Is this too expensive

samuela66

Hi

Wonder if any of you kind peeps can advise me if I am paying too much at the vets.
I pay a monthly fee of £18, for this Lola a shih tzu gets,worming pills, flea pills and her booster.
Would i be better of paying individually for these items?

Thanks in advance.

Sam

Silvertabby

It does sound a lot - but is this some form of pet insurance plan run by your vet - ie, basics covered, reduced costs for any unforeseen accidents/illnesses?

samuela66

Silvertabby wrote: »

It does sound a lot - but is this some form of pet insurance plan run by your vet - ie, basics covered, reduced costs for any unforeseen accidents/illnesses?

Nope is is just for those items I have stipulated. I think its expensive.

thanks

Fosterdog

To me it is expensive but I only have intitial vaccinations done on my dogs (being rescues they may have already had regular vaccines before I got them) there are more and more studies coming out showing that repeated boosters are no more effective than just having the initial vaccines and maybe first year booster in cases of mums immunity still covering them as pups rendering initial vaccines ineffective, repeated boosters can and do cause some serious health issues. It's a shame so many kennel facilities insist on annual boosters as it forcing some people into getting them done.

With flea and worm treatment does your dog actually have either? Do you use it as just a preventative? Again I don't use them, I don't see the need t fill my dogs with sometimes dangerous chemicals when they don't need them. I may be very lucky but my dogs have never had fleas I get a worm count done once a year and so far mine have never had any so no need to prevent something that is very low risk for them anyway. If they did happen to have worms or fleas then I would treat it at the time.

You are effectively paying almost £220 a year for something that isn't really needed. A wormcount is around £10-15 per dog sometimes £20 if you include lung worm so could still be a saving of £200 a year for you.

Silvertabby

In that case it is. I'm assuming that the booster is an annual event - you'd still have to get that from your vet (along with a routine check up) but as long as there is nothing hinky about the worming pills and flea pills you should be able to get the exact same things from the likes of Petmed or even perhaps Pets at Home.

My only reservation is that shih tzus are prone to certain skin conditions, so it may be possible that the pills are vet supply only so he can watch out for any side effects?

krlyr

Vets are businesses there to make a profit, so schemes like this will likely provide them with profit (some may discount to retain your customer - e.g. the Vacs4Life type schemes). You will likely be able to do this for much cheaper than £216 a year.

Another factor to consider is how necessary are all these chemicals. Yes, treating monthly for fleas and worms will prevent an infestation becoming a problem - but if you're in an area where they're unlikely to pick these up then you're paying that money plus putting what are basically pesticides/toxins on your dog each month. I'll happily use these products if they're needed, but IMO it's rarely needed monthly.

Ditto with vaccinations, even some manufacturer guidelines are only every 3 years rather than annually. There's controvery over the side effects of vaccinations and overvaccination in the animal world, it may be something you would like to do some research on yourself.

I personally opt to treat mine with Advocate drops 1-2 times a year just to cover for lungworm (symptoms don't generally show until damage is caused to the lungs so I'm a little cautious, especially with the high incidence in my area) though I might even change this to worm counts (you send samples to a company and they check for worm eggs etc - so no chemicals needed unless worms are found). I worm maybe once a year, if that, I just monitor poos for any signs of an infestation (and any unexplained weightloss, potbelly look, etc. might trigger investigation), again this would be checked if I sent a worm count off. Costs me, say, £40 for 18-24 months' worth of flea treatment (depending how often I apply) and about £6 a year for the wormers - generic version of Drontal, bought online (brand is Cestem)

I did previously booster for insurance and kenneling purposes - but holiday with the dogs now so haven't bothered for the last few years, I don't like the potential side effects of either the vaccinations themselves or the effects of overvaccination (my girl already has thyroid disease as it is, and some vets have linked the two). Kennels have just been given the go-ahead to accept titre tests (a check for an immune response to the diseases instead of vaccinations) or homeopathic nosodes at their discretion now, and most insurance companies will cover a dog but just exclude anything you could have vaccinated against.


The way I see it, we don't treat our kids or ourselves for headlice, worms, etc. every month "just in case" so why the need for dogs. Ditto vaccinations - we have immunity for longer than a year, and studies have shown dogs do too.

krlyr

Silvertabby wrote: »

My only reservation is that shih tzus are prone to certain skin conditions, so it may be possible that the pills are vet supply only so he can watch out for any side effects?

Even if you wanted to stick to Prescription-Only flea treatment/wormers, you can request a prescription from your vet to purchase these elsewhere. They cannot refuse (only on the basis of the dog not being well - but shouldn't then sell you it themselves either) and must not discriminate against customers who request a prescription. They're allowed to charge a "reasonable" fee (not a specified maximum) and are allowed to limit the prescription (my vet usually limits to 3 months - RCVS guidelines state they must have the pet "under their care" i.e. seen recently enough they are happy the pet is fit to have the medication and that it's the right dosage etc.) but it can still often work out cheaper to pay for the prescription and purchase from a (reputable - you get dodgy ones so check for recommendations) pet pharmacy online. Animed Direct are always pretty reasonable in price, but there's others too.

pinkteapot

Have you asked your vet for the prices of the items individually?

Our vet offers a similar "spread the cost over the year" type plan, or you can 'pay as you go'. Ask what they charge for the latter and work out which option is cheaper...

samuela66

krlyr wrote: »

Vets are businesses there to make a profit, so schemes like this will likely provide them with profit (some may discount to retain your customer - e.g. the Vacs4Life type schemes). You will likely be able to do this for much cheaper than £216 a year.

Another factor to consider is how necessary are all these chemicals. Yes, treating monthly for fleas and worms will prevent an infestation becoming a problem - but if you're in an area where they're unlikely to pick these up then you're paying that money plus putting what are basically pesticides/toxins on your dog each month. I'll happily use these products if they're needed, but IMO it's rarely needed monthly.

Ditto with vaccinations, even some manufacturer guidelines are only every 3 years rather than annually. There's controvery over the side effects of vaccinations and overvaccination in the animal world, it may be something you would like to do some research on yourself.

I personally opt to treat mine with Advocate drops 1-2 times a year just to cover for lungworm (symptoms don't generally show until damage is caused to the lungs so I'm a little cautious, especially with the high incidence in my area) though I might even change this to worm counts (you send samples to a company and they check for worm eggs etc - so no chemicals needed unless worms are found). I worm maybe once a year, if that, I just monitor poos for any signs of an infestation (and any unexplained weightloss, potbelly look, etc. might trigger investigation), again this would be checked if I sent a worm count off. Costs me, say, £40 for 18-24 months' worth of flea treatment (depending how often I apply) and about £6 a year for the wormers - generic version of Drontal, bought online (brand is Cestem)

I did previously booster for insurance and kenneling purposes - but holiday with the dogs now so haven't bothered for the last few years, I don't like the potential side effects of either the vaccinations themselves or the effects of overvaccination (my girl already has thyroid disease as it is, and some vets have linked the two). Kennels have just been given the go-ahead to accept titre tests (a check for an immune response to the diseases instead of vaccinations) or homeopathic nosodes at their discretion now, and most insurance companies will cover a dog but just exclude anything you could have vaccinated against.


The way I see it, we don't treat our kids or ourselves for headlice, worms, etc. every month "just in case" so why the need for dogs. Ditto vaccinations - we have immunity for longer than a year, and studies have shown dogs do too.

Thanks so much for the indepth reply, I will look into everything, I have had to take a much lower paid job since being made redundant and looking at cutting cost wherever I can, i just did no realise that she didnt need all those all the time,,,,, thanks again

LusciousLuce

Unless you're using every single item in the pet care plan you will be paying more than necessary.

Every vet practice has these schemes nowadays. It benefits the practice because it's guaranteed income. But, let's be honest, most of us pet owners forget to use flea and worm products as often as is recommended, and now I'm out of practice (after 14 years) I will not purchase these from the practice. I still use prescription products but buy them online with a written prescription. Far cheaper.

So yeah, unless you use every item priced into the plan, save yourself some money and cancel it

jumbojuice

Agree with the above, this does seem super expensive. Does the vet offer a scheme where you can remove some of the options?