Pet Deworming Question

[vom Dufenshmirtz]

dogs eat all sort of things, so I believe periodic worming is needed, fecal exam can miss things, so it's not needed.
I usually use goat's Safeguard, I posted the dosage before.

[Sharon]

Very true, but fortunately I've never had any worms in my dogs. At their yearly checkup, ( which I get for no good reason imo), I take in a fecal sample but never any worms. Probably a waste of $$ imo .
I'm old school, so normally we would wait till we saw a worm in the feces then get the meds. Yearly checkup was not done . This is not to say that my dogs don't get all needed care from the vet as soon as it is needed.

[MikePal]

We switched to a US vet purely due to inflated costs here on things that should not be different...Neutering a dog..basic procedure..Quote here was $600 the Vet down there all in was $300. Why ??

Spring 'Health Check" ..with shots and Heart worm prevention etc....$400 here $175 there. Why...

There is a reason on any given day more than 50% of the vehicles in the parking lot there are from Ontario...

Now this, simple deworming..NOT available over the counter here...still available from any pet supply store there. Why ?

[MikePal]

I usually use goat's Safeguard, I posted the dosage before.

I had forgot about that, we used to use what was left after we dewormed the Horses and sheep...a little tab for each of the dogs. Kept the parasites at bay all those years before they had prevention drugs...and we could afford them.

I may have to go back to doing just that if need be.

[smitty55]

We switched to a US vet purely due to inflated costs here on things that should not be different...Neutering a dog..basic procedure..Quote here was $600 the Vet down there all in was $300. Why ?? Spring 'Health Check" ..with shots and Heart worm prevention etc....$400 here $175 there. Why... There is a reason on any given day more than 50% of the vehicles in the parking lot there are from Ontario... Now this, simple deworming..NOT available over the counter here...still available from any pet supply store there. Why ?

Pretty simple Mike. Because they have a monopoly and control the system. Bottom line is that we get ripped off here in Canada. Cheers

[be2man]

Unlike your Doctor, if you don't like your Vet or think they charge too much you can vote with your feet and go somewhere else. Price becomes an issue in the absence of perceived value.
With Government guaranteed Health Care in Canada people really don't know what their own health care costs. The downside is long wait times for diagnostics and surgery for people and seemingly declining conditions in hospitals and Emerg rooms. By contrast you can get your dog an MRI and surgery within a day or 2 if needed.
This level of service exists because there are people who are willing to pay for it.

[yellow dog]

Unlike your Doctor, if you don't like your Vet or think they charge too much you can vote with your feet and go somewhere else. Price becomes an issue in the absence of perceived value.
With Government guaranteed Health Care in Canada people really don't know what their own health care costs. The downside is long wait times for diagnostics and surgery for people and seemingly declining conditions in hospitals and Emerg rooms. By contrast you can get your dog an MRI and surgery within a day or 2 if needed.
This level of service exists because there are people who are willing to pay for it.

Yes that was the attitude I received from many vet clinics when I was living in the Ottawa region for many years. So I did just that i went to the U.S for much better care/technology for my working dogs as well as a huge savings.

Many of the vet clinics in the Ottawa area agreed on set prices so shopping around made it very difficult/impossible to find a fair priced vet . Eventually I brought at least a dozen pet owners and large kennel owner/breeders with me to the U.S. The U.S vet clinic experienced a huge amount of new Canadian customers and were very appreciative. I even received big discounts on already fair priced meds and services provided to my kennel.

[yellow dog]

Same in the U.S

[be2man]

Yes that was the attitude I received from many vet clinics when I was living in the Ottawa region for many years. So I did just that i went to the U.S for much better care/technology for my working dogs as well as a huge savings.

Many of the vet clinics in the Ottawa area agreed on set prices so shopping around made it very difficult/impossible to find a fair priced vet . Eventually I brought at least a dozen pet owners and large kennel owner/breeders with me to the U.S. The U.S vet clinic experienced a huge amount of new Canadian customers and were very appreciative. I even received big discounts on already fair priced meds and services provided to my kennel.

I guess things vary depending on where you are in the Province or Country. I find our area which varies from urban to rural to have a wide range of prices and services from discount and low cost to the highest prices tending to be at the Vets the richest neighbourhoods. The fact that 60% of people in Ottawa work for the Government in some form or another and have guaranteed good jobs and salaries and benefits and pensions may affect what the Vets think they can charge.

[Noseyarentcha]

We switched to a US vet purely due to inflated costs here on things that should not be different...Neutering a dog..basic procedure..Quote here was $600 the Vet down there all in was $300. Why ??

Spring 'Health Check" ..with shots and Heart worm prevention etc....$400 here $175 there. Why...

There is a reason on any given day more than 50% of the vehicles in the parking lot there are from Ontario...

Now this, simple deworming..NOT available over the counter here...still available from any pet supply store there. Why ?

I think it is the pharmaceutical companies or government safety nets making it difficult for the average Joe to just walk in to TSC and get such and such. As far as a spay/neuter/vaccines being less expensive in USA....isn't most everything cheaper there than here? I do believe that the majority of the cost for spay/neuter is the anaesthetic. The bigger the dog, the more anaesthetic required. I have no idea what the vets make on anaesthetic.
As an aside on dewormer...I use diatomaceous earth in my dogs outside kennel and in my henhouse. Diatomaceous Earth (not the Human Grade white stuff, its brown stuff that I get) kills anything with an exoskeleton....fleas, ticks, lice, ants, flies.... All creepy crawly gross things. Have never had lice or scaley leg mites on my birds who free range all spring, summer and fall. Its cheap too...a 50lb bag costs around $20
I shake some all over my dog if she has been in the hay to help keep ticks off her....and I dip my hunt clothes in it, give 'em a good shake and wear 'em hunting. Never had a tick on me. Fingers crossed.