Why do vets charge a fortune for a dog to have a Cesarean & for farm animals it's cheaper ie: sheep?

Question

I watched Country File a few years ago, on it, a farmer called out his agricultural vet to perform a cesarean section on one of his ewes, the vet charged him £45 which included the cost of the operation, medication and the vet, visiting the farmer rather than the other way round. One of our bitches needed a cesarean, we took her to the vet, who charged us £280 for the op. The dog in question was a Jack Russell, Friends have told me the bigger the dog, the larger the fee, someone who I met at a dog show said it cost £800 for her Dane to have a c/section. what I want to know is, what is the difference between a dog and a ewe? do vets really up the price due to you being emotionally attached to your dog? and how can they justify the massive cost for a dog compared to the minimal fee for a farm animal?

Chalice, I can understand to a degree, but our ***** died two days later from dehydration, we picked her and the pups up from the vet a few hours later, she obviously had to be carried but when she never recovered we rushed her back to the surgery where they tried to get her on a drip, we were informed that her veins had collapsed and they could not get a drip into her, she died at the vets and we were left to hand feed her pups. she was a healthy little dog who had whelped before, no problems. PS:we never sold any of her pups, they all went to good homes (all people we knew) we were given no explanation why she was dehydrated and we still had to pay the fee, so I am not convinced that all vets go out of their way to do the best for your dog

Answer 1

You cannot compare the two.

For starters, the cost of drugs for companion animals is vastly more than for farm animals. Dogs and cats get excellent anaesthetic treatment, almost on a par with human care in some places, whereas with farm animals it's not so far off knock em' out, slit 'em open, wake 'em up! The anaesthetic drug alone is completely different, you can't use what we use on sheep for dogs and cats.

Vets do not 'up the price for emotional attachment'. Of course the bigger the dog the more expensive it is - the larger the dog, the more complex the surgery. A caesarean on a Dane is a nightmare - they're not great under anaesthetic to begin with.

So that's how they justify it basically - surgery on companion animals costs vets far more, so they charge far more for it. Farm animals don't even get the 'luxury' of an anaesthetist for instance, the vet does it all himself - the cost of a caesearean on a dog is also paying for the use of a nurse to monitor the anaesthetic - i.e someone like me!! You're also paying for the cost of an operating theatre and sterile procedures.

As an illustration, you also pay a lot more for dog and cat castrations than for farm animal castrations - did you know that pigs get an antibiotic spray on their testicles and then they're just lopped off while the animal is concious? Funnily enough surgery is a bit more complex than that for dogs and cats!

And all this contributes to the vastly increased odds of your dog actually surviving the surgery!!

Chalice

EDIT: Rottielover, I'm sorry for what happened to your dog but I can assure you if she had been a sheep and you had rushed her back to a vet, they wouldn't even have bothered trying. Farm animals don't get drips, they don't even get anaesthetics - they have a local anaesthetic injection for a caesarean, and that's it. They therefore have to be tied down for the procedure. This is done in a field, not an ops room. If something goes wrong with the procedure, the animal is shot and that's that.

Ask your vet for a full explanation of what happened to your dog. I do not think she was dehydrated - drips are often used to replace blood volume, from internal bleeding which is a risk of caesareans. I would think your dog had bled internally and this is what had caused hr veins to collapse - lack of circulating blood volume. I'm afraid this is a risk you take with caesareans in dogs, they are VERY tricky. Just because she had whelped OK before does not place any guarantee that should be fine the second time.

Answer 2

Well - for one, it's a lot easier to work on larger animals than smaller ones. There are generally more risks and complications with anesthesia the smaller the animal is. Plus - I know with the two colts I had that I sold earlier this year it was reasonably the same cost for me to have them gelded as it would be to have a dog neutered, but I think that was because the vet charges a "mileage" fee to compensate for gas prices. Either way, with a farm animal usually the vet can just come out, take out some utensils and chop away, versus having to worry about an operating table/room usage etc. I'm not sure if this is the proper explanation or not, but I'd venture to guess it had something to do with it. Why not try asking your vet what the reasoning is behind the staggering price difference? They're usually game to explain things to you.. at least mine is :)

Answer 3

I worked for an animal health center that promoted and sold Royal Canin company. It is not a crappy manufacturer either. Quite a lot of the diets they make are prescription, which is useful to the dog or cat with a certain scientific situation. The vet I worked with fed her animals this company. So far as the vet getting paid by means of Royal Canin to promote their meals, that didn't occur. She bought the meals seeing that she believed it used to be a excellent manufacturer. ADD: the place oh the place do some people get the idea that veterinarians should not knowledgeable in diet? I consider you suppose should you read an article written by means of any person, then it need to be actual.

Answer 4

In general, small animal practitioners have higher costs - they have a clinic or hospital that they lease, rent or have a mortgage on, more expensive equipment and a staff to pay. Large animal vets have no clinic, often work alone and come to you. So their overhead is often lower. Also, liability insurance is often higher because people are more inclined to sue over precious pets than livestock (unless you are an equine vet treating expensive horses).

Answer 5

With farm animals, you can eat the mistakes.

Backyard breeders and puppymillers make thousands on pups. Some millers just do C-sections without anesthetic on the females. Decent breeders know that C-sections are part of the cost when they breed.

Answer 6

I labored for an animal well-being middle that promoted and offered Royal Canin variety. it is not a crappy variety the two. an excellent variety of the diets they make are prescription, this is useful to the canine or cat with a undeniable scientific condition. The vet I labored with fed her animals this variety. as some distance because of the fact the vet getting paid with the help of Royal Canin to sell their foodstuff, that did not ensue. She offered the foodstuff because of the fact she believed it became a stable variety. upload: the place oh the place perform a little human beings get the concept that veterinarians are actually not knowledgeable in foodstuff? i think you think of in case you study an editorial written with the help of everyone, then it would desire to be authentic.

Answer 7

I have been employed by both @different times. The reason being Lrg. animal vets do not have the same overhead costs that sm. animal vets do.No clinic or surgery room. Plus normally large animals do not need the same anisthesia as small animals & it is very expensive.

Answer 8

maybe cuz theres way too many ppl making a profit off breeding their dogs and a sheep is just an animal used for food and wool