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Let's talk about yearly vet visits

I agree w/IC2....please just spend the extra money and get the heartworm prevention...it REALLY is important. Your furry friend deserves to have the best. I am always struggling for $$$ but still always get the heartworm for my dog.
 
I never get bordatella(sp?) for any of my dogs. And I never have.

I only do rabies, distemper, heart worm check...I only give my dogs heart worm pills during summer months...
 
And I bring my dogs to the groomer and still never got bordatella
...I'm sure I'm jinxing myself ow...
 
I know I'm not perfect (cough) when it comes to getting all the vet's reccommendations done for Rocky but I do try to get most of it done. I can see why someone would at least look to question the rec's though - it's pretty $$$$ once you start bringing your pet in.
 
mrsmom said:
Awww Chewie is a cutie! Did you try to find his owner (in case he had been lost)?
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Yes, we did try to find his owner. We found him on a Thursday. First I asked my neighbor cause she seems to pay attention and know everyone's dog. I could see he had a lot of fleas and he was so sweet and cute I knew we couldn't leave him outside so I took him to the humane society hoping they could give him a flea bath (my almost/kinda SIL works there). They checked him for a chip there and checked to see if anyone had reported him missing. They couldn't bathe him but gave me some special shampoo to kill the flea eggs and told me to get BLUE Dawn to kill the live fleas and then I could bring him in and use the flea bath to kill the eggs. So, we took him home and did that. The next morning I took him to the vet in town which is where dogs that are found in our town are taken by the police. They checked to see if anyone had reported him missing and they also checked again for a chip. I had them do a complete exam of him and give him his shots. I had to make sure right away that he was healthy and didn't have parasites cause the kids love him and I didn't want them picking up anything from him (which the vet said could happen if he had certain parasites). He had a sore paw because his nails were so long he was walking more on the side of it. He was really in bad shape - I think he was on his own for awhile. The kids say they first found him laying in the peony bushes in our front yard. Anyway, I spent a lot on him with two vet visits (they did a booster as if he had never had any shots before since we did not know his history) and after we had him 4 weeks we got him "chipped." He also has a tag with all his info on it. We don't want to lose him.

ETA: Oh, and we found out that the neighbor 3 doors down (an elderly lady) got 2 shih tzus about the same age as our dog from the humane society around the same time we got our dog. They seemed to have been abandoned together. There is some thought that our dog may have been part of this "abandoned" group. Who knows....... There are a number of foreclosed vacant houses around us plus apartment buildings right down the street.

Also, as KG said, treating heartworm is supposed to be really expensive. That is what the vet told us too when we took Chewie to be checked out. We were soooo hoping he didn't have anything that was going to cost us lots of $$$. I also remember years ago my parents had a dog that died from heartworms. I believe they tried to treat it but the dog was old and didn't survive.
 
If you give the heart worm preventative all year round, you can do the test every other year. The cheaper route is probably to give the heart worm preventative 6-8 months of the year (March/April-October/November) and still do the test every year before starting the meds again.

Heart worm is carried by mosquitoes. The "preventative" actually just kills what may have infected your dog since the last time it was given, going back about 45 days. (At least this was the case 15 years ago when I was working for a vet. He was talking about HeartGuard at the time.) You don't want to go that long between pills for a variety of reasons...might hit 50 days before you remember to give it, might have a batch that is only effective 43 days back, etc. Anyway, once there's a hard frost it's safe to stop preventing heart worm for a few months because the little buggers carrying the disease aren't around either. Just don't forget to start up again in the spring. :)
 
Here's what I do for my 2 boys:

Heartworm test in early spring with heartworm preventative until November/December
3 year rabies shot
Flea control year round

They have had to get the Bordatella shot when they are kennelled and/or stay at the vets for teeth cleaning, etc.

I know that this category of expense appears as if it could be cut, unfortunately, not only are you risking your dog's health you may be risking his life. No lecture, just FYI.
 
make sure you get dhlpp too. we get rabies, heartworm and bortedella when we kennel the dog only because the kennels will not take them otherwise) but when we did kennel the dog and had the shot, they still came home with kennel cough, sooo stupid. you need the parvo shot, southeastern wisconsin has a parvo epidemic going on right now
 
bizzy with the kids n summer stuffs. how are you!!!? and i got a new scooter, so i have been scooting all over walworth county. been working on my "magda" 9from something about mary) suntan. lazing in the backyard poolio
 
I need to take my dogs in, too. I've been putting it off because of the expense. I'm doing rabies & distemper. If we have to board them, they can do bordetella (sp?) at the time.

I do heartworm & flea April-November-ish.
 
We just pay the $23.95 a month for insurance. I am sure Co-Co gets all kinds of stuff she doesnt have to have, but she also get two exams a year, lab work and teeth cleaning, but free office visits. Plus I love my vet.

I continue to say I ahve the most spoiled stray/rescue off the street dog in the world-
 
dragonfly said:
$23 for dog insurance? What does that cover?
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I believe it is now $29 if you are just signing up, but it includes:

Comprehensive Physical Exam (2x per year)
This in depth evaluation assesses your dog's overall health and establishes important baseline information.
  • Ear exam
  • Eye exam, including eye pressure
  • Rectal exam
  • Dental exam
  • Neurologic evaluation
  • Cardiovascular evaluation
  • Weight & nutrition counseling
  • Coat & skin evaluation
  • Abdominal palpation
  • Urogenital evaluation
  • Musculoskeletal evaluation
  • Pulmonary/lung evaluation
Vaccinations
Protects against a wide variety of diseases and infections, based on your pet's individual needs.

Diagnostic testing
Identifies disease, parasites and infections. Catches issues early before they become more serious and harder to treat. Builds baselines for current and future care.
  • Bloodwork
  • Internal organ screens
  • Heartworm/Lyme/Ehrlichia test
  • Ear swab and microscopic exam
Fecal exams
Detects parasites and other intestinal organisms that can cause disease.
  • Two intestinal parasite fecal exams
Deworming
Treats parasites and other intestinal organisms that can cause disease.
  • Two roundworm and hookworm dewormings
Dental cleaning
Prevents serious infection, tooth loss, pain and potential for heart and kidney disease. Thoroughly assesses your dog's health before anesthesia.
  • Pre-anesthetic blood testing
    • Complete blood count
    • Internal organ screens
    • Electrolytes
  • Blood pressure check
  • General anesthesia
  • Pain medication
Urinalysis
Detects infections, dehydration and disease.

Free office calls/exams
No need to delay when you have a concern about your dog's health, and 15% off any procedures.
 
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