# Vet costs.



## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

Our little Romanian rescue dog, Rosie, has recently been suffering from pancreatitis so I have had to take her for several visits to the vets :frown2: Yesterday I took her down for her final check up, all clear thankfully. So far we have had to pay several hundred pounds for her treatment, no insurance. As I was standing at the receptionists counter with her gazing into her computer screen she remarked "I'm sure that there must be something we haven't charged you for". I replied " the air that I breath"? Without looking up from her screen she said "no I don't think so, that's not on here". :surprise:

Nick.


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

We have an epileptic dog and it costs a fortune for the combination of tablets he has.

Last time when I paid for the tablets she asked if their was anything else I wanted - 

“A mortgage?” I said

She wasn't impressed at my attempt at humour.

But then again I'm not impressed at their prices – and they're cheaper than most Vets.


:wav::wav::wav:


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

If you think vets bills are high just ask for a breakdown of what health treatment (NHS) ACTUALLY costs.

Mrs P used to work in a private hospital, a hip replacement would cost a private patient about £13000. The hospitals profit (after all costs were covered) was just £300. That was in a highly efficient hospital with very few "senior managers" or loopy "preferred suppliers" for drugs that charged 1000's for stuff you could buy over the counter for pence!

A vets training is two years longer than a doctors as well!

Andy


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

I do believe that since pet insurance came into being that the cost of treating animals has shot up considerably. The problem being of coarse is that now everyone has to pay the "inflated" prices.

Nick.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Any vets on the Rich List? Ever heard of a rich vet? No me either.


Having worked in the industry for many years I can tell you that the overheads are enormous! All that stainless steel equipment, x-ray machines, diagnostic equipment. 
My last full time job working at a vet's was in a practice with three partners. They ran two hospitals and two branches. The could not make it pay and sold out to CVS. The reason they could not make it pay was that they tried to keep the fees affordable for clients. Well that and the horrendous bad debts they incurred, which ran into tens of thousands of pounds each year.


Insurance has not put the fees up. It has meant that vets can offer the best treatment for each client's pet rather than tailor it to the clients purse. Believe me there is a huge difference. Never be afraid to ask if there is a cheaper alternative. As we know, from the NHS, there are, cheaper, generic drugs but they may not be quite a good as the latest wonder drug. I would rather take out insurance and be sure of getting the best treatment.


You can cut your vet fees considerably by not using the large conglomerate practices like CVS. There main aim is the bottom line. If you can find an independent vet their charges will, usually, be much cheaper. CVS (there are others) do not advertise themselves over the door but are usually on any paperwork.


As has been said, vets train for longer than doctors and have a much tougher job. Ever tried giving an enema to a reluctant Rottweiler? Their patients are never grateful and us owners always grumble about the bill 


I do think that insurance is going up a lot though. I wonder if Noel Fitzpatrick is to blame? I know some pet insurance companies are saying that they, and not your vet, will choose the referral practice that you are sent to.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Any pictures of Rosie, Nick? I will







try to post one of my Romanian Hunting Hound (well that's what we call him ha ha)


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

http://forums.motorhomefacts.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=58841&stc=1&d=1486120974

Here she is.

Nick.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

She's gorgeous!








Can't work out how to post a picture.


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

patp said:


> She's gorgeous!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's the first time that I've posted a photo on this forum from my iPad. I had to play around for a few minutes until I got it sorted.

Nick.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

She's also upside down!! But gorgeous, yes!


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

jiwawa said:


> She's also upside down!! But gorgeous, yes!


She shouldn't be if you either click on the link or the photo. Not on my iPad anyway. :laugh:

Nick.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

The link is the right way up - she's beautiful!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Wel we have the MHF from hell

An 8 stone hound 
Who will not allow anyone near his feet

They look like a yeti 
I'll post a photo 

Sandra


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

jiwawa said:


> The link is the right way up - she's beautiful!


Ive been given a link to her life in Romania before she came over here. The poor girl nearly died twice. Once of distemper when Rosie and her brother, Alfie, had to spend time in an incubator. Within a week of us getting her I was walking her in the village where my son lives and something spooked her and she managed to pull out of her harness. She was missing for 4 days in the middle of winter. I was going round the village from 6 am until late at night looking for her. Eventually I managed to find her. She is great in the motor home and last year we all went down to the Pyrenees.

Nick.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

jiwawa said:


> She's also upside down!! But gorgeous, yes!


No it's not! It's an Australian Barbie Hound.


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

Spacerunner said:


> No it's not! It's an Australian Barbie Hound.


As it happens we lived in Oz for 14 years and when we came back to Blighty we brought our cat and dog with us. Now that was an expensive do. Each of them had to be in quarantine for 6 months.:frown2:
Nick.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Our boy, Tigan, travelled, with his mother and litter mates, from Romania by road. He still does not like the pressure created by the boot of the car coming down. We have to open another door to lessen the impact. Memories of the trip?


He was homed once, as a pup, to a family. Unfortunately, he escaped from their garden (I have suspicions he was being kept mostly in the garden) and was out all night. They went to bed and when they got up at 7am he was not home. He was found on the doorstep at 7.30am with horrific injuries to his back legs. It was thought that he was hit by a car and dragged underneath it. His owners phoned the rescue centre at 11am to say they could not get near him and would they help. The staff went, picked him up, and took him back to their vet at the rescue centre. After surgery, to repair all the bone depth wounds, he was claimed back by the rescue centre due to the owners not seeking veterinary help in a timely manner. Their excuse for not seeking help sooner was that the husband had to go to work and the wife had to take the children to school.
We saw him when he was still on cage rest, confined to a small hospital kennel 24/7. We went every day to see him and give him some limited exercise. Because of his history, the centre insisted that we had six foot high dog proof fencing. When we told them that we could not fence our whole four acre smallholding with six foot fencing (it had stock proof fencing already) their answer was "you can!". We compromised and fenced an area outside the kitchen of about 100 sq m.
It became obvious that he had not, as the previous owners had said, jumped out over their six foot fencing by using the bins to lever himself up from. He is quite a woos and will not jump things or even push through gaps. The six foot fencing is long gone and he never attempts to jump the stock fencing.


The list of his behaviour issues would fill an A4 sheet of paper. From fear of traffic, fear of being held and treated, to bowel problems caused by a giardia infection he had shortly before his accident. These manifest as an inability to hold faeces in his bowel for as long as most dogs can. He cannot tolerate large amounts of roughage like bones.
Even though he had been through rescue he was not neutered when we got him and he had a retained testicle.
He is fearful of his collar being touched and suspicious of hands going over his head. I could go on but you get the picture 


Thankfully he has made amazing progress but has tested our patience to the limit at times  One trait that is particularly trying is his strong hunting instinct. I imagine most of the Romanian rescues have this, though, as they would not survive long without it.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

So brilliant patp 

Makes the houndfromhell sound like a puppy dog 

Unless you approach the van or garden unannounced 

Well no one wants an 8 stone hound hurtling towards them with evil intent 

Which is why the MH garage is enclosed with wire doors at either side as he cannot be tied up outside

And the internal garden door is locked 

His guts are not good either so he needs home cooked food , absolutely no bones , chicken, brown rice and veg , mackeral and occasional eggs 

Because most of his guts are missing 

How he's got to 8 stone plus is beyond me 

And I think beyond the vet 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I am a firm believer, Sandra, that each dog teaches us something new


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## Garcia (Mar 5, 2010)

Our two old dogs died within a year of each other. One just before we left France for Portugal and one last April. 14 tho...so a good age.
After a dogless month we got two rescue dogs from Faro. Both pups. The male has had a torrid time. Spent more time in the vet and with "hat" on than not!
When I got them and registered them with our local vet for jabs etc, I jokingly said to the vet that I was going to get my pension paid straight to the practice. !!Foolish as it's turned out. He took ill and forced the abandonment of our German MH holiday last summer. NEarly died from some infection. Then a grass seed in the eye needed treatment. Then his leg has deformed and bent. Now at 11 months he's fully grown ( about 22 kilos) and the vet said he needed to correct the bend with surgery. 1000 euros lighter in the pocket , I have a very sad and unhappy dog that is not allowed to run or jump for 5 weeks!
Gonna be a tough month I think. I love the vets. I think they do a great job that I wouldn't and couldn't do, and I hate the scam that is pet insurance, so I'll just have to bear the cost. But it hurts on a pension.
Garcia


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

Garcia said:


> Our two old dogs died within a year of each other. One just before we left France for Portugal and one last April. 14 tho...so a good age.
> After a dogless month we got two rescue dogs from Faro. Both pups. The male has had a torrid time. Spent more time in the vet and with "hat" on than not!
> When I got them and registered them with our local vet for jabs etc, I jokingly said to the vet that I was going to get my pension paid straight to the practice. !!Foolish as it's turned out. He took ill and forced the abandonment of our German MH holiday last summer. NEarly died from some infection. Then a grass seed in the eye needed treatment. Then his leg has deformed and bent. Now at 11 months he's fully grown ( about 22 kilos) and the vet said he needed to correct the bend with surgery. 1000 euros lighter in the pocket , I have a very sad and unhappy dog that is not allowed to run or jump for 5 weeks!
> Gonna be a tough month I think. I love the vets. I think they do a great job that I wouldn't and couldn't do, and I hate the scam that is pet insurance, so I'll just have to bear the cost. But it hurts on a pension.
> Garcia


Well done Garcia. We have always said that if you have a pet then you must be prepared to take the responsibility. Hope all turns out well.

Nick.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Sorry to hear of all your woes with your new dog Garcia. Hopefully he will recover well and not darken the door of the vet again!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

It is expensive 

We are insured for £2500 a year ,£ 60 excess 

But our monthly premiums are about £70 a month 

We could always manage his fees fortunately 

but twice we've had occassions that we have claimed the insurance and paid on top of it because his treatment cost excess to £2500 

What I do to ensure the MHF from hell Survives 

More to the point can MHF survive??!

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Blimey Sandra! You need to get a mongrel next time  


£12,000 per condition per year for £24.78 a month for Tigan.


Our last but one dog cost us over £4,000 of uninsured savings. We insured the next one, Willow, and went through the £4,000 limit in 2 years. The peace of mind was worth it though.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I don't think there will be a next time 

We like big dogs 

Unfortunately they are getting beyond us 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

How is Rosie Nick?


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

patp said:


> Blimey Sandra! You need to get a mongrel next time
> 
> £12,000 per condition per year for £24.78 a month for Tigan.
> 
> Our last but one dog cost us over £4,000 of uninsured savings. We insured the next one, Willow, and went through the £4,000 limit in 2 years. The peace of mind was worth it though.


Shadow is now nearly 9 , old for a large breed

His monthly premiums have gone up steadily throughout his life

We did consider cancelling them but they have paid out without question when we have claimed and on balance we won't have made that much of a loss overtime

Sandra


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

patp said:


> How is Rosie Nick?


She seems to have made a full recovery thanks. The first couple of days that she came home from the vets she only ate spasmodically but now she is eating better than ever. We only feed her chicken, turkey and low fat dog food. It is usually mixed in with either boiled rice or low fat dog biscuits. She is fed twice a day and absolutely wolfs it down. :smile2:

Nick.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Glad she is better Nick. It is a very painful condition! I assume you have to watch what she eats for the rest of her life?


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## Garcia (Mar 5, 2010)

patp said:


> Sorry to hear of all your woes with your new dog Garcia. Hopefully he will recover well and not darken the door of the vet again!


He seems fine in himself, but, 1 week into his post op time he's getting stronger and wants to run, despite being in a splint, which he is not allowed to do! 4 more weeks with him tied to a tree to stop him! And he's one lively pup when he's fit. Hates me taking his sister out for a walk!
Any suggestions on how to keep a pup as calm and immobile as possible...gratefully received.
I've been trying to keep him occupied with bones to chew on, but Portuguese butchers don't seem very forthcoming. You wonder what they do with their scrap bones??

I've had dogs all my life and never had insurance. Heard too many horror stories of Ins. Cos refusing to pay or cancelling , or refusing renewal, even if someone has paid in for years. Guess I've been lucky in the past.....
Garcia


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Any kind of "brain" work can be very tiring for dogs. Not sure what your dog training skills are like but you could teach him all sorts of, sedentary, tricks. The usual ones are sit, down, stand etc. Each of these can be extended by teaching the "stay" in that position.
Others could be - give a paw, give the other paw, roll over, play dead, hold a toy, give the toy back, balance a biscuit on his nose, leave.


There is a very good YouTube site called KikoPup that shows you how to clicker train. I am sure there must be some clicker trainers in Portugal, somewhere, that could start you off. Once you understand the concept of timing the click to coincide with the desired behaviour the world is your lobster


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## Garcia (Mar 5, 2010)

He will sit and lie down , but stay is a challenge for more than 30 seconds unless the wife holds him back as I walk away.
Not sure he's the brightest, but he sure is a handsome dog for stray rescue. Think he has some Ridgeback in him (wrinkled forehead, dark brown stripe along his back). They are very active dogs, which under other circumstances I'm happy with. I will continue to train him , but my immediate problem is avoiding him undoing the benefit of the surgey by getting active too soon. Anyway, back to the vet for a dressing change on Fri morning, so I'll at least get an updat on the state of the leg.
Garcia


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

patp said:


> Glad she is better Nick. It is a very painful condition! I assume you have to watch what she eats for the rest of her life?


Yes patp we will have to make sure that she doesn't eat any fatty food or is given too many "treats". Then again I suppose we should have been more careful in the first place. Lesson learned.
Nick.


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

Garcia said:


> He seems fine in himself, but, 1 week into his post op time he's getting stronger and wants to run, despite being in a splint, which he is not allowed to do! 4 more weeks with him tied to a tree to stop him! And he's one lively pup when he's fit. Hates me taking his sister out for a walk!
> Any suggestions on how to keep a pup as calm and immobile as possible...gratefully received.
> I've been trying to keep him occupied with bones to chew on, but Portuguese butchers don't seem very forthcoming. You wonder what they do with their scrap bones??
> 
> ...


As a warning we have been told NOT to give Rosie bones. Not that we ever did. They can be very bad for their insides apparently.
Nick.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Shadow is in his element

Fresh cooked chicken, brown rice and veg

What's not to like ?

A tin or two of mackeral thown in with a couple of eggs 

Except we now have two dogs sharing the diet

Winston the ridgeback cross

They are costing more than us to feed

Except our granddaughters dad

Provides a lot ofthe chicken from his market stall for free

Well we support his daughter for free

And to us and him we are family

Sandra


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## Garcia (Mar 5, 2010)

nickoff said:


> As a warning we have been told NOT to give Rosie bones. Not that we ever did. They can be very bad for their insides apparently.
> Nick.


Yes you are correct but, generally we are careful with bones. Only big beef leg bones that they cannot crunch, but can gnaw and chew.
But I do know that it keeps him quiet for hours if I get a good bone..which is what I'm about at the mo
And then, in the wild,....they'd eat what they find....

Here in Portugal, we have 2 goat farmers near us and they parade their goats thru the fields daily...as such there are skulls, leg bones, rib bones and whatever constantly on our walk route.....We have real probs keeeping them away from the dogs. And getting them off them if they find one!
You are correct....one has to be careful with bones....
Have you heard of th BARF diet for dogs ? Bones and raw food .....!
Garcia


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

Garcia said:


> Yes you are correct but, generally we are careful with bones. Only big beef leg bones that they cannot crunch, but can gnaw and chew.
> But I do know that it keeps him quiet for hours if I get a good bone..which is what I'm about at the mo
> And then, in the wild,....they'd eat what they find....
> 
> ...


Must admit that's a new one on me. The only Barf I have heard of is when someone is barfing up. (Being sick):surprise:

Nick.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

More and more people are switching to the Raw method of feeding. Vets are not too keen on it as cooking kills off bacteria. I tried it with my rescue to see if it helped his bowels but did not see any noticeable difference. It is very hard work to keep it separate in the fridge, remember to defrost it etc.


On the subject of lively dogs, some diets are like rocket fuel to dogs. The better the quality the less this seems to be so. At the top of the list of ingredients should be a high quality protein. This means a named meat (not meat derivatives) such as chicken, fish, beef etc. Any other ingredient at the top such as rice or non protein is to be avoided.


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

patp said:


> More and more people are switching to the Raw method of feeding. Vets are not too keen on it as cooking kills off bacteria. I tried it with my rescue to see if it helped his bowels but did not see any noticeable difference. It is very hard work to keep it separate in the fridge, remember to defrost it etc.
> 
> On the subject of lively dogs, some diets are like rocket fuel to dogs. The better the quality the less this seems to be so. At the top of the list of ingredients should be a high quality protein. This means a named meat (not meat derivatives) such as chicken, fish, beef etc. Any other ingredient at the top such as rice or non protein is to be avoided.


I'm a little confused now. The vet specifically told us to give Rosie rice with her meat, chicken, fish etc.

Nick.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

nickoff said:


> I'm a little confused now. The vet specifically told us to give Rosie rice with her meat, chicken, fish etc.
> 
> Nick.


Yes, sorry, it is fine to feed it but it should not be the first ingredient listed in the back of complete foods. The first ingredient on the list is the main ingredient and this should be chicken, fish etc. Some foods use lots of cheap ingredients to bulk out a poor quality diet. Keeps the cost down. There is a website called All About Dog Food that is a mine of information and gives a star rating to tall the various brands out there. Saves lots of peering at bags in the pet shop.

I am very lucky in my area that we have a family run pet shop that refuses to stock all the poor quality diets out there. Must have been a difficult decision because some of them are market leaders. The one they recommend the most is one called Gentle. It is cold pressed rather than ultra heat treated.


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