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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

vets bill

53 replies

Babyroobs · 30/11/2017 23:33

had to take my 5 month old puppy to the vets again. He had swallowed something that was potentially quite harmful. The vet gave him something to induce vomiting and then something to stop further vomiting. we were there for about 40 mins and were charged almost £200 !! Can anyone who has had a similar experience confirm that this is a realistic price for this kind of treatment ? Yes I know I should sort insurance, just hadn't got around to it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Babyroobs · 01/12/2017 09:03

Thanks everyone for all your replies. Will look into Petplan and insurance today. We do have the money to cover large bills I was just shocked at £200 to make a dog vomit ! However as a few of you have confirmed it is the drug that's expensive. I would have felt more reassured if the vet had actually found the harmful satchet that my puppy had swallowed rather than just the raw burger that he had snatched from the grill a few minutes before ! Are all cocker spaniel pups like this ?

OP posts:
Chaosofcalm · 01/12/2017 09:06

We paid a few hundred pounds a couple of years ago for an x Ray, drip and over night stay for observation for a cat who ate the wrapper of a small Easter egg.

Every time we go to the vet I am so greatful for the NHS.

leighdinglady · 01/12/2017 09:07

Our dog stole and ate an entire pain au raisin. Vomiting was induced and he was placed on an IV drip all day. Cost about £400. Thankfully we have good insurance with Animal Friends, who paid the Vet direct (about £100 excess though)

Original poster
Babyroobs · 01/12/2017 09:11

Chaos - that is exactly what my husband said last night about the NHS !

OP posts:
Original poster
Babyroobs · 01/12/2017 09:14

Leighdinglady - Our older dog was poisoned by something a couple of years ago and was taken to the PDSA hospital and stayed all night and was put on a drip. It was Easter Saturday weekend and even that only cost us £150 which is why this bill seems so excessive to me for half an hours care.

OP posts:
Abra1d · 01/12/2017 09:21

I would put the money you’d pay to an insurance company into a monthly savings plan instead. We have never had insurance for any of six dogs we have owned since we married, but have rainy day savings instead.

rockcakesrock · 01/12/2017 09:26

@BiteyShark, thank you for that . I will look at Pet Plan

SlothMama · 01/12/2017 09:26

Vet bills are expensive, it's why you need pet insurance. Our dog was very healthy (aside from when he ripped open his tail jumping over a fence, idiot) until old age. His insurance was a lifetime one so they couldn't increase the premium as he got older. But when he was old we needed it massively for hydrotherapy, massage and medication when he had an issue with one of his paws.

It was well worth the money to ensure he could get all the treatment he needed

rememberpurpleronnie · 01/12/2017 09:32

The drug used to induce vomiting in dogs is eye wateringly expensive, but the safest and most expensive option. The reason your PDSA bill was cheap was it is a charity which subsidises vet bills for people who can't afford them. I don't think £200 is unreasonable actually.

rememberpurpleronnie · 01/12/2017 09:33

Sorry meant safest and most reliable option. Also the most expensive though!

Elphame · 01/12/2017 09:44

Whilst I understand the drugs are expensive, it doesn't explain why there there is a £120 difference in the cost of Babyroobs pup and mine for basically the same treatment.

My basic consultation fee is £33 so I paid £47 for the drug. A couple of others on the thread here seem to have been charged rates in line with me rather than you so I thin you are paying a lot. Are you in London?

Original poster
Babyroobs · 01/12/2017 09:50

Thank Elphane - no we're not in London, we're in the East midlands.

OP posts:
rememberpurpleronnie · 01/12/2017 10:02

Threads like this make me question my career choice. Perhaps the drug cost a different amount because one persons dog was 10x the weight of the others, therefore needed 10x the dose? A yorkie might weigh 4kg, a Labrador 40kg.

blueskypink · 01/12/2017 10:05

His insurance was a lifetime one so they couldn't increase the premium as he got older

Sloth mama - is that right? I thought a lifetime policy was one that covered a condition for life, rather than say 12 months. I didn't realise there were policies with premiums fixed for life?

Original poster
Babyroobs · 01/12/2017 10:20

I don't understand why they can't manufacture the drug in smaller doses? the breakdown is as follows Consultation ( approx. 30 seconds) £29, Hospitalisation & Nursing £63 ( approx. 40 mins), Apometic injection £73 and Cerenia ( anti- sickness) injection £31.

OP posts:
BiteyShark · 01/12/2017 10:49

That breakdown sounds ok to me. I think because we have the NHS we are shielded a lot from the true cost of drugs. You were administered two types. You have to pay for consultation, nurses and all the other associated costs that are involved with running a business (equipment, buildings etc).
Now I do know that vet costs vary as I know people at work that have paid more than me but isn't that like any other business in that things vary. If you think it is too high then maybe look around to see if there are any other vets and try and compare any prices that are listed.

Floralnomad · 01/12/2017 11:28

That break down sounds ok to me as well , I’m in the SE and I know our vet is not the cheapest but I also know that they try to be competitive in that they keep drug costs as close to internet prices as they can .

Elphame · 01/12/2017 12:29

rememberpurpleronnie My pup is around 5 months too and is about the same size (OP says it's a cocker?) so that doesn't explain it.

I understand about the over heads of running a business ( I run my own) but I still can't understand why my vet can run a 24hr practice and charge me £80 whilst another charges £200 for the same treatment!

What I don't understand is why so many are defending £200 for some very straightforward one off treatment when it can clearly be done for a lot less as demonstrated by at least 3 of us on this thread. Even the higher ones also required sedation, x rays etc which of course are going to cost more.

My cat was beaten up in a scrap last year and had to be cleaned up and given drugs for shock as well as antibiotics - bill was £68.

Overcharging is pretty rife as the vets know most are insured and the insurers will pay up giving us all higher premiums. OP I'd be looking around for another practice myself.

BiteyShark · 01/12/2017 13:05

Elphame I consider it to be like any private practice. Private doctors charge different prices and so do hospitals. Some will make bigger profits than others unless we go down a NHS style vet system (I do hope not as I think we would get a poorer service)

I guess where you see overcharge I just see difference maybe in profit margins (and who knows maybe the OPs vets has larger outgoings such as rent and business rates etc). If cost is an issue especially if not insured I would ask around.

rememberpurpleronnie · 01/12/2017 14:13

Where you see overcharging I see charging appropriately for a professionals time, with expensive drugs added on top. The dog was examined and monitored for 40mins. How much do you think you would pay for 40mins of a plumbers time? Sadly attitudes like this are driving vets to sell up to corporates which is ultimately driving prices up.

Floralnomad · 01/12/2017 14:53

Also it needs to be remembered that there is a lot more to a good vet than being the cheapest , we’ve been with our vets since we got our first horse in 1981 and I know I can trust him to give me an honest opinion .

ShovellerDuck · 02/12/2017 19:55

In the days when nobody knew that a very few dogs get ill from grapes or chocolate, when every query about a pet was not met with, “Take him to the vet”, pet owners applied common sense instead.
You can make a dog vomit with washing soda, clean injuries or abscesses with salt water, give dogs Piriton or aspirin. It’s a great shame we can’t buy over the counter medicines for pets as we do for ourselves.

dudsville · 02/12/2017 20:02

I like what shoveller says but I don't have the knowledge. I do look things up though. One of mine once bounced off a car. We were away from our vet on holiday. No visible injuries. Google said to watch for signs of internal bleeding so we did that. She was fine. We have never used pet insurance. We do have a mammoth amount saved in an account just for pet emergencies though and pay for normal stuff out of our joint account.

AWholeLottaRosie · 02/12/2017 21:13

A few months ago our year-old puppy ate something he shouldn't, I phoned the vets and explained the situation and they said he needed to be seen within two hours. Rushed him in and we didn't actually see a vet, the nurse weighed puppy and gave the injection, the item was vomited up straightaway.
I sat with puppy for half an hour and the nurse popped her head in two or three times, he wasn't given any further treatment or injections.
Total cost £40

lynmilne65 · 03/12/2017 09:31

Yes very expensive, my friend has a basset
amd any bill is outrageous and insurance people just make excuses not to pay

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