[Britishmum]

I've always paid for my Heartgard meds from the vet. However, I'm now on a much tighter budget, and looked online to see what the prices are. I'm paying almost $50 a year over the odds for just the one dog.

I like my vet, and I feel bad about taking business from her, but $50 is a lot of money. I know I can ask her for a test then a prescription instead, but my question is this: are vets usually OK with this? Is it considered bad form to ask them to do this? Do they then charge $50 to write a prescription?

I just want to know how to best handle this before I talk to her about it.

 

[mom0810]

I've never done it for the exact reason you cited. I just felt like it would be bad form. I think probably now though, with the economy the way it is... that there might be a more accepting attitude toward this. If you can get them cheaper online, even with the shipping, then I would ask for the script. But I am wondering how much the shipping would be, and if it would even be worth the couple of dollars difference to offend my vet. (she is a longtime friend and fellow breeder and I guess to me it's not worth it.) But that is just me.

 

[skylarsmama]

I got mine online because it was a lot cheaper.
If you like your vet, explain that you're on a budget and ask if they price match online prices. I know a lot of places around here will price match.

 

[AndVeeGeeMakes3]

Our dog had heartworms, despite having been on Heartgard for a while. Problem is, we skipped a dose somewhere along the line (we knew this because we tracked back our receipts). Still, because we had been keeping up with a prescription for her, the company (Heartgard) paid for part of her treatment - which was a fairly large chunk of change.

They said, however, that if we had purchased the medicine online they would not have covered it because there is no way that they can certify its efficacy when not administered (provided) by a licensed vet. SO, we have kept buying it from the vet, even though it's more expensive. It's A LOT less expensive than heartworm treatment would cost.

HTH

 

[mpchez]

 

[Britishmum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpchez Thats what our vet told us also - that Heartguard would pay for the treatment - as long as it was purchased thru the vet .....

Ah, that's interesting. My vet charges $100, when online you can buy it for just over $50. Maybe I'll get the courage to ask if they will come closer to the online price.... I feel horrible, as I know it is their living, but it's a $50 difference, which is a big deal to me right now....

 

[transformed]

I am new to having a dog - but my mom told me you HAVE to have a Rx to get them, even online....is that true?

is it $50 a year or a month?

 

[Britishmum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by transformed I am new to having a dog - but my mom told me you HAVE to have a Rx to get them, even online....is that true? is it $50 a year or a month?

Yes you need the prescription. But you can get a vet to do the test and write the prescription, then fax it to an online company to buy the heartgard. But of course, then the vet makes far less $$s from your visit, as they mark the heartgard price up significantly.

For my size dog you can get 12 months online for about $55. At the vet, you pay their price. I called around today and some charge as little as $80, but some as much as $105, for the exact same thing.

I like my vet, but I can't afford right now to pay $50 over the odds for something unnecessarily. I feel bad, but I'm guessing a lot more people are going to be asking similar questions these days before just booking their dog in for annual exams.

 

[mpchez]

http://www.luvmypet.com/prices.html

 

[monkeymimi]

It's funny, I came online for the first time in months looking for this exact topic, and here it is, except I'm on the other side of it. I did order some medication for my dog online a couple of months ago, and my vet was and still is furious with me. I really didn't think through the impact on him, all I was thinking about was that we have recently paid him thousands of dollars to take care of our dog (she is very old and had to have some surgeries) and we are not making ends meet as it is, and to order the meds online saved me at least $45. However, he was very angry and confronted me about it. I apologized profusely and said please, nevermind, I'll be happy to buy them from you, I didn't realize, I'm so sorry, etc. But he refused to accept my apology and was very emotional. It sucked. I called this morning for a refill on another maintenance med she needs, and he was very curt and said he would call it in to another vet and I could get it from them

She's near the end, on palliative care, and now this. I guess I have to find another vet. The $45 dollars DID mean a lot to our family, by the way, and I think he is totally unreasonable. But if I had known I would be finding a new vet at this stage, I might have just not done it somehow. I do think he is being a jerk, FWIW, and I had previously referred many many people to him which I won't do any more, so it was a bad decision on his part but I guess he feels strongly about it - so that's my experience.

 

[lucyem]

This is a big problem in the horse world as well. My vet is fantastic and will offer a prescription if needed. For example my horse needed $1000 in drugs and the vet was $1500+. She said I could get it for less online and handed me the prescription.

That being said there are many vets who are not so agreeable about it. But remember they have a huge overhead and often the price they buy Heartguard for is more then you can get it for online. Like when I had a tack shop and had to provide dewormers for horses. My source for it was the same online discount places the average horse owner could buy at. Of course I had to charge more to recoup just my expense of shipping it.

It is worth asking your vet nicely and explain the financial position you are in. But don't expect all vets to be agreeable. Monkeymimi's vet is a good example of how some vets react. I have heard it many times.

 

[monkeymimi]

I wish I had known.

That being said, he is a housecall vet and he has seen how we are living, and knows that the decision to do costly surgery on our elderly dog was a very difficult one mainly for financial reasons. We did decide to do it, and he did a great job and she recovered very well. This is what makes me wonder, why he got so incredibly bent out of shape over a relatively small amount of money, considering we were HAVING to consider if we might have to put the dog down rather than do surgery, because of money.

It is a hurtful situation, I wish I could have avoided it, and I am amazed he is still SO angry...I can't apologize any more, and I'm sorry, but times are hard!!