Spay price/care differences

TankGrrl66 · 11-12-2011, 08:03 PM

I can't make up my mind where to get my 9mo girl spayed. I'm going to try and put it off until she is around a year old, and that is a decision I made after milling through all the info I can find as well as the experiences shared on this forum.

Thing is, the prices vary from $77-450+.

What the heck is the difference?

The 77 is from a humane society. They have no info on pain meds or monitoring.

The animal hospital who quoted me at least 400 has a looooong list of stuff on the estimate. There is all kinds of crazy goodies, including but not limited to: additional gas charges, extensive monitoring, laser surgery, xrays for hips while under, and about 10 other things on the bill. I'll go dig it out if anyone wants me to

Another is 100 dollars with 1 pain injection, 1 antibiotic injection, and no included meds to go home. They do basic surgical monitoring. I have heard one really bizarre story about a spay come out of there too
(the dog 'woke up' from surgery when the Dr cut the dog open, resulting in a HUGE gash going up the side of the dog), so I am a hair away from dismissing them as an option.

A simply s/n place has monitoring, pain injections, pain meds to go home, good care, iv drip, free rechecks and the facility looks awesome. They are 170, with a reccommended blood test for 50 bucks.

Would I really get what I pay for or is there some squeezing blood out of an orange going on? I almost fell over getting a quote from 450-700 from my regular vet. They are the kind of place who want 26 bucks for a DHPP booster. But then again they were the only vet in town who knew what SLO was :/

I obviously want the best for my dog. I want nothing bad to happen, and am under a lot of pressure to spay her asap. I almost feel guilty for having an intact dog.

Please, can anybody shed some insight? What I have to have for a quality surgery, etc.?

ps: Sorry for the noobness, I have gotten all my dogs already fixed since I was a kid. I am also on a college budget. Thanks

Twyla · 11-12-2011, 08:19 PM

I went through this organization to have Woolf neutered.

Friends of Animals

The blood work, meds are in addition.... total ended up being around $150, much better then the $500 quoted by my regular vet for a male. Before the extras males are $64 and females are $90.

Lucy Dog · 11-12-2011, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twyla

I went through this organization to have Woolf neutered.

Friends of Animals

The blood work, meds are in addition.... total ended up being around $150, much better then the $500 quoted by my regular vet for a male. Before the extras males are $64 and females are $90.

I've used friends of animals in the past too with good results. I probably saved at least $500 from a spay by buying one of their certificates. I think I was quoted at around $600 without that $100 certificate.

BlackPuppy · 11-12-2011, 08:58 PM

That 450 quote probably includes a lot of stuff that you don't need. Spays at a vet around here cost about 300 or so.

BlackGSD · 11-12-2011, 09:04 PM

Good grief people are getting ripped off!!!!
None on the girls I have had spayed in the past needed any "aftercare". No pain meds either. Pp They were spayed and sent home. I checked the incision myself and removed the stitches myself when it was time. (Though I know that isn't something your average owner is able to do.)

BlackPuppy · 11-12-2011, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackGSD

Good grief people are getting ripped off!!!!

I agree that spays and especially neuters are big business for vets. They always want to add on laser, bloodwork, teeth cleaning, microchips, and anything else they can tack onto the bill to line their pockets. Well, that's been my experience with vets.

Neuters take 10 minutes. Why the heck do they cost $300!

But I disagree on pain meds. I would not take my dog home without a couple of days of pain killers. It should cost more than $5, though. Spays are invasive surgery, I'm pretty sure it hurts, having been spayed myself.

KZoppa · 11-12-2011, 10:07 PM

I'll be taking Shasta to the low cost clinic down the street from us. Shasta likes the vet there. They're great people,all love animals. They also dont believe in ripping you off for things. The surgery +blood work when i take her in (planning for March) will cost $170. That includes pain meds to bring home, follow up care just in case and monitoring after the surgery. When we were going to have her spayed before we changed stations, i was getting quotes for $600-$900. Obviously she didnt get spayed then. I would be iffy about having her spayed by the humane society though.

ChristenHolden · 11-12-2011, 10:09 PM

For Bella her Spay was 80$ rabies 10$ hip/elbow X-rays 60$ = 150$ total. Drop of time is 730 to 800 pick up is any time after 3. No pain meds. She was off her food for 3 days but our other dogs didn't go off there food jus Bella. The other dogs were 65$ and that was all. I would die if I had to pay more for a spay/neauter only of it cost more than 100 and nothing else.

Emoore · 11-12-2011, 10:16 PM

Having been a foster home with GSD rescue for several years, I've probably spayed/neutered more dogs than most. When I lived in Austin, my fosters were fixed at a full-service vet clinic that had an agreement with the rescue. When I moved to Dallas, I started having them fixed at low-cost clinics. Either the vets in Dallas suck, or there's a difference between regular vet offices and low-cost clinics. I've never had so many adverse reactions and infected incisions as I've had since moving to Dallas and beginning to use the low-cost clinics. I'm at the point of telling the rescue they either need to pay for the dogs to be fixed at a real vet's office, or I'll transport them to Austin for the surgery. I'm tired of dealing with infected incisions and bad reactions.

BlackGSD · 11-12-2011, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackPuppy

Neuters take 10 minutes. Why the heck do they cost $300!

But I disagree on pain meds. I would not take my dog home without a couple of days of pain killers. It should cost more than $5, though. Spays are invasive surgery, I'm pretty sure it hurts, having been spayed myself.

EXACTLY!! Heck, it only costs half that to have a horse gelded!

I've never had a vet even offer pain meds.(Though I will say the last time I had one spayed was 12 years ago.) I've also not had a female that acted like it was THAT painful. I would think if it was terribly painful, it wouldn't be so hard to keep them "quiet" after the surgery. (Please don't think am saying it wasn't painful when you had it done. I'm sure it was!)

11-12-2011, 08:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
TankGrrl66 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: SoCal Posts: 379	Spay price/care differences I can't make up my mind where to get my 9mo girl spayed. I'm going to try and put it off until she is around a year old, and that is a decision I made after milling through all the info I can find as well as the experiences shared on this forum. Thing is, the prices vary from $77-450+. What the heck is the difference? The 77 is from a humane society. They have no info on pain meds or monitoring. The animal hospital who quoted me at least 400 has a looooong list of stuff on the estimate. There is all kinds of crazy goodies, including but not limited to: additional gas charges, extensive monitoring, laser surgery, xrays for hips while under, and about 10 other things on the bill. I'll go dig it out if anyone wants me to Another is 100 dollars with 1 pain injection, 1 antibiotic injection, and no included meds to go home. They do basic surgical monitoring. I have heard one really bizarre story about a spay come out of there too (the dog 'woke up' from surgery when the Dr cut the dog open, resulting in a HUGE gash going up the side of the dog), so I am a hair away from dismissing them as an option. A simply s/n place has monitoring, pain injections, pain meds to go home, good care, iv drip, free rechecks and the facility looks awesome. They are 170, with a reccommended blood test for 50 bucks. Would I really get what I pay for or is there some squeezing blood out of an orange going on? I almost fell over getting a quote from 450-700 from my regular vet. They are the kind of place who want 26 bucks for a DHPP booster. But then again they were the only vet in town who knew what SLO was :/ I obviously want the best for my dog. I want nothing bad to happen, and am under a lot of pressure to spay her asap. I almost feel guilty for having an intact dog. Please, can anybody shed some insight? What I have to have for a quality surgery, etc.? ps: Sorry for the noobness, I have gotten all my dogs already fixed since I was a kid. I am also on a college budget. Thanks

11-12-2011, 09:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
BlackGSD Crowned Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Eastern Washington Posts: 7,795	Good grief people are getting ripped off!!!! None on the girls I have had spayed in the past needed any "aftercare". No pain meds either. Pp They were spayed and sent home. I checked the incision myself and removed the stitches myself when it was time. (Though I know that isn't something your average owner is able to do.) __________________ Tracy Siren vom Banach { Sable female GSD 3-20-08} R.I.P. Wrangler male ACD/Aussie mix. 9-29-99 to8-29-11.

11-12-2011, 10:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
KZoppa Crowned Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Maryland kinda missing CO Posts: 13,806	I'll be taking Shasta to the low cost clinic down the street from us. Shasta likes the vet there. They're great people,all love animals. They also dont believe in ripping you off for things. The surgery +blood work when i take her in (planning for March) will cost $170. That includes pain meds to bring home, follow up care just in case and monitoring after the surgery. When we were going to have her spayed before we changed stations, i was getting quotes for $600-$900. Obviously she didnt get spayed then. I would be iffy about having her spayed by the humane society though. __________________ The more people I meet and talk to,the more I love my dogs and their intelligence. www.krystalscollarcreations.weebly.com Riley GSD/BC 1/10/05 Zena GSD 6/1/03 Shasta GSD 5/5/10

11-12-2011, 10:09 PM	#8 (permalink)
ChristenHolden Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: South Eastern, Oklahoma, USA Posts: 1,316	For Bella her Spay was 80$ rabies 10$ hip/elbow X-rays 60$ = 150$ total. Drop of time is 730 to 800 pick up is any time after 3. No pain meds. She was off her food for 3 days but our other dogs didn't go off there food jus Bella. The other dogs were 65$ and that was all. I would die if I had to pay more for a spay/neauter only of it cost more than 100 and nothing else. __________________ ~Christen BELLA~GSD BATISTA~SHAR PEI BANDIT~CHI/YORKIE GABE~RAT TERRIE/CORGIE ANGLE~RAT TERRIER/CORGIE PEPPER~RAT TERRIER HONEY~CHIHUHUHA RUSTY~PAPILLION OLIVER~MUTT CHEWIE~POM MIX Levi~PAP/CHI Champ~PAP/CHI 11 CATS 1 TURTLE~

11-12-2011, 10:16 PM	#9 (permalink)
Emoore Crowned Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: North DFW, TX Posts: 9,210	Having been a foster home with GSD rescue for several years, I've probably spayed/neutered more dogs than most. When I lived in Austin, my fosters were fixed at a full-service vet clinic that had an agreement with the rescue. When I moved to Dallas, I started having them fixed at low-cost clinics. Either the vets in Dallas suck, or there's a difference between regular vet offices and low-cost clinics. I've never had so many adverse reactions and infected incisions as I've had since moving to Dallas and beginning to use the low-cost clinics. I'm at the point of telling the rescue they either need to pay for the dogs to be fixed at a real vet's office, or I'll transport them to Austin for the surgery. I'm tired of dealing with infected incisions and bad reactions. __________________ Rocky vom Backyard- 10 years young Kopper vom Felssclucht Bach - 17 months At the Bridge: Cash van der Animal Shelter 2006-2010

11-12-2011, 08:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Twyla Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Georgia Posts: 491	I went through this organization to have Woolf neutered. Friends of Animals The blood work, meds are in addition.... total ended up being around $150, much better then the $500 quoted by my regular vet for a male. Before the extras males are $64 and females are $90.

11-12-2011, 08:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
BlackPuppy Crowned Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 4,420	That 450 quote probably includes a lot of stuff that you don't need. Spays at a vet around here cost about 300 or so.

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