Is my vet ripping me off ???

dblue75

My Lab puppy...well 10 months now has been going every month for his worming tablet and flea treatment. Costing in total about £17 every 4/5 weeks.

He is now 25 kilos and I called the vet today to see if he was required to go up or if i could just collect his worming tablet and flea treatment.

They said they wanted to weigh him again as he is still a pup to work out the strength of tablet to give him. He has always been on 1 tablet.

Anyways..thought I'd call the local pet shop to see how much their worming treatment cost and they were saying my dog after the age of 6mths should only require worming treatment 3/4 times per year.

Is this true ??? are my vets squeezing cash from me ??? They are a good practice, but are known for high prices compared to others around.

Waterfalls

no they are not squeezing money from you.
i would def get ur pet weighed, even if he wasnt a pup to make sure that u are giving the correct dose
it is important to remember that wormers dont have any carry over effect, so they usually only last they day or 2 it is in their system. so they can, in go out for a walk and pick up worm the very next day.

if u have children at home, cats, walk in parks, foxes etc that increases ur 'risk' factor for round worms
tapeworms are usually a risk if they have fleas, or if a cat hunts etc

if pups are low risk. then they can be treated every month until they are 6 months then every 3 months throughout there lifetime
if they are at increased risk-then every month

the only continious way to treat for round worms is by treating with stronghold/advantage etc. then give a tapewormer every 3 months.
i woundnt trust the petshop. good products are usually only avalible on presc.

spike7451

No,you're not getting stiffed by the vet.
My vet charged my £25 each month for Orbit's Fortekor tablets plus £11 per visit.

dblue75

The pet shop does the prescription drugs as well as the over the counter products.

Just wondering why the vet has NOT told me my dog only needs wormed every 3 months and instead is telling me to come every four weeks to get him his worming tablet and flea drops.

mrcol1000

dblue75 wrote: »

The pet shop does the prescription drugs as well as the over the counter products.

Just wondering why the vet has NOT told me my dog only needs wormed every 3 months and instead is telling me to come every four weeks to get him his worming tablet and flea drops.

Profit?
They are a business. RSPCA recommended to me I worm every three months and flea every 6 weeks. However the packet says to worm once a month and to flea once a month.
I know people flea less than every 6 weeks but rather pay extra then risk having to treat my house for fleas and the horror that involves.

blabberwort

When we took our lab for a check up and flea stuff when we first got him, we were given drops which covered literally everything, including mites, fleas and allsorts of worms. It cost about £60 if I remember correctly for a 3 month supply. However it had to be done monthly. It could just be that your vets is using something similar.

If your concerned your being ripped off ask for the names of the items he's using and look it up on the internet to give you some idea on what is recommended usage for that particular product and price.

hethmar

Blimey, worming every month! Never done that in 40 years with my dogs and never had a problem with them. 3 months is surely more than adequate?? I havent used any flea stuff for 3 years now as neither of them have had any.

~Chameleon~

hethmar wrote: »

Blimey, worming every month! Never done that in 40 years with my dogs and never had a problem with them. 3 months is surely more than adequate?? I havent used any flea stuff for 3 years now as neither of them have had any.

Different products have different requirements. You cannot give a blanket instruction to worm every three months if the product being used requires it to be done monthly.

Katiehound

I worm my adult dogs every 3 months with Drontal plus- 1 tablet per 10 kgs.
I buy my tablets from Vet-medic, you can buy online or by free phone. The more you buy the cheaper they come, so suggest you club together with friends. They also sell other wormers, and Frontline and will give advice over the phone. They have a vet advice line too- free.

Personally I wouldn't use pet shop treatments.
Katiehound

meritaten

I never ever wormed my dogs every month! every three months was my vets mantra. flea treatments vary in effectiveness but i found frontline excellent and didnt need it more than every six months!
I wouldnt say your vet is ripping you off - but I would find a more effective flea killer and wormer than your vet. Drontal was the one I used for worms and frontline for fleas. I am sure I have seen Frontline in Pets at Home recently. I think Drontal is available online but as I dont have any pets now my info may be out of date.

tankgirl1

It is standard practice to advice worming monthly until 6 months old - this is because worms that are usually not a problem - can lie dormant - become 'activated' as it were in pregnant !!!!!es. They can then pass that burden onto the pups who are obviously little - a severe worm burden could really harm them!
So no, your vet advising monthly worming is not ripping you off.
As another poster said, adult worming is usually advised as every 3 months for the norm, but in high risk areas etc, monthly is the way to go!
Personally I adv drontal or milbemax - after a discussion with the owner - depends on size, price etc!