Does anyone in the South West Herts area (Watford, St Albans, possibly just over the border to Bucks) know of a good vet with experience of caring for pregnant and whelping bitches?

I have been very happy with my vet over the past 8 years we have been with them but I don't think they are particularly experienced with breeding and they are very expensive- which would be fine if I thought they were the best local vets around for my bitch, but when it comes to pregnancy and whelping I'm not sure that they are, and would like to see if anyone had any recommendations.

Many Thanks

Although we 'came from' that area, it's been some while since we left and we are now in the SW UK.    The vet we used, when in Redbourn, was one in Hemel.   Not especially recommended and probably long gone now.   When we came back to the UK we used a super vet who was south of Royston - Rosemary Hobson - Woolpack Surgery BUT not only did she relocate to further south of where she was in Reid, Royston, checking the other day, the practice is still there, but clearly she's retired now.   Too far across from where you are too?    I'd suggest you contact some local breeders and see who they use - breeders tend not to use 'dud' vets!!!   And actually although at the end of the day you may need a vet (!!) I'd go more with finding a good experienced breeder in my breed, than a vet, for advice at any rate.   The breeder of your bitch?    A knowledgeable breeder, in a specific breed, is usually, from my experience (much as Rosemary was great for an emergency situation - C.Section etc.) far better than a vet who may not have the experience needed for YOUR breed?

I live in Hemel Hempstead but use a vets in Leighton Buzzard called harding and Ng who still offers 24 hour service and is used by a lot of breeders. You may not be in their catchment area but it's worth asking.

Thank you both very much for your reply. I'll do some googling and see if I can get in touch with either of those you've recommended.

I do have the support of my bitch's breeder... but as she lives in Yorkshire it will be telephone support rather than anything else. She is good friends with the stud dog owner, who are also very knowledgeable and helpful and are a little closer, but still in Colchester so not so close that they can easily pop by either.

I'm very much hoping that we won't need a vet, my breed is a medium sized gundog breed and not one that is known for difficult whelping etc, I just want to have the best back up in place just in case.

Hmm.. had a google and Harding and Ng are about 45 min away from me, royston is just under an hour. (Incidentally I have a feeling that i recognise the name and I'm sure peter harding used to be my pony's vet when I was a teenager!)

Is that going to be too far in an emergency do you think? My current vets are 20min.

I do feel a bit traitorous for thinking of leaving them but I want to do the best for my bitch... and I feel that their prices are way OTT for breeding connected services, e.g. I recently asked how much it would be for a CHV and was told 134 for the vaccine course (2 jabs) plus consult fee, which is IIRC 34... Which is an awful lot more than others on here seem to pay... I wouldn't mind if i thought they were the top of their game in this field and so i was paying over the odds for their skill and expertise, but in all honesty I don't.

I think I paid £35 per jab last year, including consultation. Average c-section in hours is £350-£400, out of hours £600-£750. What I like about both practice owners is they don't make their money by doing anything unnecessary just to justify huge prices.

Whoa re that vaccination price.   They do vary but my previous vet (I've now moved to the other practice in town, for a number of reasons) charged around £35. which included the health check.   Part of moving was because mine are on 3-yearly boosters now, apart from the annual one for Lepto.  Said previous vet charged the same for the one booster, as they did for the full set.  Hum

As for cost, yes, it matters, but that has to be coupled with being able to trust the vet!!    I'd pay whatever (within reason!) for a vet I could trust, especially with surgery and not go with cheap alone.

ps   The Royston practice is now just north of Buntingford, so a little further South, than their previous office at Reid, was.   When it comes to an emergency situation, the closer, the better and when we moved, I'd always check where the vet was before anything!!!

I was quoting the price for the herpes vaccine. I consider myself very lucky that I'm in my vets catchment area and I know that many dog breeders travel to use them. I totally agree that a good vets is worth their weight in gold.

Lucky you I have been quoted £60 for each of the two herpes vaccines, so that's £120 per bitch.

I was quoting the price for the herpes vaccine.

Sorry, I missed that 

Just thought I would update you.

I had an appointment with Michael Ng this morning and was very happy. :)

Thanks for all your help