Calling all dog owners or vets!

[prettylnpink419]

I am having my mini long haired dachshund spayed on Monday! I''m really nervous! I''m sure she''ll be fine but she is the love of my life so if anything happened I would be devastated.

I have a few questions that I was hoping to get some opinions on.
I have several options that I need to decide between before I drop her off Monday morning.

I need to choose between the regular spay surgery and the laser surgery for an extra cost. What are your opinions or experiences with the regular vs. the laser option? Which would you recommend and why? There is an additional cost of $49.

Also I am given the option of having a pre-anesthetic blood screening. What are your thoughts on this? There is an additional cost of $49.

My third option is an intravenous catheter that would be used in the event on an emergency to administer medications or fluids. There is an additional cost of $34.

Of course I want the best for her but I also don''t want to just sign over a blank check and let them take advantage of me because I don''t really know better.

So please let me know your thoughts. And just so you can get an understanding of the total cost, my vet''s office charges $219 for the spay, plus an additional $30 for pain meds. I am also going to get a dental done while she is already under which is another $179. So all of the costs are adding up very quickly. Thanks again for any advice or opinions on the matter. I do have my pups best interest at heart so I''ll pay whatever I have to, I just don''t want to pay for unnecessary expenses. Thanks.

 

[tlh]

I have never had any female dogs. I had a female kitty spayed and female BUNNIES spayed (thought they were males... surprize!) and I did not have ANY of those options or costs brought up. So i dont know if it is because they are dogs or because this was 6+ years ago if the medicine has changed.
The lazor sounds like it would just cautarize faster and not need stitches... but I dont know that would be worth the extra cost, it is your decision. And how old is your dog? Sometimes vet can recommend dental on smaller animals because of the bacteria, and since she is already going under... kill 2 birds with one stone... but if this is NOT needed... it would just be a waste.

It sounds like you have options, and you love your dog a lot! HUGS! I am sure it will work out fine.

 

[prettylnpink419]

My dog will be 5 in March. She does have a slight tartar build up and really bad breath so I''m definitely going to do the dental. Might as well kill 2 birds with one stone. I''m leaning more towards the laser surgery b/c the healing time is less and it is supposedly less painful and less risk of infection.

I''m leaning towards no on the pre-anesthetic blood screening and the intravenous catheter. I''m just afraid of making the wrong decision. If she was a 6 month old puppy I wouldn''t worry so much but she is almost 5 so I''m sure it is going to be tougher on her now than if it was done when she was younger so I just want to do what''s best.

 

[tlh]

Yes, age does play a factor. My animals were always like 4-6 months or so.
I am sure you''ll make the right decision, no matter what you choose. But you are right, 5 years and things are harder, and the bond between you and your lil girl is much stronger.

 

[lyra]

Well, not to worry, we got Lola spayed (at 5.5 months and 5 lbs) a week ago. We also had her microchipped, one tooth removed, and did do the pre-screening bloodwork and had to do the IV overnight (no choice). Our bill was $467. Part of that was a $52 charge for overnight stay, which again, was not optional.

I think it was worth the extra money because she''s so small and we were scared something would happen. So I guess you are buying peace of mind in some cases with these charges. Most of this like I said, was simply not optional for us and the vet told us ahead of time what we would be charged.

If it''s any help at all, 2 days after the surgery she was right back to being a happy bouncy puppy terror! She wore the plastic collar on and off for several days, but then we realized she just wasn''t bothering with her *3* stitches!

Good luck, and try not to worry too much!

 

[AmberGretchen]

I''ve heard that the laser spay really helps make the recovery easier on the animal, so I think that would probably be worth it, especially for a slightly older animal.

Personally I''d do the blood work as well - it can save you money and heartache down the road by getting baseline levels of stuff now while your little girl is healthy, and will also help them catch anything that might be wrong.

I don''t think I''d pay for the rest, but those two would be worth it to me for my pets'' comfort and my peace of mind.

 

[bee*]

I''m a third year veterinary student and have worked in the a large clinic for the past five years and we do numerous speys daily. We don''t offer the laser spey over here yet but it will probably be brought in over the next few years so I have no first hand experience with this but the regular spey operation while it''s obviously a large op, it very rarely seems to have problems so if my dog was getting done tomorrow that''s the one that I would go for. They are usually very tired and sleepy the first night you take them home and it''s best to take it easy for the days afterwards as you don''t want to upset the sutures, but they seem to recover so quickly from it. Amber was running around the garden the day after hers. We offer the pre-op blood test as well however if people aren''t sure, we only recommend it if it''s an elderly pet or if there have been problems in the past with medication. If the animal is healthy and fit, we''re happy to go ahead without it. We don''t catheter as standard for spey ops and that seems quite pricey for that and again if your dog is healthy, fit and young, there''s a small chance that it will be needed. Obviously as I''m in Ireland our prices will vary from yours but for a spey, we charge for a dachshund roughly €180 including pain meds and antibiotics and we would do the dental free of charge or if it was quite a severe dental, it would be roughly €50. $179 seems quite pricey for it to me as the largest part of the price for our dentals is the general anaesthetic and your dog will already have had that for the spey.

 

[bee*]

Just saw she''s five. At that age provided that she''s fit and healthy we wouldn''t insist on you having the pre-op bloods but at that age it''s handy to do even to have baseline levels in case you need further bloods done anytime in the future.

 

[prettylnpink419]

Bee- Thanks so much for your comments. The price quotes I was given for the spay and dental were individual so they both include a charge for anesthesia. They were unable to give me a quote for the dental in addition to the spay without consulting the doctor first...which I thought was strange b/c I would think you''d just subtract the charge of the anesthesia for the dental and there''s your price. They are working on getting me a final total after I pressured them further. This is a vet''s office that I have used for over two years now and I am extremely comfortable with the doctors, just not so much with the office staff. Since my pup is such a happy, healthy dog, I think I''ll skip the blood work and the catheter. Thanks for your advice!

Lyra-- Thanks for your comments as well. My pup is about 8lbs so her age (5 years) and her weight make me nervous for possible complications but I trust the vet that''ll be doing the surgery.

tlh-- thanks for your replies as well.

You ladies have really helped calm my nerves about her pending surgery! Thanks so much!

 

[prettylnpink419]

Amber-- Thanks for your reply. I''m definitely leaning towards to laser. She does have blood work on file from a few years ago when she had a stomach problem just to rule some things out so I think I''m going to skip that part.

I might change my mind when I get there though!

 

[bee*]

Date: 2/9/2009 4:48:21 PM
Author: prettylnpink419
Bee- Thanks so much for your comments. The price quotes I was given for the spay and dental were individual so they both include a charge for anesthesia. They were unable to give me a quote for the dental in addition to the spay without consulting the doctor first...which I thought was strange b/c I would think you''d just subtract the charge of the anesthesia for the dental and there''s your price. They are working on getting me a final total after I pressured them further. This is a vet''s office that I have used for over two years now and I am extremely comfortable with the doctors, just not so much with the office staff. Since my pup is such a happy, healthy dog, I think I''ll skip the blood work and the catheter. Thanks for your advice!

Hopefully what they''re working out is a special deal for you

I''d be comfortable skipping them too if your dog is fit and healthy.

 

[lyra]

My vet did the two-for-one price on the dental + spay, I know that. You''re right, you shouldn''t be charged twice for anaesthesia! I did laugh that they clipped her nails without asking, then included it on the bill as "complimentary". It''s usually $15 but we do it ourselves. Lol! Sometimes you have to watch the pricing on things. They did provide an itemized list though, which included pain meds and the anti-inflammatory we gave her for 2 out of 3 days afterward. Would you believe I missed her mouth completely the second day and sprayed myself in the face with the med syringe?

I haven''t heard of a laser spay. I don''t know what kind Lola got. I assume regular. That''s something new for me.