I hate some vets...

I just threw away 90$ for a consultation, then ill have to pay 230$ for some tests, and another 160$ for some shots.


I hate throwing money like that. The consultation made me mad because it lasted a whole of 5 minutes

I know what you mean, I once asked my vet if he could trim Peanuts nails. He said sure, no problem. I get the bill, and he charged me $13 for the trimming. I think alot of vets are con artists, they'll over charge you or chargeyou for something your dog doesnt even need.

orion, is something wrong with your dog? I hope not. $90 does seem like a lot for an exam/consultation. Depending on what tests you are having done and wheather they can be done in house or not might be where the price hike is. The shots costs depend on the dosage, fequency, type, etc.

My vet sucks... I'm just glad Rocky rarely gets sick and the regular check-ups are only once a year.

Wow! I'd find a new vet and let this one know I'm finding a new vet....and would object strongly to $90.00 for 5 minutes of talking. No way! That's robbery.

like car mechanics! lol

yep our vets charge £16 for the consultation, and then a lot for any treatment, my last vet bill was £300 for neutering

sounds like a lot to me too..time to shop around. I have known vets in the past that were all about profit..some that got greedy..others that were fair and worked with you. We are so lucky to have the humane soceity not for profit clinic available here. I would let my fingers do the walking through the yellow pages..5 minutes isn't enough time for anything.

In defense of car mechanics (since my husband is one), it can take quite a bit of work to figure out what is wrong with a car. There are diagnostic computers to use, parts to be inspected, tests to run, etc. My hubby can spend a good amount of time just trying to find out exactly what the problem is.

But a consultation that takes five minutes? I understand that you're paying for the vet's time, but I've never heard any vet that charges $18 a minute!

I will say Nedim that your vet should have told you the fee so you could make the decision, but vets don't work for free. If they did, they would go out of business. Trust me, they don't make a fortune. The average vet makes about $50,000-$60,000 per year...that's not a lot for 7 years if school and becoming a doctor. Keep in mind that toe nail trims are no easy task on most pets and $13 is not much money for the work involved!!! I swear our clients thought that just because they couldn't trim the nails that the pets would magically behave and make it easy for us - WRONG! They are just as naughty for the vet staff as they are for the owners LOL!!!

Wow - I don't pay anything for a consultation! It cost £30 to neuter our cat and about £50 for Bodhis vaccs and microchip!!!

You need to shop around!! Ours is a small vets, very good, friendly, informative and good with our animals.. He goes gooey when he sees them

You're paying too much!!

I dislike vets that have WAY too many appointments at once, spend 5mins with you and your pet, and charge the big bucks. How can you possible know my dog and be able to figure out if something is 'off' if all you do is come in, wash your hands and look at eyes and ears. When the "nurse" who takes you into the room spends more time with you than the actual vet that perscribes medicine, it'd be time for me to switch vets.

does anyone else have a not for profit clinic in their area? surely we aren't the only one

I'm guilty of this, sort of.
When I was 17 I thought the vet would be able to help me get my cat into the carrier because its a real fight, he hated it!! I asked him if he knew any vet tricks to get the cat into the crate and he said "Yea, just watch." I watched him struggle with the cat for a good 5 unproductive minutes before I stepped in and we both managed to get him in the crate. Lesson learned, LOL

wrap that cat tight in a towel or a pillow case first.making sure their heads are covered
....they can undo themselves after they are caged..that is what i do. the er had the coolest trick with a pillow case for toddlers as well..had them put their arms in it somehow behind their back i don't remember exactly and wish i did because it was a slick trick..(hyia was getting a bead taken out of her nose and wouldn't keep her hands out of the way when she was a toddler)

Yea, I learned that trick when I was several years older.

LOL!! I just have to tell you that I work in a toddler room at a day care, and all I could do was laugh as I read your post! I think I'll share that trick with my teachers aid! LOL j/k

thanks the vet we have is the best in the area without me having to drive 25 miles to the next one which is no good in an emergency, it only cost £300 because he needed wounds cleaned on his ears and for his meds after, but it was still a lot more than I thaught it would be

Its a specialist dermatologist...


90$ isnt really that much money, but still the time it took her to make a diagnos made me shiver...

She was reccomended by our very good personal vet, so ill take his word for it, moneys not that big of a problem. =\

I would say that's reasonable for a specialist. I took Bubba to one once, and it only took a few second to take a scraping... but at least we learned it was a bad case of mange he picked up in Canada. As to vets... try to find a good established clinic !! I've only gone to 2 in my 50 years of personally ownwing dogs... 2 different towns..... both started in the 50's and both had a staff through the years of 4 to 5 vets of up most quality. In both cases, they may have been a little higher , but peace of mind and knowing I was doing the best meant so much. Both were caring, always followed up and yes, I've never been charged for a nail trim or ear check ! One of my present clinic's vets even had me come in every 2 months just to check Chip's heart at no charge ! I personally would not shop around for a " cheap" vet...if they're not with a qualified Vet Clinic ( and I don't call PatSmart a Clinic ! ) they aren't worth a paper cup of dog pee for a diagnosis .

I guess it depends how your vet works - over here in Spain we've been very lucky to find obviously dog-loving vets who will take time, put you and your dog at ease, and not charge just for a check-over, advice or consultation.

Last time in the UK I took my Dad's dog to the his local vet for a jab and cream to help with some soreness, and although it worked there was a 25 UK (nearly 50 US) "appointment/consultation fee" for a diagnosis that took all of two minutes, and then pretty much the same for the meds! The whole experience was totally clinical and quick. Business-like maybe, but like we were being 'processed' and didn't give a nice feeling