Vets with £ signs in their eyes

Ellie2758

Grrr, Vets are big business these days arent they? I remember the days when pet owning was such a simple and inexpensive thing to do.

The vet practice that I take my dog to is highlighting the dangers of Lungworm atm. All well and good. But in the bumpf they sent me through the post they only mention Advocate spot-on treatment for use in it's treatment. That is a monthly treatment and I dont think it is cheap. No mention of the quarterly wormer Milbemax which costs less than a fiver.

However, on the bumf they have sent about their care scheme, which you pay for monthly and which covers flea treatment etc, the only treatment mentioned for Lungworm is a quarterly one. So that will be Milbemax wont it? So you pay them for this scheme and they give you cheap Milbemax instead of the ludicrously expensive alternative. So why not highlight that as a treatment when focussing on Lungworm? Hmm, I wonder....

I know that Advocate treats other things like fleas but my dog has never HAD fleas even though we have two cats.

It's all about money. :mad:

chris_n_tj

There is one way round it, use your feet and try another Vet.
Our Vet is great and if something is cheaper elsewhere ie PAH (if its not a prescrip[tion drug) then he tells us. You can of course ask for the cheaper treatment.
At our Vets its not just all about money, its about doing whats best for the animal.
Chris n TJ

jd87

It's just advertising. Nobody is forcing you to sign up for this treatment are they?

LittleTinker

Ellie2758 wrote: »

Grrr, Vets are big business these days arent they? I remember the days when pet owning was such a simple and inexpensive thing to do.

The vet practice that I take my dog to is highlighting the dangers of Lungworm atm. All well and good. But in the bumpf they sent me through the post they only mention Advocate spot-on treatment for use in it's treatment. That is a monthly treatment and I dont think it is cheap. No mention of the quarterly wormer Milbemax which costs less than a fiver.

However, on the bumf they have sent about their care scheme, which you pay for monthly and which covers flea treatment etc, the only treatment mentioned for Lungworm is a quarterly one. So that will be Milbemax wont it? So you pay them for this scheme and they give you cheap Milbemax instead of the ludicrously expensive alternative. So why not highlight that as a treatment when focussing on Lungworm? Hmm, I wonder....

I know that Advocate treats other things like fleas but my dog has never HAD fleas even though we have two cats.

It's all about money. :mad:

Absolutely right....and a lot of it has come about because of Pet Insurance.

It is far easier to charge for expensive treatments when you know the customer is insured.
Even after giving a customer a bill, the hope is that they will take out insurance for the next time.

What has made this situation worse? The amount of people who go to the vet for every tiny little thing and the taking out of insurance.

Years ago noone had pet insurance and people went to the vet very rarely.....in reality pets hardly even need a vets attention.
But this day and age pets are treated like children......and owners often think of their pets in the way they think of situations themselves........in reality, our pets are much much stronger and can put up with far more stresses than we can.

The 'vet hogging Insurance lot' have caused massive rises in prices for the rest of the pet loving country........and are continually made to feel guilty if they dont follow suit.

I can only suggest you look for a vet who genuinely is there for your pet......and not to find ways to push up his revenue.
We are lucky......our vets never recommend any product, they never send info out about any product nor do we get yearly reminders for anything through the post......we have had several vets throughout our lives previously and these are wonderful.

Mayflower10cat

Probably a smooth talking very determined sales rep gave them the literature and they went 'Oh, Ok' to get rid of 'em....!!!

KVet

In actual fact Milbemax is not a preventative and is normally only used when the dog has Lungworm and then it is a daily treatment (which works out VERY expensive). Nothing in the UK is licensed for preventative treatment, just treatment. Treatment options for Lungworm (Angiostrongylus vasorum) are very limited and still in the testing stage really and only Milbemycin and Advocate are licensed.

albacookie

LittleTinker wrote: »

Years ago noone had pet insurance and people went to the vet very rarely.....in reality pets hardly even need a vets attention.

Depends what you mean by years ago but Petplan have been around since the 70's.

Rev

My vet is, thankfully, great. If something is cheaper elsewhere he will tell you.

threemuttleys

Milbemax, cannot be used on certain breeds (collies/shepherds)

cyberbob

LittleTinker wrote: »

...in reality pets hardly even need a vets attention.

Ahh How do you know? Nowadays people are much more aware of illnesses for their pets and preventative treatments. That's why generally domestic pets live longer than they used to. There have been studies by the RSPCA showing the reduction of animal neglect cases of the past 20 or 30 years. Personally I think that is a good thing. Pet insurance like a lot of insurance can be problematic but overall it has increased the quality of care for animals and enabled owners to be prepared for unknown problems. It has stopped a lot of Animals who before insurance may have been PTS due to cost that could still live long and healthy lives.


Vets are a business they are not in place as a charity or anything else. They need money to continue to operate and offer the services we as consumers require. As with any other business they will advertise with what they offer. They would be stupid not to. As a consumer you have a choice to take up their services or not. I as with any other service I use research the costs and the pro's and cons of any service offered with that I make an informed decision.

hethmar

Its true, in the "old days" a dog lived forever it seemed with no illnesses or well, they died. No one seemed to take dogs to a vet when I was a child. But even then our little peke lived to 14 and I cant remember him ever going to a vet except in his last week. Vets were few and far between, people didnt have cars and mum had to take him on a bus for 3 miles to get to a vet.

But its same with people, medical advances mean that they overcome illnesses which only 50 years ago would have killed them. Im amazed how some of my ancestors hundreds of years ago were knocking into their 90s - quite a few of them actually. But then at the other end of the scale, baby after baby died.

If new medicines and treatments are available, obviously its best we know about/be offered them for our pets as well as for our selves. But I can see how this may imbalance the natural course of things.