My staffie is currently expecting her first litter within a week now. I have taken her to the vet and been told that due to the puppies being quite large that she might have difficulties during labour and require a c/section. However when I asked the vet how much this would be she was reluctant to tell me I have since asked on several occasions but still they are reluctant to tell me and just say we will see at the time has anyones dog had a c/section and could they give me a rough idea of the cost as i think that the reason they are not keen to tell me a figure is due to the fact that in an emergency I will have to pay whatever they ask as you dont get your dog or pups back until the bill has been paid.

I've heard people on hear say about a thousand pound i'm not sure, someone who has had one will probably give you more accurate info but it wont be cheap i'm sure of that. Have you got whelping insurance?

Warm regards Susan

My sister, who,s a farmer, was telling me the other day that a c-section on a cow costs around £350, so £1,000 for a dog seems a bit steep!

Yeah but thats a cow, small animal vets add all kinds on.  When i visited the vet the other week a cat had broke it's leg and i was shocked that it was running up to 2500 for an exray and an operation.

To be honest, regardless of the cost, this should have been taken into consideration before mating and a budget set aside for all eventualities.

Hi I it cost me £475 at the end of last year for a emergency c section on one of my bitches and that was out of hours, but i imagine that is the going rate for a c section, but at the end of the day it saved my bitches life so well worth every penny.

The last c section I had done was a few years ago on a Westie - cost £120, though the cost is charged by weight so a Staffie would hav been much more.  So I would think anything up to £400/£500  would be reasonable. Why not ring up anonymously and ask how much it would cost to have her spayed, (tell them her weight)- then double it - that may give you an idea of the cost.

Hi shifting sands.  Were you Westie Lover in a previous life??????????:)

Im a Westieluvva :D

Someone on here told me it cost anything from £150 to £1500.

Does it also depend on where u live?

My bitch had a C section 4 years ago and it came to around £500.  this was in Bristol.  A lot will depend on where you live.  the same vet charged me with the BVA fee £170 for Hip Scoring my youngest this February.

My girl had a c/section on a sunday & it cost £400 in Scarborough

You would think for something as unexpected like that a vet practice would let you pay it off in instalments!

I had a c-section done on a bitch in December because she just couldn't pass the last puppy (which was dead).  It cost £890, but it was done at 11pm.  I had visited the vet twice during the evening prior to this for injections, so the cost of these was included in that figure.

I wouldn't consider a C section for a planned litter particularly unexpected, it is one of the likely complications as is the death of pups, the death of the dam is far more unexpected but a risk nonetheless that whoudl be thought about before embarking on breeding. 

You should always set aside a generous contungency fund for rearting a litter as even if the birth goes well, the bitch or one or more pups may need vet tratment, you may not find homes for all the pups and have to rear them for a prolonged period incurring further costs.

Thats what i meant sorry, it may not be totally unexpected but they could at least tell you how much it is likely to cost so u could have the money ready.

We had a c-section done on Bank Holiday Monday at 1am and it cost £300............and yet another was done at Christmas and cost us £800......two different vets!

My vet does let you pay in instalments if you can't afford it in one go, as long as you pay them something each month, they do add a small percentage as interest but it's definitely worth while!

I had an emergency section in December £300  , had an emergency spay due to Pyometra 4 weeks ago £600 but she was kept in for 5 days included in that. You have to be prepared for any costs.   Most vets if you are really stuck may take a visa if they are a big enough practice.

Our vets would let you pay off instalments but if you ask how much some treatments cost they wont tell you, which i find strange as you have to know to pay them.  Like someone else said you should prepare for every eventuality when breeding a dog because you dont wont to scimp on it's welfare.

No veterinary surgery is allowed to withold any animal due to non-payment of fees.  Apart from anything else, what would they do with 9 newborn pups!?

We would charge around 800 for that procedure, but that's in London.  I'd imagine that it would be cheaper elsewhere.

HTH