[lange]

Holy cwap!.. It's going to be $260 to spay Kuma & they keep her overnight. I didn't see that coming. Wrigley was about $60 for neutering & picked him up the same day. I assume spaying is much more complex then neutering huh? Any advice once Kuma is spayed? I'm a newbie when it comes to females.

[Lara's mom]

You are complaining about $260? Three years ago it cost me close to $500 to have Lara spayed by someone I consider to be the "cream of the crop" of vets. If the bill I'd received had been $260, I'd have treated myself to a bottle of champagne and celebrated!!!

[reeskujo]

Originally Posted by lange

Holy cwap!.. It's going to be $260 to spay Kuma & they keep her overnight. I didn't see that coming. Wrigley was about $60 for neutering & picked him up the same day. I assume spaying is much more complex then neutering huh? Any advice once Kuma is spayed? I'm a newbie when it comes to females.

Spaying is more complex then neutering so they have to keep them under anesthesia longer which is probably why they want to keep her over night....Seigi came home the same day but he was done at 9am and I couldn't bring him home until 5pm...He was still really loopy and unsteady even after that long...Also most vets charge by weight...I got him done at 47lbs bc 50lbs and over was going to cost me almost another $100...with his surgery and pain meds it cost me $210...

When she comes home you want to try and keep her from running and jumping which I didn't have much luck with and you want to watch and make sure she doesn't lick at her stitches if she does you may have to put an E-collar on her...Some vets will send them home with one..

[Yogi]

You also have to consider the pre med, ie: blood work etc. that often you can decline but I do not recommend it. It helps determine if the dog will have problems with the anesthesia.
As Ree noted also, the size of the dog has a lot to do with the overall costs.
Being that I am on SS, N.O.A.H. (animal rescue center) does mine whether spay or neuter for $55.00. In at 8:00am and out at 4:30 pm. Many vets though like my regular one, will keep the dog overnight. This was traditionally common though many vets are no longer doing this whether spay or neuter made no difference. They just want time for the dog to start the heeling process and monitor them.

[lange]

Thank you for the replies. I do feel better having them keep her overnight to watch her. Once she home I'm going to keep her & Wrigley away from eachother. She jumps and runs much more with him. She goes in tomorrow. I hope I can stop her from eating snow tonight & tomorrow when I take her out for her bathroom break. I have a feeling it's going to be hard. She's already quiet strong so we'll see how that goes.

Ok Lara, I won't complain about the cost anymore. I'll look at is as being 1/2 off!...yikes...$500. I know it's all expensive. I spend about $15o on antibiotics that didn't even work for her. Now this on the other hand SHOULD work

[The13thBlackCat]

I haven't heard of them keeping a dog over night for spaying, but that may be the reason the $$ is higher than expected (around here anywhere from $75.00 to $170 is normal). Boarding costs can add up quickly, even if it is just over night.

One question you may want to ask your vet (if you haven't already) is what they close the incision with. My husband did some work for a vet in exchange for getting both our dogs spayed. Both incisions were closed with staples and I am as on the fence before either of them were spayed as I am after. I still favor stitches (disolvable or not).

Grace, our 4 1/2 year old boarder collie/heeler mix had a tough time with the staples. One pulled out partially and got an infection (though it was very minor). She is perfectly fine now.

Jinx, our 14 week old red heeler still has her staples, and will have them until the 13th of december. They can be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. So far, they are holding well for her and she is by far more active then Grace even dreamed of being.

Keep in mind that if your dog is no longer a puppy, she may take a few days longer to bounce back. And if she is a puppy, I certainly hope for your sake that she's not like Jinx, who is more of a handfull now than before her operation.

One last thing. Just in case your vet doesn't ask this (ours did not), does your dog tend to chew on her boo boos? Both of mine do, so I requested Elizebethian collars for them. As ridiculous as they both looked (like little satilite dishes with tails), they have (and are currently) saving my husband and I (and the girls) from them licking themselves raw and who knows what else.

Let us know how is all goes

[lange]

Originally Posted by The13thBlackCat

I haven't heard of them keeping a dog over night for spaying, but that may be the reason the $$ is higher than expected (around here anywhere from $75.00 to $170 is normal). Boarding costs can add up quickly, even if it is just over night.

One question you may want to ask your vet (if you haven't already) is what they close the incision with. My husband did some work for a vet in exchange for getting both our dogs spayed. Both incisions were closed with staples and I am as on the fence before either of them were spayed as I am after. I still favor stitches (disolvable or not).

Grace, our 4 1/2 year old boarder collie/heeler mix had a tough time with the staples. One pulled out partially and got an infection (though it was very minor). She is perfectly fine now.

Jinx, our 14 week old red heeler still has her staples, and will have them until the 13th of december. They can be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. So far, they are holding well for her and she is by far more active then Grace even dreamed of being.

Keep in mind that if your dog is no longer a puppy, she may take a few days longer to bounce back. And if she is a puppy, I certainly hope for your sake that she's not like Jinx, who is more of a handfull now than before her operation.

One last thing. Just in case your vet doesn't ask this (ours did not), does your dog tend to chew on her boo boos? Both of mine do, so I requested Elizebethian collars for them. As ridiculous as they both looked (like little satilite dishes with tails), they have (and are currently) saving my husband and I (and the girls) from them licking themselves raw and who knows what else.

Let us know how is all goes

Thanks! I picked Kuma up yesterday. She seems to be doing well so far. They did used stitches, they'll remove those next Sat.

She hasn't been messing with the area Thankfully!! They said they would prescribe some sort of bitter ointment that is small & expensive if she were to lick the wound. I'd rather use the e-collar! I am keeping the dogs away from each other. Especially outside since there's ice & I'm worried about her running & sliding & hurting herself. Better safe than sorry... Good luck to Jinx. As active as he sounds, it's great that he's still healing well.