Ended Official BYC Contest - Guess when we'll hit 22,222,222 million posts and you can win!

[ShrekDawg]

Chewy has great marketing and incredible customer service, but yes, they are hurting small business owners big time. I have had to deal with them on the "other side" and they are not as honest or convenient as they seem.

No they can't. It's only getting harder to become a vet and stay a vet. I promise, contrary to popular belief, your vet is not rolling in it.
Also.. skip the fecal and get the bloodwork next time.

Commercial rent is one of the highest costs of doing business, and commercial rent in the northeast is topped only by commercial rent in Southern California. That is a very high cost of doing business, but that isn't where it stops.

The blood tests we can get these days are light years better than they were 10 and 20 years ago. Our vets almost all have the equipment to run at least some of those tests in their offices because that's what it takes to stay in business. That equipment is very expensive to buy and very expensive to run and maintain, but we all want the best for our little loves, and we want to know what might be wrong, or not wrong, the same day whenever possible. We are busy people, most of us, and going to the vet has become an event we have to schedule around work, and/or kids, and for some of us, a trip to town; same day results mean we can do a lot in one trip.

Now throw in the cost of help - not only does becoming a vet cost about the same as becoming an M.D., the vet tech had to pay for school to be certified, so the vet has to pay her or him enough to live on and pay off school; school costs have skyrocketed, techs owe as much now as some of us owed on our first foray to a 4-year school back in the 70s and 80s.

I get that some people have had income loss that leaves them with little choice but to acquire meds at the lowest possible cost to keep their critters healthy, but for those of us who accepted the cost of having pets and still have about the same income, supporting the local vet who spent the money to have meds on hand that I need is a cost I'm willing to bear to keep him and his staff in business.

These are all great points and I never really thought of some of these so thank you. But that said, I definitely don’t think they’re swimming in money or anything, I get that it’s hard, and I really do appreciate vets, etc. so wasn’t trying to bash them or anything like that, but I just looked earlier and the fee’s gone up like $10 in 2 years which I get that rent probably has too but $60 to $70 makes a difference when you add on everything else.

This particular one is also a huge nationwide chain with like 4 or 5 different doctors, a dog daycare and boarding facility, cat boarding, and grooming center and huge building, and is extremely popular/in a massive town so I’m not really particularly worried about their income. They make plenty I’m sure.

When we took Gator to the little tiny local, old school vet, just the one doc and a tech or two in a tiny old building, we had no problem buying the meds directly from them and supporting them, but this one is a huge facility and $400 for bloodwork (plus another $100 or $200 for the exam fee and shots) just seemed a little bit steep to me.

But I do want to make sure she’s healthy so I may call the other vet we used to go to and ask their prices maybe or maybe some different vets. She’s always been healthy so I’ve never worried about it before but now she’s getting older (gonna be 10 next month) so I probably should. But I would like to find somewhere a little bit cheaper or maybe I could just do the heart worm test and not the full panel? Or maybe just pay for it the once and have it. But now I’ll probably have to wait till next year since we already got all the annual stuff.

 

[ShrekDawg]

People like helping. I like helping, and I'm not under the impression the vet is pulling in barrels of cash, but there's a limit. We have three dogs, two of whom we didn't ask for. One inherited from my mom, on her death, another an ill-advised impulse of a family member--taken in to insure the safety of the grandkids. And our own doggie. We're not taking them in for their annual well-doggie visits any longer--just for when the rabies shots come due. It's gotten out-of-hand, price wise.

We don't buy thousand dollar phones and expensive restaurant meals, nor $5 cups of coffee. I don't go to the doctor myself; DH has to, but he's on medicare so that's okay. I'm on Obamacare, for which I'm instructed to be grateful--I don't go to the doctor.

So yes, when we take the dogs to the vet we don't buy heartworm meds. I'm not buying them online either--not when I can get sheep dip for nearly nothing a dose--not even pennies. To me, it honestly feels like a bit of a scam--not by the vet, but certainly by the manufacturers/distributors.

Yeah, when we still had Gator it would sometimes be like $200 or $300 per pet but thankfully at another one we went to it was cheaper and was only like $300 total for both of them but it does add up when you have a lot. DB & SIL have 3 big dogs and it doesn’t add up. They don’t take them for every little minor thing anymore

 

[pozees2]

These are all great points and I never really thought of some of these so thank you. But that said, I definitely don’t think they’re swimming in money or anything, I get that it’s hard, and I really do appreciate vets, etc. so wasn’t trying to bash them or anything like that, but I just looked earlier and the fee’s gone up like $10 in 2 years which I get that rent probably has too but $60 to $70 makes a difference when you add on everything else.

This particular one is also a huge nationwide chain with like 4 or 5 different doctors, a dog daycare and boarding facility, cat boarding, and grooming center and huge building, and is extremely popular/in a massive town so I’m not really particularly worried about their income. They make plenty I’m sure.

When we took Gator to the little tiny local, old school vet, just the one doc and a tech or two in a tiny old building, we had no problem buying the meds directly from them and supporting them, but this one is a huge facility and $400 for bloodwork (plus another $100 or $200 for the exam fee and shots) just seemed a little bit steep to me.

But I do want to make sure she’s healthy so I may call the other vet we used to go to and ask their prices maybe or maybe some different vets. She’s always been healthy so I’ve never worried about it before but now she’s getting older (gonna be 10 next month) so I probably should. But I would like to find somewhere a little bit cheaper or maybe I could just do the heart worm test and not the full panel? Or maybe just pay for it the once and have it. But now I’ll probably have to wait till next year since we already got all the annual stuff.

Gotcha', yes, the bigger chains are kind of a different story, I guess I hadn't considered your vet could be at one of those places. We don't have any here, and I forgot they even existed. Our vets here are all small, independently owned clinics. The one I go to most often even has stalls where people can bring in larger livestock to be seen. One time I was there I spent some time adoring a little miniature colt, he was ridiculously cute

 

[eggsandhens]

7/10/2020 5 am

 

[ChickenCanoe]

7/10/2020 5 am

This isn't meant to be embarrassing but the deadline for entry has passed and it was already won this morning.

 

[eggsandhens]

This isn't meant to be embarrassing but the deadline for entry has passed and it was already won this morning.

Don’t worry, I know haha. I wrote my answer last night and tried to post it this morning and it ended up posting later because my internet is bad
Thanks for the info, tho!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Gotcha', yes, the bigger chains are kind of a different story, I guess I hadn't considered your vet could be at one of those places. We don't have any here, and I forgot they even existed. Our vets here are all small, independently owned clinics. The one I go to most often even has stalls where people can bring in larger livestock to be seen. One time I was there I spent some time adoring a little miniature colt, he was ridiculously cute

Yeah, there’s a lot of little ones here too but this one is the only one I’ve found that has a grooming center and it used to be similarly priced to the other ones, surprisingly, and they’re also really nice here at least but sometimes they can be a bit salesy. Like one time they said they had some toothpaste they could give me for her so I was thinking it was like a little free sample and said yes but then I ended up having to buy it. I didn’t mind cause it wasn’t very expensive but it’s just little stuff like that that kind of irks me. But they’re otherwise great.

 

[Silkies for life]

Wait did my guess of 7/8/2020 at 2:00am not count? I thought it was closer than the third place answer?

 

[casportpony]

Wait did my guess of 7/8/2020 at 2:00am not count? I thought it was closer than the third place answer?

Don't worry, they'll take care of you!

 

[CindyinSD]

These are all great points and I never really thought of some of these so thank you. But that said, I definitely don’t think they’re swimming in money or anything, I get that it’s hard, and I really do appreciate vets, etc. so wasn’t trying to bash them or anything like that, but I just looked earlier and the fee’s gone up like $10 in 2 years which I get that rent probably has too but $60 to $70 makes a difference when you add on everything else.

This particular one is also a huge nationwide chain with like 4 or 5 different doctors, a dog daycare and boarding facility, cat boarding, and grooming center and huge building, and is extremely popular/in a massive town so I’m not really particularly worried about their income. They make plenty I’m sure.

When we took Gator to the little tiny local, old school vet, just the one doc and a tech or two in a tiny old building, we had no problem buying the meds directly from them and supporting them, but this one is a huge facility and $400 for bloodwork (plus another $100 or $200 for the exam fee and shots) just seemed a little bit steep to me.

But I do want to make sure she’s healthy so I may call the other vet we used to go to and ask their prices maybe or maybe some different vets. She’s always been healthy so I’ve never worried about it before but now she’s getting older (gonna be 10 next month) so I probably should. But I would like to find somewhere a little bit cheaper or maybe I could just do the heart worm test and not the full panel? Or maybe just pay for it the once and have it. But now I’ll probably have to wait till next year since we already got all the annual stuff.

They tell you not to give heartworm meds until the dog is tested for heartworms. From what I've read, this isn't necessary except with the old meds no longer used. You can just give the HW meds now--not that you wouldn't want to know, but it isn't dangerous except to certain breeds (as you already knew).

Did I post my link to this thread? I started to... Anyway, here it is: http://www.dogaware.com/health/ivomec.html#08sheepdrench