Neutering question

Purley · 11-04-2009, 03:18 PM

My son is going to get Cooper neutered at the beginning of December. He will be six months old then.

I was at the vets picking up dog food, so I asked what questions they would have at the time.

The actual surgery is $200 - we have a plan in Regina, where the city and the vets contribute to the cost as an assist against unneutered animals being in the city.

As well there are other OPTIONAL things:

Pre-anaesthetic blood work - $139.50
Pain relief - $15-$20 depending on the size of the dog.
Surgical IV for hydration during surgery - $55.50

My son can make the decision but he will ask me which he should go for.

Cooper spent over a week at the vet's when he was 2 months old and he had Parvo. So I would think that he pretty well had every type of blood work there was back then.

I would go for the pain relief.

Surgical IV for hydration - don't know about that.

Can someone advise me which we should go for. That blood work is pretty expensive and the hydration.

Thanks a lot.

MoosMom · 11-04-2009, 04:13 PM

I would agree the blood panel is quite pricey, I usually see it run around $50-$60. An IV during surgery is always a good thing, it's faster to get something into their system in case of an emergency. So I personally wouldn't skimp on that part. The only time I have chosen to do a blood panel on my pets is if one has never been done before. And this is my personal choice. I know plenty of vets that would shake their finger at me for opting out, but if you guys feel he is nice and healthy and your vet feels the same, it may be safe to go without it. But do the fluids for sure.

BooLette · 11-04-2009, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoosMom

I would agree the blood panel is quite pricey, I usually see it run around $50-$60. An IV during surgery is always a good thing, it's faster to get something into their system in case of an emergency. So I personally wouldn't skimp on that part. The only time I have chosen to do a blood panel on my pets is if one has never been done before. And this is my personal choice. I know plenty of vets that would shake their finger at me for opting out, but if you guys feel he is nice and healthy and your vet feels the same, it may be safe to go without it. But do the fluids for sure.

Ditto. The only thing that I want to add is that sometimes if you have a hyper dog it's better to not get pain management. Just because you don't want them up and running around the house too soon and ripping out their stitches or whatnot.

Purley · 11-04-2009, 09:56 PM

He is not so hyper at my son's. He is my son's dog and I just dogsit. He is a Goldendoodle. I have three shih-tzus. He jumps all over them - they hate it. That makes him hyper. My son doesn't have any other dogs!!!

If he bugs the stitches he will have to wear a lampshade!!!