Vet plans

[DeepfriedPizza]

We don't have a dog yet but hopefully will soon.

Our local vet offers a plan where you get yearly vaccinations, flea treatments, worming, a check up and a few other bits and bobs for £12 a month.

Does anyone else have a vet plan like this, is it worth it?

We pay a bit more than that but the amount depends on the size of the dog. I also get a discount on anything else I buy including consultations. I like the fact that it spreads the cost of worm/flea treatments and also find having checkups useful where I can have a general chat out his health.

I used one for pups first year. I had problems getting the included health check or nail clipping.

I also felt somewhat uneasy when I found out both the flea/worming products and the veterinary surgery are owned by the same company but they don't make it particularly easy to find that out.

Although I have other reasons to be a bit suspect about that veterinary practice when I finally managed to get the included health check they told me my dog needed a £430 operation ASAP! Yet new vet (without knowing I'd spoken to original vet about it - original had been slow to send dogs file through) said there really was no problem

I've now moved to an independent veterinary surgery, rather than one owned by a company. It costs ever-so-slightly more over a full year for the vaccinations and worming/flea products. However they offer products based solely on merit and not because it's their company making them - which I feel much better about.

Mine is also a small vet group and I have changed worm/flea treatments without charge under the plan and just returned the unused ones so in that sense I saved money. I looked up the cost and I pay £16 per month for my cocker spaniel.

Which company is that BLUE? Am in the industry and was not aware of any of the vet corporates owning any pharma.

I work for a large group (independent, not corporate) and I like our health plan - my clients save money, spread the cost monthly and I get to know my clients/patients over time at the regular health checks, I pick up lots of things earlier than I would waiting for a client to bring them in - dental disease, weight changes, heart disease, joint concerns, behavioural issues etc. Vaccines and parasite control are kept up to date as they're already paid for so people get them done, my patients are kept healthier for longer, the puppies especially come to enjoy their vet visits as they get to know us from a young age, win win win

I offer exactly the same service and product options to clients not on the plan - but they pay a lot more, tend not to come in as regularly so don't pick up on disease as early etc.

I might go for it then. It is a small vet with only 2 branches. I've used them before for my rabbit and I like them I just didn't know if it was worth it. Thanks

For me it works out cheaper if I get a yearly subscription note for advocate and buy online.
The plan includes stuff that I wouldn't use.

I feed mine raw so their dog food is no good. I brush my dogs' teeth and I'm not that keen on dental sticks.
I don't kennel cough vaccinate them.
Even if I pay for the half yearly check up myself, all the costs still come under the cost of the plan.
So worthwhile costing it yourself and see if you're better off not going on the plan.

Our vet does these plans. For the cats we haven't bothered. For the dog we worked out the costing and (as she's a giant breed) we saved quite a bit. It also includes free nail clipping which has been great (she hates having it done so I can't do it at home. A vet has been working with us on desensitisation. Covered as part of the plan!)

Vaccination for life, for dog, is the best value £120 I've ever spent in a Vets.

Also look at whether Get does their own out f hours, and whether they do everything Sunday morning surgery, at usual fees.
HUGE difference in costs, popping something that can't wait for Monday, to present Vets on Sunday morning at usual cost, compared to £150 to walk in the door of the 'night vets' who did out of hours for previous practice, on Saturday afternoon.

Sorry Get=Vet
Everything =surgery

SerendipityFelix

It's CVS. They own the company selling the products (mi pet), the healthy pet club which people sign up to and over 300 veterinary practices in the UK.

To those saying that your vet is a small one, do be aware that my old vets only had 3 surgeries under the name (all in the same town too) but was owned by a bigger company CVS (which you only find out if you read the practically invisible, teeny, tiny, white print on the bottom of a cream webpage) - so it's not obvious at first glance.

I was surprised to discover that my new vet is the only truly independent practice in my very large town - all the others are ultimately owned by large companies, even though most don't appear to be at first glance.

Our vets has a plan which I used to use but I stopped as you are tied in to whatever flea / worm treatment they are doing and I opted to give my dog something different so stopped paying for the plan . It was very cost effective if you were happy to use the stuff they recommended , you also got vaccinations and 10% off certain things .

BLUEsNewSpringWatch

Yes - the same thing happened with my old vets. They used to be a fully independent practice, never pushing 'plans' or products but over time they changed very subtly. After some close Googling, it transpired they'd sold out to a huge company called Independent VetCare, which now owns over 400 practices in the UK. Massive. You can check who they own here www.independentvetcare.co.uk/practice-finder

Immediate changes were that they stopped the 24 hour emergency care, which was a key part of why I chose them. In a genuine emergency, I don't want to be shuffled off to an even more expensive service which doesn't even have access to my dog's notes or previous treatment details/drug preferences or risk factors. One which would charge to transfer my pet back to my own practice every morning if she needed overnight attention, and charge to readmit every evening. This is not good care.

The other thing about Vet Plans is that they they are usually based around vaccination protocols. There is no need to boost the core vaccines more than every three years, and the Leptospirosis vaccine is optional and not terribly effective. It seems no coincidence that these vet plans popped up at the same time that the need for yearly boosters was abandoned by the WSAVA. Recommended protocol is available here www.wsava.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines

The vet plans tend to give yearly doses of the optional vaccines such as L4 and Kennel Cough, while neglecting to inform the client that the core [necessary] boosters are only included every three years.

Yes and I've found it cost effective- I get worm/flea stuff, six monthly health/weight checks, nail clipping if needed and vaccinations.
I have used the sane vet for years and they are a local group so I'm happy to be tied in. £13 a month.