I just paid £16 to have a tick removed from one of my dogs. Seems a bit excessive to me. But they charge that much to see the nurse. I do like this vet its a hospital and a specalist referral practice so I shouldn't moan I suppose. But £16 to remove a tick....

Minimum price at any of the vets around here is £36, even if they end up telling you nothing is wrong and just send you on your way.

For less than £6, you can buy a tick remover - which does the job beautifully! See http://www.petdrugsonline.co.uk/p-1370-otom-tick-remover.aspx?VariantID=1458&CAWELAID=1360820895&CAGPSPN=pla&gclid=CISGx6CBp74CFccSwwodyaQA0Q

That's the same one they used to take the tick off. Think I've been stitched up lol

:-D You payed for the privilege of someone else doing it in a room costing a fortune to walk through the door, now if they served a coffee to us with a cake might not feel so bad.... ;-)

I would invest in a pack of tick removers as part of having a dog, never yet used mine which is unusual as I live in the country and walk through fields with sheep and cows almost every day, but they are sat there in my cupboard just incase, would not pay a vet to do it, let's face it, they charge you for a smile. :-)

I sense you are a bit ticked off !

Mmm all dodgy

There's a lot more ticks around this year after the mild winter. Picked two off my dogs face over the last few days and many other wandering about on her, the advantage of having a light coloured dog is at least they are easy to see. If they are still small I use tweezers out of preference and resort to the tick removers when they are big and horrid looking. Also just invested in a Seresto collar which last 8 months and is supposed to repel ticks and fleas.

I got one like this from pets at home but by mikki, was only £2
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Groom-Professional-865907-Tick-Remover/dp/B008FY6R50/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1399923794&sr=8-10&keywords=tick+removers

Coming from a place with loads of ticks, I've found tick spoons to be the best. Looks like you can get them for £3-5 here.
http://www.tickedoff.com/

I find a quick finger and thumbnail under the tick pinch and twist pulls them out in one go intact

>I do like this vet its a hospital and a specalist referral practice so I shouldn't moan I suppose

No you shouldn't.  :-)

I use a veterinary hospital for their expertise too.  It would have been £37 consult for mine, except I've used the lovely green twisters for years now.

I know that they have to cover costs and they have the options available that I want for my dogs.  When I had an op on one of mine for everted laryngeal saccules, they had never done this particular operation on such a small breed.  When told that they needed a particular piece of equipment to do the op, much smaller than they had in stock I said that I would pay for it.  The vet said no that's fine, it's only about £100. 

Puggy, if, like me you have chosen this vet for their particular expertise, then you have to accept it.  You pays your money and makes your choice.  :-)

Why are you shocked at having to pay for the privilege of a specialist remove something that you could do yourself? Most vets will charge you a consultation fee just for walking in the door, even if there is nothing wrong with your pet. I think that £16 is cheap for a consultation.

Dread to think what a vet would have charged me some years back now, when my cat and her young kittens decided to explore my garden shed, and found a nice comfy place to sleep on top of an old blue tarp.

Imagine my shock when mum and babes came in, they were covered in tiny ticks (nymphs). There had been a wild hedgehog living in the shed 18 months before, so that was the only source possible. The nymphs were too small to be got by the tick tool, they were barely bigger than a pinhead so I removed them by hand, at least six per kitten, 6 kittens and mum as well.

It was like a nightmare, B movie "Attack of The Killer Ticks". By the time my vet nurse friend came round with a bottle of frontline spray, I'd picked them all off and was thoroughly exhausted as well as totally weirded out.

Beware of tick nymphs, they are almost pinhead sized, and could easily be missed in a dog's coat.

I've order the green tick tool now from viovet only £3 along with me optimunne eye ointment so free potage. Lol.   My vets are excellent I pay £37 consultation and £16 consultation with the nurse. When the vet decides to charge me that is and he's saved my dogs on more than one accasion. So I'm very happy with them no matter how much they charge. Now mark up on medication is another topic don't get me started on that lol

I feel that Vet's in general (not all) not only inflate prices but actually carry-out non essential tests. I could mention several examples but this one takes the biscuit. Our Vet is a large practise, now also a referral practice, excellent equipment including scanners etc.

Diesel our Dane developed Heart Failure, due to him showing signs of ailment we took him to the vet, (consultation 1 approx. £35) the vet advised that there may be a problem and wanted to refer us to their Heart Specialist. (consultation 2 approx. £80 as a referral. I advise that this vet also does normal surgery where the consultation is only £35) The specialist carried-out some Tests including an ECG (£80 if I recall correctly) He then advised that I saw the European Specialist that does a surgery out of their referral site. (Consultation 3 £120) So just to tot-up that is now £315 and we have got absolutely nowhere. Vet 1 advised probable Heart Failure, Specialist vet 2 confirmed Heart failure, Vet 3 after stating that he did not see why vet 2 had bothered with an ECG (at my cost) again confirmed Heart Failure. His advice "HAVE A SCAN" (only £900) I asked why a scan was needed as he appeared to be sure of the condition, his reply "just to confirm everything"

In addition to the above it is worth mentioning that Meds are a total rip off from most vets. Even with a prescription meds can be up to half the price on-line. When I asked one of the Partners why theirs were so expensive he tried to say that it was because the on-line sites purchase in bulk. I suggested that he should then also purchase on-line as even with a fair mark-up the meds should still prove to be cheaper. Do not think he liked that one.

When I asked one of the Partners why theirs were so expensive he tried to say that it was because the on-line sites purchase in bulk. I suggested that he should then also purchase on-line as even with a fair mark-up the meds should still prove to be cheaper. Do not think he liked that one.

That all makes perfect sense to me. Of course the larger quantities anyone buys, the cheaper it gets -which is for instance why supermarkets can charge a lot less than small corner shops or petshops etc, as they will buy huge quantities straight from the manufacturer rather than having to go via a wholesaler, who also want their cut. And I doubt very much a vet could go online and buy all their meds from one of the online pharmacies, most likely the online sites would have rules preventing it being bought for re-sale. An even if they did manage to buy it there, well the vet would have to increase the price to make any profit, wouldn't they? They are a BUSINESS after all, not the NHS, and  cannot supply medication at cost price.

Local vet charged me £49 for a consult which consisted of the vet parting the hair and looking at what turned out to be a cyst that got burst and telling me the dog needed anti-bios as it was now infected (it happened several hours earlier) They gave us 6 antibiotics and the receipt claimed half the £49 for those. Those same antibiotics could be bought online for £6.00. If I can buy 6 online for that price imagine what a large vet group are paying for them in bulk. I actually contacted the RVC and asked how this kind of mark up was justifiable but all I got was a bunch of waffle. They suggested I could ask for a prescription.. Fine but then they will say "that will be £20 please" so you can't win!
I now go back to my old vet. She charged me a tenner for the same amount of antibios.

Recently I paid £55 to repair the screen on my phone. The new screen was a tenner online but I wanted an expert to do it.

> In addition to the above it is worth mentioning that Meds are a total rip off from most vets

No they aren't a 'rip off' - they may be expensive tho' :) Any business has to cover their overheads - buildings, business rates, insurance, receptionist, light and heat etc etc etc. If they don't charge you more for the medicines, then they would charge you more for the consultation, boosters, vet nurse etc - they HAVE to make profit somehow ! As Marianne has said, vets are not the NHS - they have to pay their bills like anyone else and also want to earn a salary as well :)

I need to disagree with some of you on this one. Vetmedin currently 39p per capsule on-line @petdrugsonline. My Vet charges £1.09, that's just over 275% higher. I have my own business and trust me THAT IS A RIP_OFF

>  My Vet charges £1.09, that's just over 275% higher. I have my own business and trust me THAT IS A RIP_OFF .

Go somewhere else then ! Or don't have a dog !They can charge whatever they want - they aren't a charity. I'm sure that in your business you charge whatever you think that your clients will pay in order for you to make a living.

Well SKV, nobody forces you to either use one particular vet, or to keep pets at all. It's your free choice.

LOL Daisy -snap! I honestly did not see your reply until mine was posted.

What an absolutely stupid reply.

I pay £46 online the same meds from vet would be £90 my vet told me to get them online and even told me what pharmacy to use. Script. Charge is £17 but when I went to pay he hadn't charged me for it so can't get fairer then that he's certainly not out to rip anyone off.

Puggy, I thought you felt that you were being ripped off hence your opening topic

Here's another stupid reply for you then. You can get water to drink free from your kitchen tap, or you can pay 17 p for a bottle of 2 litres from Morrisons. Or you can pay £2 for a 250 ml bottle of branded water at motorway services or cafes. Again you have a choice what and where to buy. Some people even chose to pay for and drink alcohol, which is not only expensive but bad for you -I stick with water, milk or Coke myself at a fraction of the cost. But when it comes to my animals, I pick the vet I have the most trust in, and if he isn't the cheapest, then that's fair enough. There are bargain basement vets as well and believe me, I have tried a few of them and much prefer the quality of care and advice I get from a more expensive one. But if your main worry is cost, then you should shop around and find the cheapest.

Now now children. Play nicely :)

SKV, your online pharmacy cannot sell you prescription medication without using the expertise of the person who's responsible, 24/7, for diagnosing the medical condition and deciding (with his/her career on the line each time) what would be the best medication to treat your pet. Your vet is the one who needs the expertise; the pharmacy staff who are in effect part-timers because they're not available at 3am on Christmas morning, only have to get it off the shelf and post it. No wonder they can afford to cut corners with their pricing! Basically they're relying on someone else to do the difficult bit!

All supplies of drugs are just that, and packaged by others to sell on, but the vet also sells them on as opposed to a human doctor sending you to a chemist who makes the profit, having diagnosed that they are required. The fact is, and I agree with SKV, the mark up at some vet practices is obscene and unnecessary. I am happy to pay for the expertise but am not happy at having to pay 250% (+) mark up on something my animal needs for it's well being. This massive mark up has been noticeable in the last 10 years, and the cost increases over that time in some particular drugs is not equivalent. If they settled for a 50 or 75% mark up (I appreciate the need for profit) I wouldn't mind. The cost of the expertise is in the consultancy charge for diagnosing and prescribing. Not for then providing the drug off the shelf at a ludicrous price.  JMO

Has anyone used Animal Trust ?

http://www.animaltrust.org.uk/

They are a not for profit vets, open to anyone you don't need to be on benefits. I met someone on a walk who said they were very good and a lot cheaper than other vets.
These are based I the North West, but I am not sure if there are other branches in other regions.

>Vet 1 advised probable Heart Failure, Specialist vet 2 confirmed Heart failure, Vet 3 after stating that he did not see why vet 2 had bothered with an ECG (at my cost) again confirmed Heart Failure. His advice "HAVE A SCAN" (only £900)

Crikey Moses.     

I have had to have heart scans for 3 dogs over the years.  I have never paid more than £100, and I use a big hospital.

Yes, I spend a lot at my vets, after all I have a lot of dogs.  But they do try to help a little.  Last year I had a bitch that 'was not quite right.'

I didn't know what else to say to the vet.  Her demeanour was almost depressed.  I fully understand that they test for the simple things first, so she had several tests.  Eventually diagnosed with Cushings.  Now I already have a bitch on a lot of meds, so the vet knew I would pay the going rate for whatever Suzie needed.  He said, you must pick up on very subtle messages from your dogs to recognise this so early.  Dogs are usually far more advanced when they get brought in. 

He took me to one side and told me that the drug that Suzie needed was one that they use a lot, as they have a few dogs with the condition.  As they spend so much, the supplier allows them a certain amount at cost.  He said that I could have them at this rate.  How usual is that? 

Someone said "I'm sure that in your business you charge whatever you think that your clients will pay in order for you to make a living".

I disagree, I charge what I think is FAIR AND REASONABLE - could charge a lot more but why rip people off? I feel the same way about vet med prices - there is a huge mark-up on most meds as well as the £30 consultation fee. If you know in advance what the vet is going to prescribe then you can try and see if you can get it online cheaper but when you're at the end of a consult and they're automatically dispensing meds it's very difficult/awkward to say "Wait a minute, I'd like to see if I can find a cheaper source of these". Not to mention a lot of pet-owning public have no idea they can get meds cheaper on-line.

> The fact is, and I agree with SKV, the mark up at some vet practices is obscene and unnecessary. I am happy to pay for the expertise but am not happy at having to pay 250% (+) mark up on something my animal needs for it's well being. This massive mark up has been noticeable in the last 10 years, and the cost increases over that time in some particular drugs is not equivalent. If they settled for a 50 or 75% mark up (I appreciate the need for profit) I wouldn't mind.

You do not know what the mark up is the vet charges, the '250% mark up' was SKVs  notion that he came to by comparing the vet retail price with a dispensary's retail price. You can't figure out a mark up like that - only a price difference, a mark up is found by comparing the retail price with the price that way paid.
Vets do not get the drugs for the same prices as dispensaries - they simply do not purchase in enough of a volume. A vet may be making only a 25% mark up and the dispensaries a 50% - but the fact is what 'mark up' per sale is not what is bothering you, you want to pay as little as possible. I agree - I get my dogs Metecam on-line, my vet thinks I would be stupid not to as he doesn't buy it in for his surgery as cheap as I'm getting it for.

Nobody has to pay the price the vets charge for medication - we are all free to choose where we buy from. But I do not agree that vets are a rip off, I can clearly see they do not have the buying power that a dispensary has so can not be competetive on prices from the off, let alone the over-heads of a vets surgery compared to a warehouse with some minimum wage order pickers and an internet connection.........

>But I do not agree that vets are a rip off, I can clearly see they do not have the buying power that a dispensary has so can not be competetive on prices from the off, let alone the over-heads of a vets surgery compared to a warehouse with some minimum wage order pickers and an internet connection.........

An excellent post in total; I just chose to highlight this exceptionally well-made point.

Mastifflover, How is it your vet does not buy in bulk? The pharmacy I could have bought antibiotics from offered them on a decreasing scale for the more that were purchased? Why wouldn't a vet or as is often these days a veterinary group buy in bulk?

Vet's are highly trained professionals no question about that, although I have noticed on this message board that how much respect for their diagnosis we have tends to vary from discussion to discussion! They are entitled to be paid on a par with other well trained professionals. However there are vets themselves that question the level of profit that some practices aim to generate. 

I'm sure everyone wants to see the best possible vet for their animal but I am not sure that will be decided by how much they charge. Yes some surgeries have better facilities and all the bells and whistles but does that mean they are "better" vets or that they are charging their clients so much they can afford these things?

May I just add that I did say in my original reply to this post that it was not "All Vets". I have until recently used the same surgery for over 35 years and have seen them alter from a single surgery to a multi site with at least another five sites within our area and unfortunately they do have the monopoly. Whilst  the cost of Meds was an issue my main gripe was what I felt was unnecessary Treatment and more so being charged for three consultations / referrals within the same group, only to be told exactly what the first Vet said the problem was.  I have to reiterate that this was just one of many instances that I felt Ripped-Off so to add one further instance: X-rays at this surgery cost £100 for the first plate and £80 for others, in contrast the surgery that I now use charged me just £70 for Two.

Whilst there is the RSPCA and PDSA I strongly believe that Vet charges are a direct result in "some" owners not taking their sick animals to the vets, or certainly as early as they should and sadly "In some cases" also has a direct impact on people abandoning pets. I believe to get assistance from either the RSPCA / PDSA you have to be on some form of benefits and that leaves a very large amount of people who cannot use them. I will confess that some years ago one of my dogs cut his pad and in reality he perhaps should have gone to the vet, however, money was tight in those days and I treated it myself and thankfully all was OK.

> I charge what I think is FAIR AND REASONABLE

I said 'to make a living' - is that not fair and reasonable ?? If you are in business, unless you have another source of income, you need to make a living otherwise your business won't last very long. For someone, like a vet, who has extremely high qualifications, why shouldn't they earn a similar salary to those who have similar qualifications eg solicitors, doctors, accountants - even talentless celebrities ??? Would you expect them to earn the same as a dog walker or a groomer ? It amazes me why people think that vets should run their business as a charity and offer discounted services and goods to their clients. I expect to pay professional charges for a professional service for my dogs. Dogs are a luxury, not a necessity.

I agree - I get my dogs Metecam on-line, my vet thinks I would be stupid not to as he doesn't buy it in for his surgery as cheap as I'm getting it for.

I recently had to medicate 29 cats for several weeks -bit of an expensive nightmare. I looked up the cost of the medication online and informed my vet, who told me he CANNOT get it as cheaply as that.

The pharmacy I could have bought antibiotics from offered them on a decreasing scale for the more that were purchased? Why wouldn't a vet or as is often these days a veterinary group buy in bulk?

Simple -an online pharmacy will supply the entire country. Your own vet just their own clients! As I mentioned before, it is exactly the same scenario as why supermarkets can be so much cheaper than local corner shops. They will buy straight from the manufacturer in the thousands, whereas the small local business will buy from a wholesaler (so a middle man wanting a cut) in the dozens.

It amazes me why people think that vets should run their business as a charity and offer discounted services and goods to their clients. I expect to pay professional charges for a professional service for my dogs. Dogs are a luxury, not a necessity.

Exactly!!

> Mastifflover, How is it your vet does not buy in bulk?

I'd imagine it's a matter of storage capacity. If a vet has a room for medicines at a size of 10ft x 10ft square, that would give a floor area of 100ft sq. The average floor area of a warehouse is 17,500 sq feet - imagine the cubic capacity (ie, the abitlity to stack things very high) as warehouses are much much taller than a vets clinic.
A warehouse can fit in lorry, upon lorry load each of many different medications at the same time - a vet will be able to store a few BOXES each of all the different meds they need at the same time. On top of that it will be a matter of turnover v's shelf life.

I can't see why people are not seeing these things

> I can't see why people are not seeing these things confused

Nor me :( Vets will keep in as small stock as possible to avoid a) the cost of the stock b) shelf-life. If they can submit a weekly order, for instance - or get urgent medicine delivered quickly, why would they hold large stocks ?? No organisation holds any more stock than they need to - always just enough to cover their forecast sales/restocking times. Stock = money !!

Well I really can't complain about my vet, many times now when there's been no medicine dispensed he's just waved his hand and said " no it's fine, no charge " .
Recently I had to rush two of my hens in on separate occasions, one was out of hours on a Saturday afternoon, both times he charged me just £18 to have them pts plus disposal.
On the Saturday I actually argued with him that no way was my bill that cheap, but he wouldn't have it.

His wife is a different matter, she charges for everything.

>, unless you have another source of income, you need to make a living otherwise your business won't last very long. For someone, like a vet, who has extremely high qualifications, why shouldn't they earn a similar salary to those who have similar qualifications eg solicitors, doctors, accountants - even talentless celebrities

But a vet doesn't earn anywhere near the amount of money that a doctor does.

> But a vet doesn't earn anywhere near the amount of money that a doctor does.

They also don't make anywhere near the amount that these dispensaries make either!!

I've just had a little fish around on the net. The place I get Metacam from is Pedmed, after googling thier actual registered address, I found that paticular location was 48,000sq ft set of units and the client for the address was actually Medic Animal Ltd. Here are some of their stats:

"Over 1,500,000 transacting customers across the websites of which 80% have ordered in the past 12 months. Our turnover has rocketed from £16m in 2011 to £47m in 2012" (taken from here)

Hmmmmm, can anybody see now how a vet can not purchase in the same level of bulk or with as much buying power as these people??????

Good detective work ML and very interesting indeed.

My friends vet will match the price on most meds to save her getting them online.

For what its worth, it will depend on the type of vet that you want and if you aren't happy then go elsewhere. Cheaper OR dearer doesn't necessarily mean better. BUT...there are definitely some vet practices who rip the behind out of their clients but in my experience, they don't last very long, people soon cotton on. A product/service is only worth what people are prepared to pay for it as the saying goes.

As an example. My vet has 2 surgeries and has recently kitted out his last one with very expensive digital X-Ray equipment including scanners. The hardware alone for this cost in excess of £250,000. Then the software... that cost over £100.000. He only has one partner and his wife used to also work with them before she retired. So he is not a state of the art animal hospital, just a very experienced, humble, modest exotic vet whose partner treats the cats and dogs. Yet he will still give me his time, often free of charge or for a very small fee. Until recently, he would meet me at one of the surgeries at all hours of the night, including Weekends when needed as I have a lot of exotic rescues who are frequently desperately ill, often with very little charge.

By rights his charges should be so much higher to cover the cost of the investment and services that he can now offer but he is fair. Something that you don't get too often these days. He is only too happy for me to buy me medication online as he has said that he can't compete with their prices but I buy from him as he has been a life saver for me on several occasions so I prefer to put a little back where I can.

One of my dogs had a tick stuck in his nose a couple of years back, I didn't notice it but my vet did as we were talking in the car park, he went in, got a tick remover and removed the tick and then gave me the tool, all for nothing. 

Finding a good vet is like gold dust and sadly mine is retiring soon so I will be no doubt looking around and asking for recommendations in my area. Not so easy as there are very few good exotic vets and I have been spoilt with mine.