Yearly checkup, registration...am I paying too much $$$?

[rubyandstewiesmom]

Well, it's almost February, so time to take the pups in for their checkups, and yearly registrations. How much do you guys pay per yearly checkup? I get all the regular shots, and pay $10 per dog to the county for a tag etc, and just get the 1 year rabies vaccine.
The totaly including the tag fee was $268 last year for both dogs. Neither one was tested for Heartworms since they have been on preventative for years. I do give them a kennel cough vaccine as well as growing up we had a pittie who was very prone to it, and Ruby sometimes goes to dog parks. This does not include their heartwork preventative or frontline. I pay that seperately.

My friend said this is an outrageous price to pay. I really didn't think it was, I go to a vet I love who operates the local No Kill Animal Sanctuary and I just love her....and she is a big pitbull fan which is always nice too!

Should I be paying that much? My friend said she thought her dog only cost about $75 per year?

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Every area is different. Where I am, that's incredibly cheap.

[Amie]

$75 a year? She's lying, miscounting, or not doing what the dog needs.



At the adoption shelter where I work, we ask potential adopters to estimate how much their new pet will cost them in a year. For cats, we say the answer is about $400-600. For dogs, we say $800-1200, barring emergencies.

[jamielvsaustin]

Should I be paying that much? My friend said she thought her dog only cost about $75 per year?

For the dogs we pay about $300 each (we have two dogs). That's because we have them on a plan at Banfield and we pay $24.99 a month. But we take our animals to the vet often and we never have to pay the office fee (among other things) so for us it's worth it.

It could be that your friend is paying only for the vaccinations...around here they have a pet mobile that will stop in the parking lot of Walgreens or CVS and each vaccine is either $10 or $15. I believe the do a quick check up as well. Maybe that's why it's so cheap for her?

[AbbyGirl352]

My check ups usually run $200 but I don't have to pay an office fee, and that includes flea/heart worm meds.

[star_frances]

We get a 3 year rabies vaccine here in PA, the cost is $13. I get Moira's other vaccines every three years as well, they run around $34. Office visit is $38 at my vet, though he often doesn't charge it or only charges half if it's a shorter visit. $30 when we need a heartworm test (if we get a decent winter I will sometimes take her off the monthly for a few of the coldest months). Around $100 for general bloodwork. County dog license fees change sometimes, this year it was $6.45 for a spayed/neutered dog. Really it's pretty affordable here, though of course the monthy treatments, good quality food, supplements, treats, toys, etc. all add up fast.

[GoingPostal]

$47 exam @ both vets, $34-48 heartworm test, $26-$36 for six months of HW meds, $4 city tag per dog, $18 rabies, $19-30 dhpp shot. I do shots every 3 years so it's between $150-$200 per dog every spring checkup. I see a local vet sometimes but prefer the out of town one although they are more expensive they are worth it, that's why there are two prices.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

$66 exam, $15/vaccine, $50 heartworm test...

[FransterDoo]

Well you are getting "all the regular vaccines" including what sounds like a 1 year rabies - so that says to me that you are getting and paying for things you might not need.

IF you was to continue DH2PP, you can go to a 3 year cycle. Same thing for Rabies. It's more complicated but I suggest that folks do not do all the vaccines at the same time. So year 1 is Dh2PP, year 2 is rabies, year 3 is nothin, year 4 is dh2pp, year 5 is rabies, etc, etc.

[dogs4jen]

I just thought I should mention that you should still have the heartworm test every year even though your dogs are always on preventative, just to be sure.

[rubyandstewiesmom]

Thank you so much everyone....sounds reasonable...and I will start on a 3 year rotation with my pups. Growing up on a farm isn't really an excuse...but I"ve always been a yearly type gal since we used to have so many animals to vaccinate etc....but there is not excuse now. I'll do the every 3 year rotation starting this next month...and I will also have heartworm testing done as well. I wasn't aware that it was that common for dogs to get it on preventative...so I will definitely have it done!

Thank you sooo much!

[Misskiwi67]

Thank you so much everyone....sounds reasonable...and I will start on a 3 year rotation with my pups. Growing up on a farm isn't really an excuse...but I"ve always been a yearly type gal since we used to have so many animals to vaccinate etc....but there is not excuse now. I'll do the every 3 year rotation starting this next month...and I will also have heartworm testing done as well. I wasn't aware that it was that common for dogs to get it on preventative...so I will definitely have it done!

Thank you sooo much!

Your costs sound reasonable to cheap, probably because you skipped the HW test. When you get your test done, make sure your vet uses a combination test that also tests for Lyme and ehrlichia. These tests cost exactly the same price from the manufacturer so there's no excuse not to use the most up to date testing materials.

[star_frances]

I wasn't aware that it was that common for dogs to get it on preventative...so I will definitely have it done!

Thank you sooo much!

I haven't seen anything concrete on it yet, but there is a possibility that there may be some heartworm developing resistance to the treatment. It is not know whether it is owner error in giving the medication, inconsistencies or lapses in testing, or some unknown - but it is definitely worth a $30 test to be on the safe side while continuing the monthly preventative.

http://www.mdvma.org/newsletter/2011/sp ... rtworm.pdf

[Misskiwi67]

I haven't seen anything concrete on it yet, but there is a possibility that there may be some heartworm developing resistance to the treatment. It is not know whether it is owner error in giving the medication, inconsistencies or lapses in testing, or some unknown - but it is definitely worth a $30 test to be on the safe side while continuing the monthly preventative.

http://www.mdvma.org/newsletter/2011/sp ... rtworm.pdf

There are multiple know wild-type resistant strains found in the south. There are 3 that I know of that are 50-80% resistant to the current class of heartworm preventatives (meaning ALL of them, not just one brand).

For the normal strains, the medication is only 98% effective when administered appropriately, so testing is recommended yearly, even for dogs in non-endemic areas or dogs with perfect medication administration regimens. Heartworm has been found in police dogs and working kennels where heartwom preventatives are not only administered religiously, but also documented as given, so there are many known preventative failures out there.

[BabyReba]

I haven't seen anything concrete on it yet, but there is a possibility that there may be some heartworm developing resistance to the treatment. It is not know whether it is owner error in giving the medication, inconsistencies or lapses in testing, or some unknown - but it is definitely worth a $30 test to be on the safe side while continuing the monthly preventative.

http://www.mdvma.org/newsletter/2011/sp ... rtworm.pdf

There are multiple know wild-type resistant strains found in the south. There are 3 that I know of that are 50-80% resistant to the current class of heartworm preventatives (meaning ALL of them, not just one brand).

For the normal strains, the medication is only 98% effective when administered appropriately, so testing is recommended yearly, even for dogs in non-endemic areas or dogs with perfect medication administration regimens. Heartworm has been found in police dogs and working kennels where heartwom preventatives are not only administered religiously, but also documented as given, so there are many known preventative failures out there.

that's really scary.