Hello all!
I am the happy owner of a cute baby dog named Brownie. We brought her back from our holidays in Portugal, as she was born in the village my boyfriend is from. It seems her mum is a poodle, and we are pretty sure she has pinscher blood as well
We went to our first visit to the vet in Lausanne, and she advised us to have her sterilised when she is 6 months old. When she told us it would cost around 750 CHF I almost fainted
I'm fully aware that I'm responsible of the well-being of my doggie, and that vets are trained profesionnals, but isn't it very expensive for an animal which should weigh around 5kg when adult???
Do you know of cheaper places around Lausanne, or perhaps in nearby France?
Try calling these folks:
Clinique Vétérinaire Mignot LucRue de la Poterie, 01210 Ferney Voltaire, France 04 50 40 50 60.
Your pup is so cute!
I love the puppy! Yes it is ridiculously expensive but then again everything is...in CH
Chf 150.-- per kilo, must admit it does sound a bit more than filet of beef. Try Rey & Yearly in Chatel St Denis (abt 25 minutes from Lausanne on highway, go to Vevey, then direction Bern, then take first exit) 021 948 90 56
That cutie looks very young, how old is she, and how did you get on with the rabies vacc'/blood test etc? CHF 750 does sound steep though
750CHF?!!
My advice is to avoid this vet. I live in Zurich and it didnt cost me more than 300 CHF to have my dog castrated (including post op follow up and removal of stitches). He weighs 8kg fully grown.
This link lists all the vets in Switzerland. Type in your post code and it will list the vets closest to you. Ring around, I am pretty sure 750CHF is OTT unless the overhead costs for running a vet practice is much higher in Lausanne!
http://www.vet-look.ch/
We got her at 8 weeks. In Portugal, especially in the countryside, they treat animals in a very different way from what we're used to. Actually, there, at 4-5 weeks the puppies leave their mother and go to the new owner
My boyfriend's family found it extremely funny when I refused to let the dog sleep outside and insisted to let her sleep in our bathroom... And when I gave her proper dog food and not the rests from the table they thought I was really strange...
I don't want to criticise other people's habits, and especially not my boyfriend's family, but I really thing she's gonna have a better life with me in CHü!
Basically, she got the basic vaccines and a microship, plus a passport and written certificate from the vet attesting that she was in good health and too young for the rabies vacc'. This was enough for the customs. We had to fill in lot of forms though, and I think we had more weight in papers than in dog
Actually, castration is a much easier procedure than sterilisation, which can perhaps explain the price.
Anyway, I also think that 750.- is way too expensive, thus the need for advice
elastic band around the dangly bits?
Dont worry, you are doing great so far! Have you considered a crate for your puppy?
Is the price quoted for an ovariectomy, or an ovariohysterectomy? Is it a keyhole or traditional surgical procedure? Costs will vary depending on the procedure, and with the size of the dog.
My Hooligan was spayed (ovariectomy) at 12 months - she weighed about 14kg the time, and the cost was CHF 800. She is the only female I've been lucky enough to spay while young and healthy, so that is the only relevant comparison I can give you.
My advise is to go with the vet with whom you and your dog feel most comfortable. Skill, compassion, the vet's rapport with your dog, the relationship between the vet and owner should be the most important considerations.
Hope all goes well with the procedure - and wishing you and Brownie (gosh she's cute!) much happiness together.
ETA: I think that CHF800 may have included a dental as well... have to go root through my records now...
ETA II: The need for special monitoring/anesthetics can add greatly to the cost as well. You might want ask the vet what all is included in those costs.
ETA III - Nope, no dental was done at the time - so, the CHF 800 was for the op plus the pre-op blood test. (I did a pre-op blood test because... well, I'm paranoid. There really wasn't a need to do one in a young, healthy dog. But since I'm so used to having oldies, I always do it.)
<<< doggy secret time.... girls bits don't dangle>>>
The OP clearly stated it's a "she." Docking dogs, no matter how, is forbidden in Switzerland, so anatomy would tell us to leave the dangly bits alone.
Quite right and didn't think about the different procedure. Meloncollie is right about the rapport with vet/dog/you, so double check exaclty what op' they are pricing for.
Erm, what do you get chopped off when neurtering .
I though the only thinks docked here were boats and laptops.
...and ipods....I'll get me coat.
OP, sorry, didnt occur to me the different procedures for female spaying, hence maybe the price.
I guess I've been around male dogs too long. Its easier to chop off the dangly bits than digging inside to fix the plumbing but still, no harm calling around. Good luck.
Actually I wasn't aware that there were different procedures !!! I'll have to study that. Is one 'better' than the other?
Considering the relationship with the vet, it was somewhat short! She looked at her, gave the shot and answered a few questions. I even had to give the vermifuge pill myself at home, no idea why she couldn't do it herself...
Ovariohysterectomy is the total removal of your dog's female reproductive tract. Not only does this procedure prevent the animal from becoming pregnant, it also eliminates your dog from ever going in heat again.
A hysterectomy on the other hand is just removing the uterus. Hormones will still continue to be released and your dog will still get heat cycles but not get pregnant.
For my previous terrier, she got the former. It seems to be much more popular with female dog owners as it eliminates all your going in heat-related behavioural problems (moody, neediness and even trying to escape looking for male dogs).
Melloncollie should be able to provide more information /points for further consideration as I currently have a male dog.
And what about cancer prevention? I guess the vet was talking about a ovariohysterectomy, because she insisted that doing it before the first heat cycle was important to reduce/suppress hormono-dependant cancers
Papa, you missed something. Phil suggested to put an elastic band around "the dangly bits," unaware of the fact that the puppy is female. Her dangly bits are ears and tail. That's what my remark on docking referred to.