Vet Visits

[Michelle Rodriguez]

Hello everyone :) So we are still waiting on our fur baby to arrive but being as excited as we are we are already searching for the right vet. We found two close to us that seem to have everything we are looking for in a good vet. But they both have different methods of payments. One does monthly fees ($37 a month) and the other one charges per visit ($200 per visit). My question is how often did you need to take your doodle to the vet during the puppy stages? We're trying to figure out if it would be worth paying monthly or paying per visit. Thanks in advance :) 

[Amy and Annabelle]

At my vet office it is $35.00 per visit to see the dr unless it is a follow up visit, then it's free. If you are ok with seeing a vet tech the office visit is free and you just pay for the service and or meds. Between the day we brought her home and when she got the last of her set of shots, she had been in 4 times. We only saw the dr on the first visit when she had a checkup and the next set of shots that were due. The vet tech did the other shots. Then at 6 months she was spayed but the office charge was factored into the cost of the surgery. Our payment is always due at the time of visit. The $200 a visit seems really high to me.

[F, Calla & Luca]

The only places I know of with monthly or yearly fees around here is Banfield and personally I would not use them. The vets I have used charge about $65 per visit. Shots given by the vet techs are separately charged for without a visit fee. The most important thing you can do is to get pet insurance which will cover all the emergencies, surgeries etc. you might have. There is lots of information you can search for here on insurance. I use Pet Plan. I also would suggest you talk to other pet owners about the vets they use. Price alone is not the most significant point but competence and being personable and kind are important to me.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think this is great advice.  First of all you want a Vet who is competent and accessible and will take the time to get to know your individual dog.  I think price is going to vary significantly by location, so I would do a price comparison in your area.  I agree that pet insurance is so important.  Mine has more than paid for itself.

[Stella]

Wow, neither of those sounds like a good choice! I would never sign up at a vet where you had to pay monthly even if you didn't go! My vet is $80 per office visit and then extra for investigations etc. get let insurance before you even pick up your puppy, that way you use up part of the waiting period before you even have him! Visit lots of vets offices, ask for a tour including the back - if they won't show you the treatment area / kennels, you don't want to sign up there. They should be happy to show you around. Ask about their weekend hours, on-call process - can you see your vet in an emergency or do they share this with another clinic? Go and visit that clinic too if you can. If your dog has to stay overnight does a staff member stay too, you would be surprised how many clinics are not staffed at night, even when there are overnight patients. To me that is unacceptable. Good luck!!!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Basically here no small vet offices are staffed overnight so I would take my dog home if possible. The very large hospitals/emergency vets have staff overnight so if my dog needed to be kept overnight I would have to go there.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Exactly....that's how it works here too.  We have a wonderful 24 hour hospital and we now know the doctors there, so it really is no problem for us. 

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Our vet charges $65.00 per visit plus anything else that needs to be done (like lab work, injections, or medications).  We typically end up paying somewhere between $80.00 and &150.00 per visit.   Is the $200 all inclusive? 

[Michelle Rodriguez]

Yes, both plans are all inclusive including emergency visits and getting neutered/sprayed. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Ok..So what you are talking about is somekind of a puppy plan offered to you from the Vet?
We did this with Enzo, her first year. For $350( or somewhere in that ballpark range) we had unlimited visits, all her Vaccinations, including Bordetella, 2 wormings, 2 fecal tests , 2 Heartworm tests and her Spay. I sat down and did the math and it was well worth the original cost. They also included 10% off on doggie daycare, boarding, and flea/ Heartworm meds.
They offered it to us again for second year....same price, basically all the same offerings, except instead of a spay, they included an all inclusive blood panel work up. Again, it was very cost effective.
Not sure what they will offer this year, as she is done for the next 3 years on most of her Vacs. Bordetella and Rattlesnakevwill be the only ones she will get this year.

[SoSa]

Our vet offers a puppy care plan for $240 a year or $20 a mo. We purchased the plan because it includes unlimited office visits which without the plan would be $50 per visit. It also includes any and all vaccinations he will need during the year, 2parasite screenings, annual blood panels, interstate health certificates and for an additional $7 a mo, we get unlimited nail clippings, which for us, it's needed every two weeks. I think for the first year, when puppy needs all of the different vaccinations, it's worth it. I priced them out separately and I end up saving money, plus I can bring Ace in as many times as I want for a wellness check. as a new puppy owner always worried about this and that and who's always curious about how much he weighs, you cannot beat unlimited free office visits. Next year I will not get the puppy plan, but I will keep the pet insurance. Right now with the puppy care plan and insurance, I feel less puppy health stress. I would shop around and do practice, plan and price comparisons.

[Jennifer Tramell]

Once the puppy shots were complete, my dogs usually only need to go to the vet for their yearly check-up or vaccination.

I have a couple vets I trust and use.  One vet was our farm vet and we have a longstanding relationship with her.  She is very common sense and happy to share her knowledge.  I take my dogs for puppy well-checks, infections, etc to this vet.

Our other vet has "fought" the county government regarding vaccinations.  She believes that the excess use of many vaccines are causing problems with dogs.  As an example, the rabies vaccine is labeled for 3 years yet the county government wants dogs registered every year.  I take my dogs to her office for their vaccinations.  This is the vet who handled Charlotte's auto-immune crisis so I take Charlotte to her for a twice a year blood test.

Both of these vets are about 30 minutes away, but I trust them completely.  That said, for simple procedures which need little more than a vet tech, I go to a nearby low-cost clinic (micro-chipping, bordatella for 4H, etc). 

I have 3 dogs and, prior to Charlotte, rarely took them for more than check-up/vaccinations.  I pay about $40 for office visits, vaccinations are around $25, Charlotte's blood panel is $10 for the quick check and around $35 for a full panel.  We are in the Nashville, TN area.