I e mailed my vet the other day to ask about baby teeth removal. I wondered about the procedure and of course cost. The reply was £70 approx unless I had her spade at the same time then it may be cheaper!
Why do most vets try to make you spay your dogs?
It irritated me because i'm not sure I want her spayed yet! And I certainly didn't ask for a quote! My vet has never come across like that to me before so am a bit put off!

> Why do most vets try to make you spay your dogs?

because most dog owners are irresponsible, the vets see what happens when people decide they want 'cutesy puppies' from their dog. i don't like it either but i can understand it.

try not to be upset by it, if they raise the issue again calmly explain that you are not interested in spaying as yet.

I think it is perfectly sensible for them to point it out.  Many people do not realise just how much the cost of an operation goes on the anaesthetic and might be a bit miffed to find out later that a great economy could have been made and the fact is the majority of pet owners do spay their bitches.

> and might be a bit miffed to find out later that a great economy could have been made.

Yes I suppose so, it's just the way they put it. She didn't say 'It's about 70 pounds, have you thought whether you like her spayed as I could do it at the same time, save you some money', she said If you want to get Miley spayed the cost on top of removing desiduous teeth is £20, if not the cost is nearer £70. It just irritates me how people assume the worst all the time. I had my boxer bitch spayed because I wasn't ready to have puppies but in a couple of years when Miley is old enough I probably will be and have the time and the children will be old enough (youngest will be 5 then). 6 years ago I was still wanted to expand on our human family so I just felt i wouldn't have the time even tho my oh wanted to breed our boxers. Anyway, I like my vets, just a niggle! :)

Well she asked if :-)  It's hardly assuming the worst Breeding is not just about having the time there is so much more to it that the majority of owners or their dogs cannot be expected to rise to.

I would imagine that the vet was thinking that if you had planned on having her spayed he would do the two procedures at the same time. The cost of the anaesthetic would be the same for both procedures so if he was spaying her he could then remove the teeth at the same time - thus only charging a bit extra for that procedure as he was putting her under anaesthetic anyway and the tooth removal was just an additonal thing to do. If he was only removing the teeth he would still have to charge for the anaesthetic and then add the tooth removal on top of that cost.

I would have thought he was trying to save you money and also looking after your dog's interest by not wishing to give two anaesthetics when one could be used for both procedures if you had planned on spaying her.

i think you maybe just read it a bit differently than how it was ment :) as we all do on here sometimes.

i think no harm was ment but only helpfullness.

Marc Abrahams is on Tonight on monday (ITV) covering vets charges.

I'm beginning to wish everyone was a bit more proactive in discussing this issue.  If vets were able to refer breeding enquiries to some balanced literature or counselling service there might not be quite so many 'accidental'  or 'Oops! Puppies' enquiries on forums like this.  Breeders and rehoming services must make an effort to ensure new owners are educated too.

I'm not in favour of neutering or spaying every pet with 4 legs but I'm constantly surprised to hear that normally sensible people think breeding is a good idea for their pet.  Often these are dogs with unremarkable lineage and are unproven in the show ring or in the field.  If the general public think that breeders are doing a bad job with their favourite breed it's quite dangerous for them to assume they might do a better job by choosing to mate their bitch to their friends dog.

In your case TrishlovesMiley - it seems your vet was simply asking the question and pointing out the sense of combining ops to save stress and money.  I don't think that any of us should be offended or irritated by the question of neutering or spaying our dogs.  I'd rather be asked twice than not at all (at least they are consistent and it's often different staff) but I'd far rather prefer the question was backed up by real advice and support.

Perhaps the KC, or someone, could get leaflets and literature into every vet practice ...   

Sorry don't agree that "most" dog owners are irresponsible.

And if I do decide I want a litter off Miley it won't be with a friends dog either

> Perhaps the KC, or someone, could get leaflets and literature into every vet practice ...   

Literature on what?
My vets practise has leaflets on Spaying, Dental Hygiene, worming, fleas.... the list goes on.

> If vets were able to refer breeding enquiries to some balanced literature or counselling service there might not be quite so many 'accidental'  or 'Oops! Puppies' enquiries on forums like this.

This I also agree with but again note the words 'Breeding enquiries'. That's fair enough for people who are enquiring about breeding their dog. What I was saying was  like going into a shop for a jacket and them trying to sell you a pair of shoes.But obviousely dog breeding is a much more serious matter than clothes shopping(for any of you which might make out that I was trivialising all the unwanted puppies in this world, I'm not)

One of my young girls had her adult canine come through and after a couple of months one of the baby ones was still there.

I took her to my vet and they never mentioned spaying, all my vet said was 'do you intend to show? 'if so she'll need the tooth removed and she'll also need it removed because it could mess up her jawline.

Maybe they didn't mention spaying because they saw that as another 'bill opportunity' :(

I'd like to think that as we have 6 dogs with them they would know that we would make informed choices.

We paid and she had her tooth removed, each time we visit they don't push spaying on us but I can understand why vets do, sadly the less informed owners cast a shadow on the more informed ones.

It sounds to me as if the vet was genuinely was just trying to save you some money and you took it the wrong way maybe. Like said previously if they hadn't have told you it could save money you may have been upset later. It was mentioned but you wasn't pressured. I think you might have just taken it the wrong way.

Our vets don't offer us the option of neutering but they know we show our dogs and are very good with us with the fact they do minimal shaving where possible etc.

However they do promote neutering to pet people.  I personally thhink if a dog isn't to be shown or bred from, especially with a household of mixed sexes, neutering ia a great idea however the vets push it too early :(

I would like to try showing. but until i've been to one i don't know so will have to wait and see. Haven't decided yet. Yes my vet probably was just thinking of me because she is lovely, I like her a lot. Just having a moan. :)

I think your best just thinking the vet was thinking of you for the best.

Also with e-mails the response is most likely standard for all customers etc.

No-one's mentioned the thing that would be worrying me more :(

The vet seems to be assuming that IF this bitch is to be spayed it is perfectly acceptable to do the operation at the same time as removing deciduous teeth. But how old is this bitch? I'm assuming that she's around 6 months??? Is it acceptable to spay a bitch at that age?

It's more and more common to get the bitch done before a first season :(  normally around 6 months is when alot of vets seem to want to get it done. :(

> It's more and more common to get the bitch done before a first season :-(  normally around 6 months is when alot of vets seem to want to get it done. :-(

Yes! When we took my bitch for her puppy jabs the vet suggested that we get her spayed before her first season. We were back there a while later and saw another vet who asked if we had thought about having her spayed but when I told him that we were showing her, he did say that we had better not as it can ruin a spaniel's coat!

You need to talk about this further.  I was told by my vet that spaying Maisie before 6 months significantly reduces the risk of mammary cancer which is increased with every season (if they don't have babies).  She said that the other side of the coin is that, in later life she could be slightly incontinent but they could sort this out for her.  I think you have to think of the health aspects before anything else. 

> she could be slightly incontinent but they could sort this out for her

"Sorting this out for her" means you having to buy and give Maisie regular medication for the rest of her life. Most long-term meds carry side effects of one sort or another. Personally I would call that a "health aspect" myself.
Also incontinence as a result of early spaying doesn't necessarily only happen in later life; it happened to one of ours at only three years old.

Well she's five now and she's fine!  She goes all through the night no problem.

One of mine was spayed before her first season too (bernese), she is five next month and has never had a problem with incontinence - quite the opposite in fact, it can be hard to get her to 'go' if she is somewhere strange, I think 36 hours was her record before she had to give in and pee :-D