Dogs are so expensive >__<

I took my dog to the vet today for his annual wellness exam and rabies shot. The whole visit ended up costing me over $200. >_<

The reason it cost so much is because my dog has been a little sick since last week when I had to leave him at the kennel for a few days. Apparently it takes 4 different medications to cure a minor case of diarrhea... Why does it take 4 different meds to cure 1 thing? :confused:

I think my vet is just trying to get more money out of me, but since I don't know anything about medications I can't really argue with him... Am I the only who thinks this is a crazy amount of meds?

It depends on what the cause of the diarrhea was. Unfortunately I've known of vets who would give a ton of treatments to milk you for your money (they don't all do that, but there are a few).

If it was something parasitic, then no, it's not that crazy. But if it was just that he ate something out of the ordinary or whatnot, then yes that it a bit crazy, considering usually just adding a bit of rice to the food will bind them and get them back to normal more often than not.

They didn't do anything to test for a cause, they just gave me 4 different medications. I think they went with the try to cure everything method...

When my dog gets the runs (from eating something she shouldn't), we simply don't give her food for 24 hours, and allow it to run its course (no pun intended).

Honestly my dogs are a great deal in comparison to my ferrets, even with shots/heartworm stuff I usually end up below $300 for two dogs, and occasional skin or bladder or whatever issue is usually under $200. I walk in the door with a ferret and I'm leaving $250-$900 poorer every time.

You probably spent $40 on exam, $25 on shots and then cost of meds, they probably gave some metro, flagyl, wormer, don't know what else but hard to say if any is needed, probably just covering bases, did they do a fecal? The local vet where I live likes to gouge you on everything, way overpriced, no generics, pushing crap you don't need and not doing stuff they should so I stay pretty educated on my options. My other vet is out of town and not cheap either but they don't screw you over like that one.

I have no idea what they gave me. They had one med that was a one time thing that they did there, then I have one that I give twice a day for 3 days, another that I give once a day for 12 days and one more that I give once a day until it's gone.

They didn't do a fecal but he's due for one soon. I really need to find a cheaper vet, I hate where I go but so far they are the most convenient. Usually they like to run very test under the sun so I guess I should count my self lucky that they just gave me meds this time.

I'm lucky, Loki's vet is literally a mile away (right now the street) and they're pretty reasonable with prices. $120 for his heartworm bloodwork (negative thankfully), heartworm meds, checkup, vaccinations, fecal, etc. I just spent another $150 getting him fixed, plus pain meds.

Main thing though is that Loki ADORES the vet there. Loki isn't quick to warm up to people AT ALL, so imagine my surprise when the vet came in and Loki was greeting him like an old friend.

My vet is at the point where he seems to want to get a few hundred dollars anytime I bring a dog in there.
$200 isn't bad at all if he stayed there for a few days.

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Originally Posted by dsirkle

My vet is at the point where he seems to want to get a few hundred dollars anytime I bring a dog in there.
$200 isn't bad at all if he stayed there for a few days.

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I was there an hour tops. The 4 different meds they gave him ended up costing almost $70, so I guess other than that it wasn't actually too bad, but 4 meds to cure 1 problem still has me confused.

Honestly vets really don't try to milk you for your money and as a veterinary professional it's pretty insulting to hear that people feel that way. 200 for an annual exam shots and boarding is a pretty good deal. Your vet probably when all was said and done only made about 60 in profit. People don't realize that your vet has to pay for the medications to dispense as well as pay a staff to help your dog. Believe me more people skip out on their bill than you could possibly imagine. Vets don't make anywhere near as much as people think. They do their job because they want to help animals.

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Originally Posted by ed4281

Honestly vets really don't try to milk you for your money and as a veterinary professional it's pretty insulting to hear that people feel that way. 200 for an annual exam shots and boarding is a pretty good deal. Your vet probably when all was said and done only made about 60 in profit. People don't realize that your vet has to pay for the medications to dispense as well as pay a staff to help your dog. Believe me more people skip out on their bill than you could possibly imagine. Vets don't make anywhere near as much as people think. They do their job because they want to help animals.

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I didn't mean to offend. My dog was not boarded at all. I had boarded him at a kennel last week which is where he got sick. It's not the cost that bothers me so much, and the total bill was actually $218 and some change, I'm just confused as to why he needs 4 different medications to cure a small thing that would have worked itself out eventually.

I know vets don't make much (especially compared to what it cost to go through school) and it's not just that I feel they cost a lot that makes me want to change vets, it's the service I get there. I usually have to wait a long time to see the vet even when I have an appointment. :(

I have never argued with my vet about things that they recommend so sometimes I do feel like I am being taken advantage of. I still don't understand why he needs 4 different medications and I know it's my fault for not asking for an explanation. I want what's best for my pets but I have to draw a line at some point, I have my own bills to pay. :/

Edit: Also the only shots he got was a rabies shot. He did get the kennel cough vaccine (I don't remember what it's called, but it starts with a B). He had other shots he was due for a few months ago, so those were already done.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

When my dog gets the runs (from eating something she shouldn't), we simply don't give her food for 24 hours, and allow it to run its course (no pun intended).

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me too.

Also, a little bit of pumpkin or natural corn cob bedding works well.

For the runs, we give our dog a mix of white rice and boiled chicken to eat (3/4 of the mix is rice, 1/4 chicken). Then we slowly phase the regular food back in.

It's easy on their stomachs and helps things compact back together.

First of all you REALLY need to find out what your dog has. It sounds like he has giardia (sp?) It is highly contagious. I just went through this with my dog. You also should know what you are giving your dog. I find it strange they didn't do a fecal. Did they check his urine? It is very possible that one of the meds is a wormer, one is an antiboitic, one is for the flora in his intestines and the last one is for his upset tummy.

Diarrhea is not an illness it is the result of something wrong. You need to find out why he has it. If a dog eats something bad then it is a simple cure. If it is something worse you need to fix the problem. Every year I pay $800+ for pet insurance for 2 dogs. Every year it seems like I collect on it. Dogs are expensive. They depend on you to care for them. They can't tell you what is wrong so it is up to you to see they get everything they need.

And no $200 is not an expensive vet visit as far as vet visits go.

Sorry to step up on my soap box but as pet owners you NEED to know what is wrong with your dog and what you are giving him. If the vet didn't explain it to you then you need to ask and take notes if you have to. You wouldn't just take a pill a Dr gave you without knowing what it was for would you


P.s If you just boarded him in a kennel there are a LOT of things he could have picked up.

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Originally Posted by akaangela

First of all you REALLY need to find out what your dog has. It sounds like he has giardia (sp?) It is highly contagious. I just went through this with my dog. You also should know what you are giving your dog. I find it strange they didn't do a fecal. Did they check his urine? It is very possible that one of the meds is a wormer, one is an antiboitic, one is for the flora in his intestines and the last one is for his upset tummy.

Diarrhea is not an illness it is the result of something wrong. You need to find out why he has it. If a dog eats something bad then it is a simple cure. If it is something worse you need to fix the problem. Every year I pay $800+ for pet insurance for 2 dogs. Every year it seems like I collect on it. Dogs are expensive. They depend on you to care for them. They can't tell you what is wrong so it is up to you to see they get everything they need.

And no $200 is not an expensive vet visit as far as vet visits go.

Sorry to step up on my soap box but as pet owners you NEED to know what is wrong with your dog and what you are giving him. If the vet didn't explain it to you then you need to ask and take notes if you have to. You wouldn't just take a pill a Dr gave you without knowing what it was for would you


P.s If you just boarded him in a kennel there are a LOT of things he could have picked up.

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As I stated in one of my replies they didn't test for anything. My dog has a very sensitive stomach so this is something I deal with on occasion, usually when he comes back from the kennel. I always bring my own dog food when I take him to the kennel but I have no proof they are actually feeding him it.

If my dog exibited any other symptom of illness then I would worry. He still eats everything infront of him and still bounces off the walls with engery. My vet did ask for that information before they gave him all the medications and told me if it doesn't go away to come back. Personally I actually prefer this method. I'd rather treat it as general case first before spending hundreds on tests.

I am well aware that dogs are expensive. I knew what I was signing up for when I adopted him, but there is a line between what is necessary and what isn't. I know he could have gotten a lot from the kennel, last time he came back with a cold that had his miserable for a few days. In fact that is the only time I've never seen him bouncing off the walls with energy.

*Chuckles* My dog had giardia awhile back, it cost me around $700 to get him well....Not counting the money I spent later having my car steam cleaned after he had a blowout all over the backseat.

As a former vet tech, I find it insulting when people assume that veterinary professionals are trying to milk clients for money, especially when it comes to bloodwork and other testing. Since I can't ask a dog "where does it hurt?", I have do run tests to find out what's wrong.

Look at the bottles of medication, what are they? That might give us an idea of WHY they were prescribed.

Oh the white rice and boiled chicken works wonders. I did that with my dogs when they were sick

As far as giardia..... my dogs both had it, and then I GOT IT. I didn't know they had it, I don't know how I got it as I was very sanitary, but I'm guessing I got it from one of the pups before I knew they were sick from a puppy kiss. The hospital didn't know what I had. I had to figure it out on my own. Wasted ER trip and they didn't even take care of me.

Other than my ER trip, we didn't spend much to get it fixed though. It's relatively easy to treat iirc.

You got very lucky. :) Giardia isn't terribly hard to treat...the problem tends to be that it can survive quite awhile outside of the body, so many dogs get re-infected over and over and over. I have a client who is dealing with this right now with her six (!!) chihuahuas. Unfortunately, due to their small size, they are prone to dehydration and several of them are needing fluids now. Her bills have climbed over $2000 in the last few months because as soon as it seems to be contained, one or two of them will go downhill again. She's going ot have to keep medicating for quite awhile after they're all well to prevent re-infection for the umpteenth time.

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Originally Posted by ceduke

You got very lucky. :) Giardia isn't terribly hard to treat...the problem tends to be that it can survive quite awhile outside of the body, so many dogs get re-infected over and over and over. I have a client who is dealing with this right now with her six (!!) chihuahuas. Unfortunately, due to their small size, they are prone to dehydration and several of them are needing fluids now. Her bills have climbed over $2000 in the last few months because as soon as it seems to be contained, one or two of them will go downhill again. She's going ot have to keep medicating for quite awhile after they're all well to prevent re-infection for the umpteenth time.

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Indeed ... luckily I just ate carrots and sugar free pudding and got rid of it myself. The dogs only ate once a day and I believe I gave them rice and chicken boiled during this time, but in very small quantities.

Also glad I have some animal science schooling before I changed majors.

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Originally Posted by ceduke

*Chuckles* My dog had giardia awhile back, it cost me around $700 to get him well....Not counting the money I spent later having my car steam cleaned after he had a blowout all over the backseat.

As a former vet tech, I find it insulting when people assume that veterinary professionals are trying to milk clients for money, especially when it comes to bloodwork and other testing. Since I can't ask a dog "where does it hurt?", I have do run tests to find out what's wrong.

Look at the bottles of medication, what are they? That might give us an idea of WHY they were prescribed.

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As I said before, I didn't mean to offend, but I know my vet has taken advantage of me before when dealing with my ball pythons which is what led me to join this site. I'm not saying everyone is the same though, that would be like saying that all snakes are monsters.

As for the medications they gave me to give him, I have something that's called Proviable-KP, Proviable-DC and Metronidazole. I don't know what the one time medication was that they gave him at the clinic. The Proviable-KP is a paste like thing that I give him twice a day for 3 days. Metronidazole is a white pill that he also gets twice a day for 6 days and Proviable-DC is another pill that he gets once a day for 12 days.

You could have bought some FISH-ZOLE tablets, without an rx, it's the same thing as Metronidazole, 100 tabs for less than $20.
I'm sure the vet charged alot more than that.

And yes you are correct in your assumption of vets and their charges.

I am bottle nursing 5 pups right now, the vet wanted to charge me $625 for the first round of puppy shots, I told them that the puppys will only be getting a wellness check, and their rabies shots when needed. They also tried blasting me for putting the puppies on a raw diet when the time comes. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by llovelace

You could have bought some FISH-ZOLE tablets, without an rx, it's the same thing as Metronidazole, 100 tabs for less than $20.
I'm sure the vet charged alot more than that.

And yes you are correct in your assumption of vets and their charges.

I am bottle nursing 5 pups right now, the vet wanted to charge me $625 for the first round of puppy shots, I told them that the puppys will only be getting a wellness check, and their rabies shots when needed. They also tried blasting me for putting the puppies on a raw diet when the time comes. :rolleyes:

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Ouch, that's expensive. I'm sure most of the shots aren't really need anyways. These animals were fine 100 years ago and they will be fine now. I get my dog his needed shots and the ones my kennel requires and that's it.

My favorite part about my whole situation was the meds didn't even work completely. I didn't take him back though I just let him work it out on his own and gave him some canned pumpkin. Feel free to flame me for that, I don't care he's fine now.

I have offically completely switched vets now anyways, my new vet has a lot of experience with reptiles (score! :D) and he's a great guy. I actually enjoy vet visits now. :)