Ghost has her spay appointment for Tuesday, and the vet gave me a bunch of "optional" stuff in addition to the basic spay itself. I have no problems spending the money on stuff that will benefit her, but if it's just a way for them to make some extra money I'd rather not part with the cash (they are much more expensive than my old vet in OK as well, paid $550 on bloodwork and an x-ray for one of the cats last week, same thing cost about $200 in OK).

What is everyone's experience with this stuff? The options are IV fluids, pre anesthesia bloodwork, and laser instead of scalpel. I'm all for the IV and bloodwork, but is it really that much of a benefit for the laser? Like I said before, I'm all for it if it's that big of a benefit and if she really is going to heal quicker.

We're also doing the microchip so she can get that done under anesthesia since she seems to be a TOTAL wimp about stuff.

will you have her dew claws removed as well or has that been done. i would add that in. not sure about the other stuff

Ha... I had those options a few months ago for Sabaka's neuter. They hit me with them and I had no time to think... So, with lots of discussions right there I made the following decisions:

I chose to have an IV cath placed in the forearm (includes shaving the area) but not to administer fluids unless there was an emergency. The vet tech said that after the emergency occurs often the veins will collapse and an IV is hard to insert. About $13.

I allowed the full blood work so that from now on they will have on record a "base line" of all of his numbers.

The vet asked me not to choose the laser, since a neuter is such a simple surgery, she said she could be finished by the time the laser and all of its paraphenalia is set up! A spray might be different...

Did they make an EKG optional? I did not do that since he is so young and his heart appears healthy from just routine exams.

We did the microchip at that time too.

Good luck, Ghost!!

jbealer wrote:

will you have her dew claws removed as well or has that been done. i would add that in. not sure about the other stuff

Aaron and I had discussed it at one point, and quite frankly I forgot to ask the vet about it. Is that something that is generally recommended?

Lisa,
I'm leaning towards at least the bloodwork and possibly the fluids (which run an additional $55). The whole package with all three options slightly more than doubles the price. I need to spend some time this weekend researching the laser, and luckily I don't have to make any final decisions until I drop her off on Tuesday.

Thanks ladies!

Meredith,

They also offered me a laser healing procedure, when they wave a "magic laser" over the incision and it is supposed to speed healing.

You may be able to tell based on my description of the procedure that I am less than impressed. I can't image it making all that difference. I chose NOT to wave the magic laser!!

I think having the Dew claws removed is a wise decision for the future of Ghost. jack had his done and sierra did not. i have to make sure to clip them and that can be a PIA if she is not in the mood. those are the only nails i have to clip as the rest wear on the pavement. i worry about her ripping the claw off on our hikes of getting it caught on fabric or something, i have heard bad stories of bloody messes with the dew claws. its best to do it young and its mostly done during the spay/ neuter as they are all ready put under. if you don't do it then then most cases it does not get done cause when else do you put a dog under.... i would call the vet and ask about the cost of it, most of the time its the putting under that jacks up the cost so since shes under it should not be that much.

Laser does heal faster but you have to decide if the cost is worth it to you. With all of mine I turned down all options (iv, bloodwork, laser, etc). The only thing "extra" that I asked for was take home pain meds. All of mine did great and recovered quickly just fine.

Jenn, dew claws are best removed within days of birth before the bone hardens. At this point I would not recommend getting dew claws removed unless it's a medical necessity, which in this case it is not. Just my two cents.

Huskyluv wrote:

The only thing "extra" that I asked for was take home pain meds.

Jenn, dew claws are best removed within days of birth before the bone hardens. At this point I would not recommend getting dew claws removed unless it's a medical necessity, which in this case it is not. Just my two cents.

That's what I had heard. So I did not even bring it up.

And... we were not even offered pain meds (but, then again, we were told he HAD to spend the night). So I'm sure they drugged him while he was there.

Siku got the cheap treatment. lol. No IV, bloodwork, pain meds, lasers... Also didn't have her dew claws either, though sometimes I wish she didn't have them. Wish the breeder would have removed them when she was a puppy. Elara's are removed and she doesn't scratch me as much. But Siku did fine! She was in pain for the first two days (but was probably a good thing to keep her calm!) and was fine after that. The vet we normally go to does spays for $300 to $400, but it would have been $600 to $700 cause she had the starting of pyometra. So I found another vet and got it done for $105.

Oh and both my girls got their microchips when they were about 4 months old. A vet gave one to Siku and my mom (works with rescue) gave it to Elara. Both were troopers and didn't really care at all.

Skipped the laser, had the IV and bloodwork.

Any dogs or cats i've had to have done were done at a clinic, so no nothing for them. When Odin had his dental done I did the bloodwork just because he's older. But that was it. And he did OK.

If I had the option I would have the IV placed but no fluids, just in case of an emergency. Anything else is just an upsell to me. I wouldn't take any.

I appreciate all the input greatly! I definitely plan on getting take home pain meds for her, but that's just because I've had so many orthopedic surgeries I know how much being in pain like that sucks. Especially the last time I had my ankle reconstructed and they didn't give me strong enough stuff. Call me a wimp, but in my experience you heal faster when you're comfortable and can get decent sleep.

I'm most likely going to skip the laser but I am still debating on the IV and bloodwork. I'm sort of an overprotective mom, but I had a horrible vet experience a couple months ago when I lost my cat and I'm still in that "take no chance" frame of mind. I think Aaron and I will talk some more about the dew claw issue, but I know my vet doesn't like doing that surgery.

Again, thanks so much for all the input. This is the first time I'm making these kinds of decisions in regard to a dog, so it really helps to have you guys to bounce stuff off of.

Will your vet do what I did and what Kristina suggested by just putting in the IV port in case it is needed? You shouldn't need to push any fluids unless she crashed or was loosing blood or something. Loss of blood pressure (I think that's right) causes the veins to collapse and placing an IV is very hard. But if the IV port was there...just in case...it would give you and the vet a peace of mind.

Like I said, I think the port with no fluids was about $13, maybe $15, but I thought it was a must-do!

I need to ask about that when I take her in on Tuesday. If they will, I will go with that option, but it's $55 for the IV with fluids.

I feel like I'm singlehandedly keeping this vet in business after this week's sick cat and next week's spay... At least the kitty only had a little upset tummy. I would have died if I had gotten cheap, didn't run the tests, and he really was sick.

When Delilah was spayed last month I was a nervous wreck and i felt so bad because i knew she was in pain. I got the iv, pain meds and bllodwork done. No laser, it really isn't necessary. I chose to do the others because they insured her safety. Look at it this way, would you so an invasive surgery without iv fluids and bloodwork? I know they aren't humans, but I like my dog better than most humans anyway. If anybody deserves the best it's our animals. They love us no matter what.

So, I dropped Ghost off this morning on my way into work, and I decided to go for the IV and the bloodwork. I'm going to be a nervous wreck all day and I have 2 simulator events to fly....

Don't worry! It will all be okay...I feell your pain I was the same way with my girl, but don't worry she will pull through just fine.

She'll be just fine, but I totally understand why you're going to be freaking out the entire day. I was with Mya and when Kody went in for his neuter also!

Good luck, I'm sure she'll do fine but I understand being a wreck! Good thing they're just SIMULATOR flights right?

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

Good luck, I'm sure she'll do fine but I understand being a wreck! Good thing they're just SIMULATOR flights right?

No kidding! I can't actually kill myself in the sim, and we can hit pause if the vet calls. First sim is done and no news, so I'm assuming everything is going well. One more sim at noon and then I can go pick her up.

Glad you opted for the bloodwork and IV! She'll do amazingly! Your lucky you get her the same day. I had to leave Kale overnight and it was just for a neuter! haha

Aw, I want to hear how she is doing, hurry up and finish! I'm sure she's fine though.. Rogue's spay is in 10 days and I want to cry, lol.

The vet called right as I was walking into my second sim and said Ghost was out of surgery and doing great, which is a huge relief. Maybe my day is starting to turn around a bit... they said I can come pick her up at 4, so I have a little time to go home, decompress, and get things ready for her.

Aww that's great! Just don't feel guilty when you see her incision and see her in pain. We felt so bad at first because we were putting her through so much pain, but I honestly think the anesthesia the made her loopy and distraught and so her lack of movement may have been affected by it. She was back to normal the next morning. (bad news because she wanted to run..man huskies are resilient.)