Getting a second opinion on cost

[anonymousbird]

My DDog (10) saw the vet today for routine check/vaccination. The vet has advised a procedure - "just bring her in tomorrow" and there was absolutely no discussion or mention on cost until I pushed it. He wants nearly £500 to take a tooth out and he knows from when she was seriously ill last year that she is now effectively uninsurable so there is no pet insurance.

He has argued a medical case for it to be done sooner rather than later, but was totally blasé about the cost.

I insisted on an itemised breakdown (which funnily enough brought the estimate down a bit once he had actually produced it!), but am concerned that this is still over the odds and wondered how one goes about getting a second opinion from another vet on a) whether the procedure is indeed urgent (the tooth has been broken for most of her life) and b) the proposed cost, when you are only registered with Vet A?

Is your dog acting different? Does she seem effected by her problem tooth?

If not tell them to get lost and get a second opinion elsewhere.

Our dog recently had two big teeth extracted and the others scaled. It cost £245. We're in the south.
We're now raw feeding and his teeth are excellent.

You are free to take your dog to any vet you like . I'm in the SE and my vet whilst not the most expensive is certainly not the cheapest option . My dog is about 13kg so small to medium and anything that needs an anaesthetic seems to cost £4-500 . However I would rather use my vet than hop around for cheaper prices because I have trust in the ones I use ( having said the ones I don't mean the practice I mean certain vets at the practice) . My dog has a foot/ nail exclusion on his policy so I do end up paying out quite a bit as he has SLO .

Dog not showing any signs of discomfort or difficulty- in fact more desperate to eat than ever. He says she would "eat through the pain" I don't even know another vet as we moved 1.5 years ago so just went with most local and then she got very ill and we stuck with them through her recovery. Will do some googling!

I would get a second opinion.

My dog has a broken tooth and ive been advised not to remove it as it isn't causing an issue.

@Floralnomad

Anything that involves anaesthetic seems to cost £4-500?
My dogs were neutered and that only cost around £150 each if I remember rightly.
So I don't understand how an extraction would cost that much for the OP.

As you don't trust this vet, I'd just change vet. Ask if you can have a check up straight away at new vet (then they won't have other vets notes). Then don't say other vet has advised operation, just say someone was saying you couldn't leave a broken tooth, even if it doesn't seem to be affecting dog and you just wanted their opinion. See what they say.

Unfortunately there do seem to be some vets that do say things need doing when they don't. My original vet refused to do my dogs vaccinations until I'd paid for dog to have an operation on umbilical hernia - wanted over £430 for it. They were telling me that I could kill my dog by not getting it done. I didn't like their aggressive stance on it, without being willing to discuss why it was necessary or why they wouldn't let my dog have his vaccinations until he'd had op. They had also refused to let me register with PDSA, despite me being eligible and knew my insurance could not cover the umbilical hernia as it was there from birth. They were also demanding I get my dog neutered, despite me explaining that I didn't think it would be in his best interests - he can be nervous/fearful and I was having no issues with him being entire.

I registered with a new veterinary practice - a lovely truly independent one (no larger firm owns them, as is often the case now). Booked him in for vaccinations immediately and asked if the umbilical hernia was an issue. She felt it and said definitely not the muscle behind was completely closed and it was actually just a small amount of fatty tissue, that had been left there when the muscle had closed. It was solely a cosmetic issue and was something they would only ever operate on if the dog was under general anesthesia for something else. She also showed me and got me to feel and explained that you could feel behind it was completely solid, meaning muscles were fully closed. She said its common in my dogs breed to have one in the first few weeks of life and that they normally close without issue when pup is young, sometimes a small amount of fatty tissue is left there giving a small little lump (like an outie belly button on a person). She said it's only ever a problem if the muscle hasn't closed as intestines can move into/get trapped in the gap.

Also change to raw feeding if possible. Not only is it better for dogs health it's amazing for oral and teeth health too!

I've never seen a raw fed dog with bad teeth or breath (unless they've just eaten fish)

If your dog was suffering you'd be aware, even small changes. I'd either get a second opinion or wait until you feel it's bothering him