Hi
Another question sorry! Hope this is under the right section

I am thinking i need to get my 3 year old bitch spayed, got her yesterday, she is a border collie, and sparky, my yorkshire terrier is a male! Hence the reason, I am assuming Sparky would be able to do it when she is in season, as he gives it a good go with other male dogs! Gross isnt it!! Anyway, my question, spaying is so expensive, so is there any alternative around this to prevent him getting to her, there are pants you can buy, do these actually work?

Or would it be cheaper/easier to get the male castrated? Or would he lose his man hood and get all sad?

The pants are to contain the blood, nothing else. It is cheaper to castrate a male dog but you run some risk of the bitch getting pyometra eventually if she is left unspayed all her life and then it will cost far more. Neutering doesn't change anything other than the ability to sire/give birth to to pups.

so looks like some severe savings are in order

Does anyone know of a vet near to Littleborough, Rochdale, Manchester way that does it cheap... she is only small, and without weighing her, i wouldnt say she is anymore than 15kg definately not

Got a quote from one near me of £142.79, of which I am not able to afford right now, and i wanted to get her done asap, any advice?

£100 if not less would be better, she definately needs doing either way, but its always best to shop around isnt it

I can't see that you're gonna come in under £100. It's quite a big, although routine, operation.  For one of my bitches 15 years ago I recall paying £120! There are more health benefits to getting a bitch spayed, besides the obvious worry as who might get to her when she's in season.  There are injections you can have to put off a season, but I should imagine they're quite costly and personally it's not something I'd want to do. I might pump any old rubbish into myself but am very careful about my dogs having unecessary chemicals put into them.
I should have thought £142 wasn't too bad at all.  I'd also be very wary about shopping around for vets that will do operations cheaper. I know vet prices can and do vary greatly, but if you've got a good vet that you know and trust, then stick with them.
Have you asked your vet if they'll let you pay in a series of installments? At my vets I rarely pay anything on the day and get a bill ... not same as installments, but gives me a month. But I have been with them for over 20 years and if I don't pay up they know where to find me!! :-)

I would expect to pay around £200 for a bitch that size.

I've paid more than that for a bitch half that size!  So I don't think the charge is bad at all.

It is certainly more beneficial to get a bitch spayed for health reasons.  There is no health benefit to get a male castrated, I leave them entire if I possibly can.

As to him mating her - the answer is a resounding yes.  I have seen a large bitch squat down low to help a toy breed hit the target.  Bitches are such trollops!  :-)

> As to him mating her - the answer is a resounding yes.  I have seen a large bitch squat down low to help a toy breed hit the target.  Bitches are such trollops!  :-)

LOL!!! that made me laugh!!!

But on a serious note, i think ill have to go to that vets, she is a good vets and everyone has heard of her, so think its going to be best to bite the bullet and just get her done! Once its done, she is sorted isnt she

Just needed some advice, thanks everyone :-)

my vet charges £129 for a bitch that size. I thought that was very good. :-)
Paula

Have you asked the RSPCA? I know round here they were going through a speight of giving vouchers for certain vets which entitled you to a spay for £50? Not sure if it was for low incomes but its worth asking maybe?

> Have you asked the RSPCA?

Just done that today, have sent them an email so will await a reply, worth a try isnt it so will see what they say! Fingers crossed!! LOL

Pressed post before finished typing! I was meant to add, if not, then its tough for us, we got a bitch knowing she would need to be spayed, so will just have to pay it! :-)

My little terrier ( 6-7kg approx) is being spayed Thursday, quote around £210 if no complications.! Pre op tests extra.

Most vets offer a discount if you pay on the day - mine reduces the bill by 10%

If you are having a planned operation don't forget that you can also pay by instalments in advance.  A vet I used to use in Cheshire allowed clients to spread the costs - once you'd paid 70% you could schedule the op and pay the rest on the day for 15% discount or the remainder in arrears.  Quite fair I thought and worth it to use vets you know and trust.

Have a chat with your usual vet practice to see what they can offer.  Don't be tempted to shop around, that's not a good way to choose someone who has your precious dog on their operating table.

Just a thought, don't people recommend a bitch is spayed between seasons?  Do you know her cycle or will you wait and see?

Is there no vets near you that do spaying etc. at a special price?  There's one near me, which might just be slightly to far for you to travel and it's a fair bit cheaper than your vets, they specialise in spaying/neutering and vaccinations which you get charged quite a bit less than other vets.

My new vet is pay at the time, no accounts allowed. I am extremely happy with the service they offer ( homeopathy etc)

I had my bitches pre op blood tests done today £88.00
I will post next week (if the topic is still live) what they charged for the spay, she is also having a dental whilst under.

Apart from the risk of urinary incontinence.....

>It is certainly more beneficial to get a bitch spayed for health reasons.  There is no health benefit to get a male castrated, I leave them entire if I possibly can.

We have a vets in Cheltenham that also do low cost treatment at the RSPCA in our area, great for saving money for the routine stuff - A friend had her small gsd bitch done last year and it was £160.00. I thought that was reasonable.  Do you know when her last season was?? You will need to make sure she is not on the cust of having her next season, ideally it should be done 12 weeks from the last one.  This is when the reproductive system is in a dormant state and is the safest time to spay.  This may give you time to save up. It is a major operation although routine and can take around one hour, has many health benefits so well worth the money imo.

Most vets offer a discount if you pay on the day - mine reduces the bill by 10%

None around here do that and I've not heard of it before - it's standard practise for the practises around here for you to pay your bill on the day unless you are a long term customer andhave an account and not all of them do that - same price though whether you pay on the day or not!

My girl that was about the same size as the ops cost £180 odd so I'd be happy with the price you've been given :-)

> Apart from the risk of urinary incontinence.....
>
>> It is certainly more beneficial to get a bitch spayed for health reasons.  There is no health benefit to get a male castrated, I leave them entire if I possibly can.

If a bitch gets pyometra, I consider that to be just about the worst health risk.

> Just a thought, don't people recommend a bitch is spayed between seasons?  Do you know her cycle or will you wait and see?

I usually try to time my spays approximately 12 weeks after a season.  Far less hormones raging, which means far less blood vessels to tie off for the vet.

Which means less time under anaesthetic.  So the best choice for your bitch.  Well, that's my take on it anyway.

>Most vets offer a discount if you pay on the day - mine reduces the bill by 10%<br /><br /
>None around here do that and I've not heard of it before

Perhaps I should have said, most vets I've used offer a discount.  Although I did think it was common practice - I've had vets in Berkshire, Cheshire and now Somerset all with discounts.  Maybe I'm just a regular customer :)

Actually I love my current vets.  I get great service, long consultations. excellent treatment and advice.  They always complete insurance claims without fuss, try to ensure as much as possible is included on the claim, and they've written to the insurer once on my behalf too.  They also love my dogs, and the dogs are very happy to visit the surgery.  Now it looks as if cost is another reason to be pleased with them!!

>Perhaps I should have said, most vets I've used offer a discount.  Although I did think it was common practice

I've only ever known vets to offer a discount if you take three or more animals in at the same time (grroup vaccinations, etc). Never for paying at the time - that's required from everyone..

>They always complete insurance claims without fuss,

There are vet practices that charge for completing claim forms - I'm pleased the ones I work for don't.