# Vet costs on average?



## Cesko (Oct 1, 2019)

Hi everyone,

My sweet pup comes home to me in only 8 weeks ! I've been doing my research and the one thing I can't figure out are the approximate vet bills.

Everywhere I look on this forum it seems someone is saying "these are expensive dogs," "vet bills are high," "save money for vet bills!" Yikes :| 

I live in the Western US and have been looking into pet insurance but am not sure if it's worth paying a high monthly premium or a lower one with a high deposit. What are the common health problems that contribute to these high vet bills? I owned dogs before and aside from shots, basic check up's, etc, have never had an expensive vet bill. Am I missing something major here?? 

Thanks for weighing in!  

Cesko


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Cesko
Yes, vet bills can add up, but they can for any active working dog. 
In Connecticut, which is an expensive state to live in, the bills for Finn, for the 2-1/2 months I've had him have been about $500.00 to $600.00, but that has been three office visit, all shots, examinations, heartworm, and tick preventatives, fecal samples, urine samples, and blood work.
Once Finn is an adult, he will see the Vet twice per year. Each visit will run about $200.00-$300.00, but I do some elective stuff with my dogs, beyond just a wellness exam. Finn will get Heartguard and the feed through tick and flea preventative for the rest of his life, so that cost is there also.
These are very active dogs,working dogs,and as such they are prone to injuries, which can add up if severe enough. One of my dogs was always getting hurt, the rest were just the occasional bumps,bruises, and thorns in paws.
Don't let them eat things they shouldn't, or chew on toys with loose fibers, small parts, and ribbons. 
Pick their toys very well! Always look at a toy and ask yourself, what part of this toy can they swallow, not pass in a stool, and the vet will have to go in and remove. 

When you register your puppy with the AKC, there is a 30 day, no cost, insurance trial. Try that and see if it works for you. Might save you cost of one of the first office visits.


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## InTheNet (Jun 1, 2016)

WELL THAT IS A LOADED QUESTION!


It will depend on your beast. Our 3 1/2 year old male has had more emergency vet visits (5)than our previous 3 dogs combined (1)
Our recent adoption has had 3 emergency visits in 6 months..


These are injury's . face gashed running/ impaled by wire running/a zillion yellow jacket stings/dislocated hip/another gash while running on side/something in eye . a couple of others


They only go full speed in the woods.


Other than that normal vet visits with a couple extra for non emergency stuff/ giardia


I used to spend a fair amount of time in emergency myself when younger. Our male has not had any injuries in about 10-11 months. We are hoping he is slowing down in his old age.  We have him on gps at 38mph our female just a hair slower so when they get poked by a stick it can do some damage.


Not tying to scare you.


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## PhilipL (Sep 28, 2018)

Well I can't speak for vet cover in the USA, but here in the UK my vet recommended we had full life term pet insurance cover around £12,000 each year for our male Vizsla Rafa, this works out at about £20 per month taken from my bank account, so an annual fee so far of around £240 per year for this level of cover and unlimited use.

Rafa is under two years old, so I would expect the monthly fees to increase as he gets older and the risk of falling ill gets higher. Same as human life insurance I guess.

Hope this helps.


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## mtnbkr (Jul 12, 2018)

I purchased pet insurance for my V, and it was definitely the right decision. She had 3 injuries in the 1st 14 months. One of them (a scratched cornea that became infected) resulted in nearly $5k in vet bills. The insurance paid exactly what the contract required, and they didn’t dispute the treatments, hospitalization or rates charged (which are VERY high in my area). So, my experience with insurance has been very positive. And it has definitely been cost effective.


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## Cesko (Oct 1, 2019)

Thanks so much everyone for weighing in. I guess I was just super lucky with previous doggos (a high energy Siberian Husky and a Shar-Pei/terrior mix) and never had emergencies like above. 

Will definitely look at some good pet insurance, appreciate in info!  I want the best for my little pup for sure.


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## rubicon (Dec 9, 2019)

I’m not sure TBH. My boy is now 4.5 months old and so far aside from shots he hasn’t needed the vet. No injuries yet though. And didn’t get sick at all. They’re on the healthier side in terms of breed apparently. My old cocker spaniel had a load more issues than him.


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## Teaoutdoors (Sep 3, 2021)

mtnbkr said:


> I purchased pet insurance for my V, and it was definitely the right decision. She had 3 injuries in the 1st 14 months. One of them (a scratched cornea that became infected) resulted in nearly $5k in vet bills. The insurance paid exactly what the contract required, and they didn’t dispute the treatments, hospitalization or rates charged (which are VERY high in my area). So, my experience with insurance has been very positive. And it has definitely been cost effective.


which insurance company did you go with? we are just barely 7months and have been to the Emergency vet once and had a UTI and Giardia already


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## Travelstar (Nov 18, 2020)

We also live primarily in the UK but spend time on the continent. We also have a full life cover of £15,000 per year which costs £800 a year per dog.

Our 17 month girl has had a bit of a rough time with various incidents and congenital related health issues. She alone has spent probably close to £14,000 already in vets bills so the cover has been excellent. Our 5 month old boy has not made a single claim. The insurers also provide an online vet which is useful plus European cover.

I can only strongly recommend every V owner to get some sort of cover, as bills can be very expensive when things go wrong. The last thing you want to do is give up on those sweet faces.

One thing I will leave you all to think about is the fact we have started stem cell treatment for our girl due to early onset osteoarthritis related to HD. Our insurer is even covering that.


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## derfasd (10 mo ago)

For your pet to stay healthy, he needs an annual checkup with a veterinarian. The cost of standard tests for puppies up to a year varies between $45 and $200. In the following years, this amount will be halved. Vaccines can cost about $150 a year. It should also be taken into account that drugs for large dogs are more expensive. According to the American Association of Manufacturers of Pet Products, veterinary care for dogs, on average, costs $ 235 a year, for cats - $ 196. Therefore, you should think about buying insurance. By the way, specialists in veterinary medicine and animal care have a good income. I recently completed an online groomer course. There were no student loans for these programs, so I had to pay the entire amount at once. However, I think that everything will pay off.


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