I ordered the basics for two puppies: Ten single-dose 5-way vaccines with syringe (more than enough for each pup), and two bottles of wormer, along with a medical record form for each dog. Vaccines have to be refrigerated and shipped next day on ice, but that's no problem in the modern era. There's nothing easier than giving an under-the-skin vaccine shot!
Total cost for vaccines including $25 overnight shipping is under $65, or $32 per dog for a complete regime, and I don't have to waste hours of time dragging the pups through veterinary clinics or low-cost "shot clinics" loaded with unknown (and possibly sick) animals.
If you bring a healthy new puppy to the vet around here, it will run you $80 for the first visit alone -- and over $300 per dog for a complete set of shots. And that's if you can get out the door at all without a "stool test," "heart worm test," heart worm "preventative," Frontline, and "exam" which is likely to set you back $210 or more for that first visit. It's all nonsense billing and for most people, their first year of "well puppy visits" costs them over $500 per dog for all of $40 worth of health care.
Part of sensible dog ownership is knowing how to do basic things yourself and knowing and understanding the veterinary dependency model, which leans heavily on up-coding, bill padding, bogus testing, and selling medically unnecessary goods and services at inflated prices.
There is most definitely a place for a vet, but it's not for this kind of stuff.
2 comments:
thanks for this helpful info - and many years ago our black lab got cut int he back yard (we later realized it was on a screw from the trampoline net - which we sawed off) - so we drive to Petsmart and the vert comes out and says that it will be between 800 and 1,050 dollars for surgery. and to expect it to bed at the higher end of the estimate
he never expected me to leave with a wounded dog - but I did - I kept the wound clean and covered - and we called around and our local vet did everything for under 300 hundred dollars. that is crazy - and he became our new vet too -
anyhow, I am going to click the links later and read them when I can…
thx,
y.p.
For a cut? You can probably even stitch that up yourself if it isn't terribly bad if you have a basic understanding of sewing and you can restrain your dog. Clean / sterilize the area and your tools. You'll likely need a needle nose plier to push the needle through the skin, because it is tougher than you think! Use very light weight fishing line and don't stitch overly tight. If you've seen stitches before, you have an idea of the spacing and tightness.
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