The great petcare rip-off

[seangee]

TLDR;
When I moved into the area over 20 years ago I registered at a local independent vet practice recommended by my neighbours. Along the way they got bought out by a national chain. We stuck with them because we liked the staff.
Some years later my dog (a lab) developed diabetes. I discovered that it was much cheaper to pay them for a consultation plus the £30 prescription fee to get a prescription and buy the insulin elsewhere. I had a glucometer but after a while they insisted on urine tests too - at a cost of £100 a pop. When I discovered the test strips they used cost less than £1 on Amazon they were forced to accept that I only had to show them the results (photo of strip + batch number to prove it was in date) and they lost £100 every quarter (over and above the extra markup that I wasn't paying for their insulin).
In her later years she developed arthritis. They had her on all sorts of medications, all of which I abandoned because they did not work or had horrendous side effects.
When it got really bad I asked the vet if I could give her a (named) joint supplement because of the diabetes. the answer
Vet: yes you should that stuff is really wonderful.
Me: Then why didn't you tell me about this 4 years ago when I first brought her in for arthritis
Vet: Oh its not our policy to recommend complementary treatments, I only mentioned it because you specifically asked about interactions for that product
Reading between the lines - we don't make any money on stuff you can buy on Amazon!!!
I subsequently discovered their policy was actually to avoid licenced pet medication wherever possible and use human drugs. Its a lot more expensive, and inconvenient, to get a pet prescription filled at a human pharmacy, so you are more likely to just pick it up at the vets. One of the drugs they tried for arthritis was a human treatment for Parkinsons!!! It gave her all the symptoms of canine dementia so I stopped. To this day I am not conviced it wasn't the trigger for when she eventually did get dementia. Oh and most of these experiments were drugs for life with warnings not to stop treatment without vet advice.

Just over 2 years ago we had to say goodbye when she lost the ability to move. I did get a new puppy - a shepherd this time. My first task was to find an independent vet practice. I asked him about joint supplements as a preventative and he said that they were a good idea but to wait until he stopped growing at around 2 years old. The well known products aren't horrendously priced but it does add up. I mentioned it to a local dog trainer, who has shepherds too. She said don't be silly - buy the same product for horses and adjust the dosage for weight as its exactly the same product and the same dosage ratio. Double checked with my daughter who has racehorses and dogs and she confirmed - she is a racehorse trainer. Back to Amazon and discovered a 2 year supply costs about the same as a month supply for dogs. Its a powder with indefinite shelf life!

They also sell a cat version. As I was bored I did some quick calculations and it would cost almost exactly the same monthly for an average dog, cat, or horse - of course there is a lot more filler in the small animal products. So my assumption is the marketing department simply decides how much the average pet owner would stomache and adjusts the price accordingly.

 

[GaryE]

I'm lucky to have a vet here who actually considers costs, and seems suspiciously honest. I've seen the flip side, and this is refreshing. I can't say the entire trade is corrupt (or should I say "market driven"). When I lived close to a well to do suburb in a large city, veterinary costs were through the ceiling, and everything you describe sounds very familiar.

This isn't a wealthy region, and I don't know how they'd be if I were 35 and pulled up in a flashy car, but costs have been fair here, if you can avoid the prescription foods scam.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

We've discovered that the best bet for vet care is a farm/ranch vet. Our local "fur baby" vets tend to expect people to treat dogs and cats like children: No expense spared, no treatment too outrageous to keep Muffin comfortable and Muffin's owner from feeling guilty.

Farm/ranch vets tend to be a lot more down-to-earth and realistic. They understand the concept of "I love my dog...but it's just a dog." My dad's ranch vet told us, "Nah, you don't need a $4000 surgery to fix your lab's knee. He'll probably outgrow the problem, and if he doesn't, there are other things you can do that won't break the bank." I like this vet a lot. If anybody in my family qualifies for $4000 in medical treatment, it isn't going to be the dog!

 

[Uberhoust]

We travel for 40 minutes for our vet visits now because the local vet charges nearly twice as much as our new vet, the new vet is independent, so we don't have to pay the corporate overhead. Only got into owning dogs again after a long absence and was very surprised how treating and feeding our pets has become very expensive.

 

[GaryE]

All the vets here are independent, with no corporate overhead. It's still expensive. My dog was born just over the border in the USA, so she isn't horrified at the inflated charges. We got pet insurance, and I think its popularity is adding to the costs. The vet businesses feel they can lean into you as the insurance pays out (sometimes).

If you tell a dentist you don't have a dental insurance plan, I've noticed they suggest very different, much cheaper treatments than if they discover you have coverage. That's pretty standard. Vets are moving the same way as American style pet insurance kicks in.

Unfortunately, the dog has a chronic issue that gets us in there a few times a year. A 5 minute test on devices long since paid for is $100, but what else can you do? I'll avoid the dentist for myself, but the dog doesn't get to choose, so off we go (next week, to be exact).

 

[f_luxus]

First things first: Labrador isn't a dog, it's a diagnosis.
* Hip Dysplasia
* Elbow Dysplasia
* Obesity
* Ear Infections (Otitis Externa)
* Skin Allergies/Dermatitis
* Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)
* Cataracts
* Hypothyroidism
* Exercise-Induced Collapse (EIC)
* Bloat (GDV)
Second things second:
Cow vets are also well trained to feel prostatitis, for way less money than any proctologist!

 

[anewbie]

My sister dog vomitted and wasn't feeling good so she took her to the vet emergency room. They told her the dog had an upset stomach and charged her $750 for an emergency visit.

I don't remember all the details - i was visiting her at the time - but it was not serious - they didn't do anything other than maybe give her some pills (for the dog) and the charge was astronomical (she was not a wealthy person as I had to loan her money to keep her out of the red) and she was so relieved it wasn't anything serious she was happy to pay the bill which i thought was pretty outrageous for 1.5 hour wait and 10 minute of vet time.

 

[GaryE]

I think location matters a lot.
We took our dog to an emergency vet a year ago, for a severe urinary tract infection that of course showed on a friday night. She was seen by 2 vets, who identified a minor deformity causing the problem. We were there for 2 visits, as the first vet wanted us to have her seen by her colleague.
It came to $250, with the meds.
The surgery to correct the deformity was $750, but insurance covered all but $200. It sounds like US vets may be like US doctors for humans.