So. We went to the vet today to get Alki's 8 week shot and wormer. When we scheduled the appointment, they said it would be $72 and today they charged 87. The vet was very condescending. She acted like this was our first dog and that we didn't know anything. I told her I knew about parvo and she said "we'll let me tell you some common sense about parvo". UHM. She also said that the only way to get parvo was by smelling or eating infected poop. Also, maybe it's just me, but her projected vaccination period has us keeping him indoors for the next few months. She said he has 2 or 3 shots left (I can't remember which) with 3 weeks in between. And she told us we should feed him science diet, both dry and canned. When we got the bill and looked at it in the car, this is what we read. Half of it doesn't make sense. They charge $5 to throw away the needles, gave him kennel cough preventatives (pointless in my opinion). They also charged is $20 for a fecal thing when no poop was present. We didn't take in a fecal sample or anything. Oh. And apparently, that $87 didn't even include the office visit! To me, that sounds high for shots and worming. Am I wrong?

Hmm. The part I think is weirdest is the Intestinal Parasite Screen, if it was indeed a fecal. It might not have been and the little note under it is saying a fecal should be done. When we got Bode we had three weeks in between shots, so I think that's pretty normal.

I am in the camp of if you don't like your vets personality, find a new one. It's just not worth it to struggle with that relationship.

Did they have Alki out of your sight at all? Like, did they take him to the back for anything? They could have pulled a fecal then. They could have even ran a fecal off of any poo left on the thermometer after taking his temperature. They should have told you about the cost though.

Price-wise that actually looks fairly cheap! Even without an office visit, I think its a good deal. The underquote might have been because of the dewormer or the disposal cost. I know that not a lot off places quote off the needle desposal and its hard to factor in dewormer cost without having a weight. $5 to dispose of the needles does suck, but everywhere does it. Most places just factor that in with the cost for other things so that people don't see it and have to ask questions about it. Ours is called a "biohazard fee" and is $4. For the kennel cough vaccine, did you tell them that you didn't want it or did they tell you that they were giving it? In most places, its routine with puppy boosters. The puppy schedule for vaccines sounds pretty normal too.

I'm not trying to knock everything that you said! Just kinda explaining it from the other side. Being a receptionist sucks in that I have to explain this all the time because the vets/techs sometimes "forget" to tell people about the little fees that are less than $5, but add up quick.

By all means though, if you don't like your vet's attitude, don't feel bad about not going back! I will say though, that just about all vets don't know anything about nutrition. I've always taken everything told to me about Hills or Purina with a grain of salt and don't judge the vet based on that. If he's snippy with you or talks down to you or anything though, that's different. Some vets have horrible personalities.

Yep, sounds about right. But that's how it's going to be anywhere. So if you don't like the condescension, find another vet who you REALLY like, and ask them if they see a lot of huskies. They're a tricky breed and you want an experienced vet.

Before I booked with my current vet, I asked how many huskies they had on rotation. More than 5 sounds good to me, they're a common breed this far north.

It all seems pretty normal to me. Usually puppy shots are a series of 3 shots, 3 weeks apart from each other. The prices of the procedures are all pretty standard, too. As far as price, I wouldnt sweat it, but if you don't like the vet, you dont like the vet, and thats enough reason to leave.

One time a vet I was trying out for the first time after moving neighborhoods got really rude about some handling advice for my dog, to make things easier for him, and said "What, am I an idiot?" to me, with WAY too much tone.

We left.

Yes, small vet clinic, you are an idiot. You lost a 6 dog client because you couldn't be polite.

Your office visit was essentially free, that's what complimentary means. Vaccine prices are normal. If you don't know if they checked a stool sample or not, call them and ask, if not then they may have wanted you to drop one off, and you prepayed for the test, which is also normal. Most vets push science diet, that's normal. Keeping you puppy inside as much as possible till most shots are done is actually a good idea. 3 weeks in between shots is standard. That was a cheap vet visit in my opinion. If you didn't want the bordatella vaccine, you needed to express that. Also, that is how parvo is spread, by ingesting infected stool. Licking feet that have been exposed to the virus, ie- stool that was in the area and your pup steps in it, licks their paw, and ingests the virus.

Compared to prices in my area that's good, but prices vary depending on location so I don't know what's normal there?
I actually had a similar experience with the fecal thing. I looked at it when I got home and was so pissed haha. I called and apparently they charge ahead and then you're supposed to bring the poop in second. Which is stupid, but whatever I guess. I'd call and ask about the charge.
If you don't like your vet or they rub you the wrong way, I say get a new one. My first vet told me I was hurting Korra by feeding her raw and needed to put her or Purina large breed. Or Wellness if I needed something more, quote, "organic-y." She even rolled her eyes at me.. But, yeah. I switched vets. It's good to develop a relationship with your vet, so find one you like!

Thanks guys. . They never took him out of our sight and they never mentioned anything about it. Nope. They never said anything about the kennel cough. I think the main thing that bothered us was her suggesting Science diet and also patronizing us. I don't know. I think we might try to find someone who knows more about Siberians. I liked them. But they just didn't seem to be giving me truthful information.

If you're willing to make the drive to Alpharetta, my vet is great. They never patronized me or make any dumb suggestions. My doc isn't a fan of raw feeding, but instead of suggesting crappy brand dry food he at least suggested a home made diet, which is good. So far I've had no issues.

Could you give me the name of the place? I'll definitely check them out!

This vet office seems really good, one of their vets has experience with sled dogs
http://www.lovingtouchac.com/

CatDen wrote:

Could you give me the name of the place? I'll definitely check them out!

Yep! It's Loving Hands Animal Clinic.

Thank you both! I'll look into them.

For perspective , it cost us about 115 for roughly same type of visit. But i agree with switching if they are snippy with you.

Oh geeze. But my big worry is that that price didn't even include the office visit. So god knows how much it will be next visit. Some vets charge you $80 just for walking in. -.-. The lady was nice but she seemed to think this was out first dog ever. It was just very patronizing. And science diet? Ugh.

They pushed it on us at our vet but then gave me a coupon for a free bag so I got a free bag and then went back to her old food when the bag was done lol.

I mean, lord knows I have nothing against those brands. I just couldn't believe she wasn't suggesting something with higher protein.

I work for two amazing vets that sell science diet... just because they like a certain brand of dog food, doesn't mean they are bad vets. Just thought I'd throw that out there. It might be hard to find a vet that doesn't push Science Diet or Royal Canin, those are both "veterinary brands". I always take nutrition recommendations from traditional vets with a grain of salt.

You could call ahead and ask about the price for an office call. I know that most offices have different prices - like, an office visit for vaccines is one price, sick visit is more expensive follow up is a little cheaper, and follow up puppy vaccines are a little cheaper. They should be able to tell you that over the phone.

A lot of vets also have a sort of mentality when they meet someone for the first time with a new puppy. They shouldn't, but I know of a lot who do. Its sad, but too many of the owners that come into my clinic are absolutely clueless about stuff and tend to do stupid things. You never really know until you've seen someone a few times and gotten to know them. Before working at a clinic, the vets that I went to always treated me like a dumbass. I was a teenager coming in after school, then a college student coming in between classes, so during the first office visit the vet always either spoke to my parents and ignored me, or talked to me like I was stupid. Coming back with intelligent conversation about why they used one medication over the other and stuff like that showed them that I did know a little bit and they didn't dumb things down anymore. Even if your vet pushes SD or some crap like that, being able to counter and discuss why your food is better usually makes them respect you more.

I know several vets who are absolutely wonderful and I would trust them with my pets, but they know absolutely nothing about nutrition. Most vets are kinda "meh" about food and recommend one thing (a lot of times they have to recommend a certain thing because the clinic owner requires them to), but don't push the issue. I just have a problem with vets that try to bully people into feeding certain things - especially if they conveniently sell it in the lobby

That's not what I meant at all! Sorry if you took it that way or it sounded that way. I was just upset that she acted like that was the only good food out there. She pretty muh said we needed to get rid of the food we're using now and go out and buy Science Diet.

Yeah. I know the two of us look like we're 15 and "adults" tend to see us as that. Haha. Well, when I expressed that we knew what toys to get (and had them), that we had good food and knew that diet was essential, that we knew how to potty train etc, she acted like she didn't believe we knew what to do. Haha. It's just upsetting because we didn't feel like we couldn't ask questions. :/

Price wise, that is a relatively cheap vet. That being said however, I would not go back to that vet if a vet treated me like that. I expect to be treated with respect and if I get a condescending tone, you just lost my money hunny! I have a WONDERFUL holistic vet I go to, and we can have hour long conversations and I really just adore her. She knows my girls and loves them, and she has strong ties with the local Siberian Husky rescue, so I can also talk to her about canicross, bikejoring, all that kind of jazz! I have been through... 4? vets I think before I found her. If I get a bad feeling about a vet, I'm gone. I stuck around 2 different vet offices because I had that weird feeling at first and ignored it. If you are even QUESTIONING leaving this vet, do it. The longer you wait, the more you'll beat yourself up that you didn't do it sooner when you finally decide to.

There is a reason vets sell Science Diet...
Please don't feed your pup that crap.

Oh, we won't. Haha. Yeah, I think we're definitely going to look for a different one. I guess my hang up in the price is that this office cost was complimentary. So it was JUST $87 for the meds. I don't know much it will cost next time because the office visit won't be free, PLUS the $87 for meds. -.-

Yeah..things add up quickly and it SUCKS! That's another reason I love my vet. Kennedy had heat laser treatment, a full body adjustment, an overall "wellness" exam. Sheba had a wellness exam, and a full body adjusment as well. The whole appointment cost me about $250. Plus they each had an hour slot allotment. So I was SUPER happy with them. I was spending that amount on ONE dog in a regular clinic.

When I was shopping around for a vet, I called and asked them how much an exam fee was, how many vet techs they had (if it wasn't on their website), and if I needed a surgery done, would it be done at their facility or would my dog have to be transferred? The main thing I was looking for was a clinic who did titer testing and how much they charged. If you have a specific thing you want done with your animal, call and ask around. One clinic told me it would be $80, another told me $200!! I gave them a piece of my mind let me tell you! You should also ask if you can come in a visit and talk with the staff and meet with the vet. It can be a long and difficult process to find a vet you TRULY trust. I thought I was destined to be unhappy with my vets forever.

Oh geeze! That sounds fantastic! I wish we could find somewhere like that. I guess it just takes time. I was just so hopeful that we wouldn't have to do it. Haha. When we first called them, I asked how much it would be or just a general checkup, they said $70. I called back to tell them he needed his 8 week shots and they say the total would be $72. I needed to know the exact amount because that particular office makes you pay the whole bill before you leave. So when the total came up to &87, I was just thankful I had brought more money with me. Plus, if the office visit is $70-80, we could be paying $150-160 hat or his 12 week shots. -.-