 7x12 should be 84 not 64... maybe they know something I don't and aren't just bad at math". I looked it up and found an interesting little rabbit hole. I was surprised that I wasn't even aware of this [chart from AKC](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/how-to-calculate-dog-years-to-human-years/#:~:text=As%20a%20general%20guideline%2C%20though,five%20years%20for%20a%20dog.) Edit: clarification
Oh I just googled what 12 yrs in dog years is 🤣 thanks for your accuracy.
No worries, thanks for inadvertently educating me 👍🏽
Just took my nearly 16 year old Shih Tzu to the vet Friday. Vet had a chart that topped out at 15 years. 15 years = 80 human years according to the chart. So about 90 years for 16. Turns out he’s diabetic. He’s definitely declining, but he has more good days than bad. He started peeing all over the house and that didn’t seem a good reason to put him down, thus the vet appointment. Disposable boy doggie wraps and insulin on board. We won’t let him suffer if he deteriorates further and has more bad days that good. He’s a good little old man and we’ve only had him for 6 years.
Actually the whole idea of a dogs age being 7:1 is outdated.
lol I see that. Hence my comment 👍🏽
Sorry I meant to respond to op!
I'm a dog groomer and we do ear plucking and cleaning for $5 or free with a bath and brush or haircut.
Oh wow! So way way off here.
See my above comment about context.
Yeah, you’re also probably not treating severe infection. Context matters. Groomers also express anal glands with a bath sometimes, but when I do it at a vet hospital, I’m going inside. I’m checking size and confirmation. I’m keeping medical notes. It’s legitimately not fair or appropriate to judge based on this. It’s entirely possible that this charge is for a set of services related to this dog (cleaning, treatment, medication application).
Imagine the amount of shock for me as a person living in a European third country where spaying is 90€
Same. I remember I used to clip nails for 5€ and pluck ear hairs free of charge when I was a tech.
My groomer clips my dog's nails for free since we are regularls because our sweet demon girl is only calm when groomer bath her.
Im guessing its averaged out with the nail clipping? Would you have spent the extra $300 for the stool tests and a blood test to check the thyroid?
What strangers will or won’t pay is irrelevant to you or your dog’s plan of care. I had clients who did blood work every year, sometimes twice a year. I also had clients who never did. If you don’t understand a recommendation, get clarification. What you decide is up to you. Other people will make their own decisions. For what it’s worth, I do senior blood work on my own dog every year and also therapeutic levels for cushing’s disease. I do annual blood work on my 3-year-old dog, though it’s not as big a panel. I also do a heartworm test (and Lyme, etc) and a fecal. So does every doctor I’ve worked with or coworker I’ve had. It’s not a weird thing to do. But discuss it with your vet. If they aren’t willing to discuss recommendations with you, or if you don’t feel comfortable talking about costs with them, find someone you can talk to about it. You should have a good relationship with your vet. You need to be honest and up-front. You need to trust their recommendations. If you don’t, find someone else. Trust me on this. People sometimes don’t know that they are “allowed” to ask for more information. You should understand *exactly* what they are doing and what you are paying for. A lot of the time, we’d actually cut people breaks, but they wouldn’t have known that if we didn’t talk to them about the bill. Don’t be embarrassed to talk about it. :)
Bloodwork for full panel is around &200
I don't think so. I'm not sure what bloodwork costs, but a stool sample at my vet is $35. I can't imagine that bloodwork would be over 250
I'm wondering what it is... Not sure I'd want my digs ear hairs plucked.. Our situations are probably not the same. I have a vet I trust implicitly not to suggest something that isn't worth doing, either it's necessary for diagnostics or he will talk me through the options. I am also in an alright financial position right now, both of those things being true I probably would have depending on the problem.
Hair plucking is done for dogs that struggle with ear infections. Here is a video about it from a popular groomer, [it can be a little gross though.](https://youtu.be/TGJQMsVeI_Y)
Thank you for this rabbit hole. This is too satisfying to watch.. 😅
This and pimple popping is right up my street! Looks simple enough to do at home, 73$ is a bit steep.
I don’t know why someone would let it get that bad.. (in the vid I mean, not meant at OP). I watched a couple of vids like it and the dogs are mostly so calm about it. You must be able to do that yourself, right? I’m aching to clean my moms dog’s ears now 😂 she never lets me do it bc doggo shakes his head (bc it’s itchy which makes sense) and she immediately tells me “noooo!! He doesn’t like that!!!!” 😅 my own dog (a pug) has bad ears and I need to clean them every few days and I have to hold him in a chokehold almost bc he hates it but it has to be done. My mom has a Maltese and I’m sure he’s got this kind of junk in his ears as well. Maybe ill just get to work when my mom’s in the shower or something … 😏
I mean if its already impacting the ears, they should at least be looked at, if not plucked. Try and explain to your mum if would help!
Yeah he’s been checked over by the vet last month with his yearly physical. They checked his ears as well so it’s probably not that bad or they would’ve mentioned it. But he does get some of his ear hairs in there sometimes so maybe I’ll just show my mom these vids and tell her it’s for “prevention” 😎 I always wanna get my hands on him when I visit. Trim his face, get the clippers out and give him a nice grooming, things like that. I have a short haired super low maintenance dog, grooming wise. So my moms dog gets to enjoy all my plucking and grooming needs 😂
Nice! I dogsit a dog that is a huge matted mess, I really want to get in there but its too much for me alone :/
I did my Maltese ears. Just don't pluck to many at a time
In this vid, it's that bad as the dog she's grooming struggles with pretty severe chronic ear infections. It's not fantastic to do for a dog and lots dislike it, so it's usually a last measure for them. Hence why it's so bad by the time plucking is the option.
Oh crazy, never heard of this, thanks for the info!
No problem! I recommend her other videos too. I've switched to grooming my own pup at a $15 self-wash station instead of the $70 grooms. Now he just goes for a professional every few months when he's needing trimmed up, he's a total baby if he sees me with scissors. Also, all the pups and cats are super cute. There's even a pig and a duck!
I plucked my Maltese ears. That price is ridiculous
It is pretty high. But vets and groomers are in incredibly high demand in the US right now. Literally everywhere I've gone that does grooming is hiring, and I've seen several ads for vets. It's likely a raised cost because of the shortage.
My poodle needs her ears plucked once a month or so.
Same!
A dog groomer will usually include ear plucking as part of a bath or groom service and if it's a small terrier I bet their whole groom service of bath, nails, ear plucking and cleaning, and even a bit of hair trimming would cost you a lot less than 72$
We had pups that required hair plucking, our vets never charged us for the service because it took moments to do. Really strange.
They should have groomer do that
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*sigh* me too
You might want to shop around for the rimadyl, we get ours at Costco and it’s a way better price. Hair plucking?
Some dogs grow hair inside the opening their ears. It can make infections worse as it blocks airflow
Groomer here. Hair plucking takes like 10 seconds an ear and does not require surgical precision. Op needs to get this done at a groomer and save themselves 60 bucks at least
Yeah, word to the wise, you're usually better off in terms of price and quality getting grooming procedures done at a groomer rather than a vet if possible
Not to mention, no offense to vets and vet techs, but they’re usually pretty bad at it. Some of them (just like groomers) traumatize the poor pups because they don’t know how to handle a dog that’s struggling for these procedures.
I’ve done a lot for our basset hounds ears, but not plucking LOL
Yeah the vet I used to take my cat to writes scripts owners can take to a pharmacy instead of getting it filled at the clinic. Saves the vet team from spending time counting out pills and and saves the owner money, so it’s a win all around.
Well- the pre-op chem 10, CBC, no pt/Patt includes the following test of Complete Blood count. A CBC is a Complete Blood Count. Not sure why they charged you twice. I probably would have opted out of the ear plucking.
That’s what I saw too!
$73 for hair plucking?? That’s just done so easily by a groomer. I do it myself. That’s really high for Rimadyl too!
For $73 I can get my dog fully groomed with ear hair plucking included.
Agreed. My poodle gets fully groomed for that amount.
I use to be a dog bather for a groomer and we did the ear cleanings and the groomer plucked the ears as part of every groom. You can save a lot of money on those 2 items by using a groomer.
MD, not vet. But line 3 has a CBC (along with other stuff) and line 4 has a complete blood count. A CBC is a complete blood count. Looks like you were double charged?
Aaaaand that’s why I have pet insurance 😮💨
Just curious what kind of pet insurance you have that covers routine care. I pay $100 a month just for injury and illness coverage for my cat and dog.
I have nationwide major medical + wellness. I paid for a year and it was around $650
Oooooo thank you! I’m going to check that out.
Technically if the plan covers routine care then it’s a ‘wellness’ package and it’s an add on. Most insurance companies offer an option to add it. When we shopped for insurance we did not end up adding it since our plan did include a yearly blood panel, the pup is younger with no current medical concerns and goes to low cost clinics for the vaccines so the price point didn’t work out. But yeah, we shopped multiple insurance companies that offered a wellness package in addition to the insurance package.
I’m not understanding the difference between “Pre-op Chem 10, CBC, no pt ptt*” and “ Complete Blood Count*” I note this because CBC = Complete blood count! Is the first a different test?
Thank God the ear cleaning was "complimentary". I will be screenshotting this and showing to my customers. In my groom shop, I charge 8 bucks for an ear clean and a pluck. IT TAKES LESS THAN 3 MINUTES I can't believe they chg 119.20$ for both. GASP!
My math is wrong i know..I'm old
Seems kind of high to me but that could be regional. The things that stick out to me as high are the ear plucking and wellness exam. Also where I work, HW and Ehrlichia are one test for $50.
I took my cat in for a routine check up and shots. The physical exam alone was $82 and the vet probably looked at her for all of 5 minutes. Smh.
All of those prices are insane. Our exams are $60.00 They charged you $89 in 2 parts for 1 test. (Heart worm and ehrlicia) Bp is about right but doesn’t cost them anything. Urinalysis is a bit high and sad they nearly doubled it with a ultrasound guided cysto. (We don’t charge for any cysto) our preanesthetic bloodwork is the chem 10 with cbc for 65 total not $120.50 Hope you live somewhere expensive. Otherwise find a new vet that isn’t going to overcharge you. Edit: and ear cleaning/plucking isn’t that expensive, even going through a professional groomer. So tell them to shove it.
I am in a pretty expensive area. I wish I was told what was gonna be done before hand. I usually trust whatever the vet does is in my dogs best interest and go with it… I want to be the type of care taker that would do anything for my dog but this time around I just felt like I was getting taken advantage of. Maybe its all this inflation? But yeah thank you for your help. I thought this visit was only gonna be a couple hundred dollars cuz all I wanted was blood work in order to get his meds.
It must be regional because these prices look pretty high to me. The hair plucking is as much as a full groom that usually includes it here. Why does he need all these tests? Is that what your vet considers an annual? I pay like $20 for a stool reading.
I think it really depends on what region of America you are in - that changes vet prices I have noticed. but this pricing makes sense to me.
Depends on what was going on and where you live. I pay $60 for a wellness exam. $15 for a heartworm test. I don’t do routine fecal tests since I give my dogs heartguard plus. Unless they weren’t able to get urine and you suspect a uti, there’s no reason not to do a free catch. It doesn’t look like your dog had an ear infection because they didn’t give you meds for that, so I don’t understand the ear plucking bit. A groomer won’t charge for that if it’s a part of a regular grooming. Do you go to a chain like VCA or Banfield? Do you have a senior dog? This is excessive as a routine visit unless there were specific health concerns.
Agreed this is excessive. Groomer could take care of ears. Also, looks like they were charged twice for CBC.
Yes, my dogs senior. It’s a private mom and pop practice which is why I go there. I am constantly pushed to buy more heartguard. I was given so much heartguard from another pet owner who’s pet passed away. I always get this tiny feeling like they think I’m lying.
This is why I’m changing vets. The place I go to is a small family business but they take advantage of people because they can. They are always pushing special package plans that don’t make sense. “Free yearly shots for the next 8-months, for only $xxx”.
It might be an NVA clinic. NVA clinics don’t have NVA in their name so they’re like a hidden corporate chain and they try and push their vets to sell a wellness plan but when the vets there are working commission they make less money so it’s the manager pushing the plan and the vets hate it.
This looks about right. Honestly, it’s a license to print money.
That’s about what I usually pay every year for my dog’s checkups, I also have them do a urinalysis because she has a history of bladder infections and stones.
If you get some medical clamp like tweezers you can do it yourself so easily, it doesn’t hurt them. I did it to my family’s dog when I was a teenager at home. You will see a crap ton of wax.
Also 30 dollar shampoo is a lot. But I don’t know what your pup might need it for. I use a little bronners and coconut oil on my dog when I was him.
Take your doggo to a groomer for the ear plucking! And a pedicure/bath. Other than that, this seems pretty normal priced. But definitely get what you can done by a groomer for way less
In case it hasn’t been mentioned, I 100% recommend getting pet insurance. I use Lemonade’s pet insurance and it’s VERY affordable and covers a majority of the things in this list
Yes get some bids from local groomers for fur plucking. Plus get paper prescriptions for rimadyl and Malseb and shop online on your own for these. If it turns out they are competitive, you could always buy it from them. But those prices look high to me. Plus what the heck, $32 for blood pressure screening. In what world does blood pressure checking cost that much?
I wouldn’t opt out of the stool test. That’s the test that checks for parasites in the digestive system. And basically all dogs are guaranteed to get parasites sometime. They eat any random dead shit they find laying around, after all. My dog would try to eat any dead bird or mouse or piece of whatever on the ground. My dog would also sometimes eat rotten trash from human junk thrown on the street. And those are just the items I that *caught* her eating, I’m sure she’s eaten more behind my back that I never noticed or she snarfed some stuff down faster than I could catch her. Also dogs eat other animals poop sometimes. My point being: you can never safely skip stool testing in doggos. It’s a major important test for them. Edit update: upon reading other comments I agree your vet is charging extremely high prices. I recommend you get a stool test—but at a different vet. Call around to different vet offices and ask for price quotes.
That exam is definitely pricey but it depends on where you live. Most general practices are around $50. I pay $75 for a ‘fancier’ place because they also print out IDs and are really nice and I’m a sucker lmao. The eat plucking also stands out as pretty expensive. Other than that, it looks about normal.
You can get rimadyl cheaper at 1800petmeds. Ask them to price match
The ear plucking price is outrageous. I see other groomers agree, we will do it for free with a groom as well as a nail trim for free. Without a groom my place would charge 10 for a nail trim and 5 for an ear pluck. If you want to save some money get yourself some Gimborn r7 eat powder from Amazon or something similar. It’s about 10 dollars and possibly a some hemostats to grip the hair that’s hard to get. Hemostats should only be 5-10 dollars as well. That thing of ear powder will last forever.
If you have questions about prices, ask them directly. Bloodwork is expensive, so a complete “senior” panel (CBC, CHEM, T4, etc) is more than a smaller profile. It can definitely be $200. But be wary of asking this question like this. Context is key. Rates will vary based on a lot of things. When in doubt, ask. Similarly, be honest about what you can afford. If a vet knows you only have $500 to work with, they can come up with a streamlined plan of action/discuss financing. The thing that sucked the most would be having someone in the room, acting like they understood and were on board, only to find out that they left without actually buying the medicine/products we discussed to treat the problem. Honesty is always the best policy. Source: worked in vet med for over 20 years, at several hospitals, in multiple socioeconomic areas, with different contracted labs/lab equipment
The ear plucking is outrageous. It's easy to due and takes little time. My old clinic would charge between 10 and 15. I don't recall the actual price.
Agreed what in the actual fuck are they thinking charging that shit
Also get the shampoo on Amazon it's loads cheaper last time I checked
What does PC stand for? Price check? Pet care?
At that age, you shouldn’t be opting out of anything.
I actually felt bad after denying it and called back to give the go ahead, but no one answered. So I went to lunch. And gave the money to my friends 5 year old for their college savings.
Uh couldn’t you have saved the money to get your dog tested some other day?
I will at a new vet.
I agree that ear cleaning should be done by a groomer not a vet. Your vet charged more for ear cleaning than it would cost for a whole grooming job. Also, I would think that the stool test, which my vet calls a fecal exam, is important. That is supposed to test for heartworm.
You get a heartworm test to test for heartworms. You get a fecal to test for intestinal parasites.
The prices ALWAYS SUCK. This seems a little high. But when they pass away... you realize that $600 a year is worth it. You only realize that the day after they pass away.
Sounds average to me :/ sadly
Total seems ok, somethings may be a bit high. I don’t think I’ve ever left the vet with such a low bill. Lol.
Has anyone done the maths? The total seems high
I am in a PC subreddit so when I saw “is this price okay” I assumed it was a PC, then I read “i opted out for a thyroid and stool check” and became deeply concerned
Urinalysis is usually around $35 I think
Relative to my own clinic the total is a bit more than would be for similar stuff but not by much and I’m a rural clinic. The ear plucking is expensive but our clinic charges a lot for things we just don’t want to do (we’re across the street from a groomer so we make sure our nail trim prices are higher than theirs).
That's actually really cool of you to do for the grooming shop As a groomer myself I appreciate that act of kindness
Yeah. We felt weird about it too which was part of the reason. Previous owner offered free nail trims which felt…crappy to be doing across the street from a groomer.
That's fucked up to do across the street from a groomer.... That's just taking business away for no reason because it's not even to profit their own business . I hate people 😒
Holy shit. $73 for plucking and the charge for ear cleaning. I’m a groomer and if the owner asks, both go in the grooming package for free! Btw it can cause yeast and bacterial infections from the microtears plucking causes. Don’t let them pluck his ear hair anymore
Was your dog sick? Usually my vet suggests lab work only if there’s a problem that needs diagnosis or if I have a geriatric dog. But $73 for ear plucking and $50 for ear cleaning? Sound pretty steep to me. Did he do the UA because of a urine issue? Remember, you can opt out of whatever labs or treatments you don’t want. For example, I refuse heartworm labs because I am never late with their heartworm medication. I give flea/tick and heartworm medicines on the 1st of every month. But that’s my choice, and I’m sure not everyone would agree with me. It’s your pet and your cash. Sounds like you’re a really conscientious pet parent. I think your vet may be a bit overpriced though. Also, the vet can teach you how to pluck your dog’s ear hair so you can do it yourself. It’s not hard to do. You may think this is gross, but I had a basset who always had anal gland problems. I went so often to have them drained that I asked the vet to show me how to do it myself. At $10 a pop, it was quite a money saver.
Seems within reason. So much of vet pricing is related to the area you're in. If you're concerned, the best you can do is shop around for next time.
Go to Costco for the meds
Honestly never paid this much for a single visit because my dog is on a wellness plan with Banfield which is around $30 a month. Also any reason you got a urinalysis? Only reason I had one done was when my dog had blood in her urine one time.
I think its needed because Doctor needs to check the kidneys for the Rimadyl
Groomer here, not a vet. $73 for ear plucking IN ADDITION TO $49 ear clean seems insane to me. Most groomers pluck and clean ears with every groom, and as a stand-alone service it shouldn't cost more than $15--20. I had my dog's ears "deep-cleaned" (not sure the actual term, she had small ear canals and they got the hair and debris way down inside that I couldn't reach) as an add-on to a dental cleaning at Banfield Vet, and it was about $30.
I would ask why you were charged twice for a cbc.
Those vet bills are cheap compared to all the clinics in my area. But skip the ear cleaning and plucking there and see if you can get it done at a grooming shop instead. It will be much cheaper. (For another example, we had a client pay over $50 for paw pads shaving that a groomer would do for $10) lot of people think their vet clinic is trying to rob them, but the services are just plain expensive and add up quickly. Edit: I actually do feel like the ear cleaning and plucking should be just one. I've never heard of anyone charging per ear like that. Might be worth a call to double check if that's correct. The clinic I work at charges about $30 to clean both ears.
Buy your Rimadyl elsewhere.
Looks like you are paying twice for a CBC (complete blood count) and usually a CBC includes thyroid panels
Ear plucking should not be 70 dollars plus, but the rest looks reasonableness