Lowering Vet Bills: 10 Tips for Keeping Costs Down
Written by Jan on December 11, 2008 – 11:26 amThe cost of vet care for 2009 is estimated at $12.2 billion, up $1.1 billion from last year. With the economy still ailing, jobs still disappearing and the stock market way down from previous highs, many of us are postponing or foregoing dog care because we can’t afford treatment. It’s time — past time! — to cut out those unnecessary products and services too many pet parents think are essential — but may actually be harmful. Here are some cost-saving ideas that will also make your dog healthier:
1. STOP VACCINATING UNNECESSARILY! No more vaccinating against diseases your dog is unlikely to catch and against diseases to which your dog is already immune. Not only is unnecessary vaccination a huge waste of time and money, the resulting adverse health consequences can ruin doggy health and cost you a fortune in vet bills down the line. Watch our video Vaccinating Dogs for suggestions, and read or reread “Rethinking Vaccination” in our book, Scared Poopless. Also, read our blog article on titer testing. (Click here.) This simple blood test is especially important to prevent over-vaccinating puppies.
2. FEED QUALITY FOOD. Although spending more for high quality food may seem a strange way to save money, it is your absolute best shot at long-term doggy health and lower vet bills. Start feeding wisely and you may see allergies, intestinal problems, joint ouchiness and other ailments disappear. At the very least, stop feeding grocery store brands and switch from kibble to canned. Better yet, feed frozen raw or fresh cooked or raw. My book has two chapters on food, one of them you can read free by clicking here.
3. FEED LESS. According to Purina’s much promoted 14-year study of 48 Labrador Retrievers, “lean-fed” dogs (receiving 25% less food than their littermates) eventually developed the same health problems as littermates as they aged, but needed treatment for ailments 2.1 years later. That is, treatment began at a mean age of 12 versus age 9.9. Here’s the secret to longevity: It’s not about feeding a particular brand; it’s about feeding to a healthy, lean (not too skinny) condition. Cut out all fattening corn-laden foods. Don’t leave food out all day and don’t overfeed. Remember: fat dogs aren’t cute; they’re expensive.
4. BRUSH TEETH MORE OFTEN. Few things are more expensive, or risky, than dental procedures. Avoid them by feeding low-carb foods (not kibble) and by brushing your dog’s teeth at least three times a week. Use a good paste meant for dogs (not Humans!) and use gauze around your finger or a super-soft toothbrush.
5. STOP GIVING UNNECESSARY OR DANGEROUS DRUGS. Check out your dogs meds (especially steroids and arthritis medications) on-line by name, and at the websites listed under Preventing the Preventable on my website link page. Also, if it’s not mosquito season where you live, why are you giving heartworm meds? No skeeters … no heartworm. Fleas aren’t much of a problem during the winter in most places either. Check out my book’s chapter, “Stop Pest-ering Me!” or do research on-line to learn more about heartworm and flea life cycles and natural methods of pest control. Just make sure your research is from reliable, unbiased sources. Websites that look “scientific” may be fronts for manufacturers of pet meds. Also check out my blog post on Heartworms for more information about protection.
6. GET FLUFFY A BLOOD TEST if she hasn’t had one in the last year (or six months for senior dogs). Remember, dogs age faster than we do and a thorough blood test (with a chem panel) is the easiest (and sometimes the only) way to detect disease while it’s still curable and cheaper to treat. Also test yearly for heartworms, whether or not you use meds.
7. STOP GIVING DANGEROUS TREATS that can perforate or lodge in tracheas and intestines: cooked bones, rawhide chews, pig’s feet and other too-hard chews. Surgery for obstructions and perforations is very expensive and may come too late to save your dog’s life.
8. WASH YOUR DOG’S FEET after a walk on chemically-laden surfaces like city streets and salted roads. Beware park areas which may have been recently fertilized, or treated with herbicides, without your knowing. And don’t use toxic chemicals in your home or yard. If it’s on your dog’s feet, before long it will be in your dog’s mouth. If it’s in your dog’s mouth, he’s on the slippery slope toward cancer.
9. SECURE TRASH, RECYCLING BINS AND TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM PETS. You’d be shocked at how much money is spent on inadvertent poisoning from snail, ant and rat bait, and also the general ailment called “Garbage Can Syndrome.” (Thanks to Pet Evironmentalist Elizabeth Allen of C4PAW.com for her work in this area.)
10. RESEARCH ON-LINE HELP. Check out the additional cost saving ideas at the Human Society (click here) and in the Smart Money article (click here). Californians, e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger and tell him we can’t afford his new 9% tax on our vet bills! Click here.
In short, think before you spend. Ask questions. Don’t automatically reorder drugs. Consider alternatives. Become an educated consumer and trust your own instincts.
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Posted under Cancer, Dog Teeth Cleaning, Heartworms, Nutrition, Pet Meds, Uncategorized, Vaccination, Vet Bills, Veterinarians | 8 Comments » Email This Post
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December 11th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I always enjoy your writings, Jiggie……..
Merry Christmas to you……….and I like the way you look in your SAnta hat………
hugs galore,
janet berend
December 11th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I always appreciate your tips in any area. I took time for a response of length to Swartzenegger’s proposal re the new tax, but it was refused because I don’t live in Washington. Why don’t they tell us this in the beginning?
I think we have to use common sense as to lowering vet bills, but some have none. Your tips are most helpful, as usual. We had a bill at an emrgency clinic of over a thousand bucks for tests alnd overnite. Can you believe????
janet berend
June 27th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I have recently found your site and find it quite interesting. Although I don’t necessarily agree with all your overall advice, you promote knowledge and questions and partnership with your vet, which I love.
This article is great and suggests things that many practices who like wellness medicine promote (like routine bloodwork, good nutrition, and prevention around the house). I am confused about your mention of titers in this particular article, though. It is true that vaccinating every 24-36 months will save you money and that titers are the appropriate way to determine that, but how will titers decrease your vet bill? More often than not, titers are more expensive than all your vaccines combined.
June 27th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Hi Jenn. Vaccinating protocols have changed. The new protocols, from WASA and the AAHA Canine Vaccine Task Force, are to vaccinate NO MORE OFTEN than every three years for the “core vaccines.” In fact, for most adult dogs who have been vaccinated against parovirus and distemper after age 15-16 weeks, the dog likely has lifetime immunity. The titer test, which needs to be done only once, not yearly, can prove immunity. If it does, then there are no more shots and no more titer tests. This is according to Dr. Ron Schultz, arguably the country’s top expert in pet vaccination. This is a simplistic answer. Please read more about titer testing and Vaccinating Dogs: 10 Steps to Eliminating Unnecessary Shots for more information.
June 22nd, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Hi, my vet says that since Parvo is ubiquitous, it is necessary to keep “current” on this vaccine in particular. However, since Parvo virus is everywhere, isn’t true that once our dogs are immune from their puppy shot series, they will get naturally boosted from their exposure, so, in fact, the opposite logic is applicable. In other words, if a virus is common in the environment, then the dog is very unlikely to need artificial boosting to maintain a high antibody titer. Sue
June 22nd, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Sue, parvo IS ubiquitous. But there is proof that the vaccine gives immunity for 9 years or longer. Also, as you suspect, if your dog didn’t have immunity, he/she would likely be ill. The puppy series of shots gives close to 95% immunity. If you want proof, have a parvo/distemper titer test (pronounced TIGHT r). It’s a simple blood test. Your vet needs educating. The two top pet vaccination experts did a benefit seminar on vaccination and we recorded 2 hours. The proceeds benefit the study of the rabies vaccine. You should get it and show it to your vet. Or find another vet. http://www.dogs4dogs.com/saferpet
July 15th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Hi Jan, I just finished reading your book and intend to pass it on to my sister in law who just adopted a poodle mix. She feeds her dog Iams and thinks this is a good product. How do you expain the extensive brainwashing of several generations of people who absolutely believe that kibble is good for their dog? People who would risk their life to save their dog from a speeding bus and spend their last dime at the vet feed the same kibble day in, day out and then are shocked when their dog gets cancer. How can I tell people about dog nutrition without offending them? Is the convenience factor of kibble the reason why so many people are so resistant to thinking about canine nutrition?
July 16th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Hi Sue. The answer to your question is that ads are really good. They talk about great flavor and real meat and we humans think the food is good for dogs. It isn’t. It just has good flavor and some nameless meat — roadkill, maybe? If the meat isn’t named, beware.
Flavor and “real meat” are the biggest tip offs. But humans don’t listen. They hear what they want to hear. It makes them feel good.
I wrote an article you might like on my Blog4Dogs: http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog4dogs/category/dogfood/ You might want to pass it along to your well-meaning, but ultimately dangerous friends.