Speying of small dog

[EMcC]

I have a small female Jack Russel, five years old and am now thinking or have been advised, to get her speyed.
I have been told and have no experience of Jack Russels, that if she is not speyed or had pups, when she gets older she will become prone to cancer.
I have made enquiries with my local vetinary and quoted £478 for the procedure and ££££???? for medicine or treatment after.
That seems to me, a strange fee for such a procedure and not knowing what medication is needed after the procedure.
Can anybody advise me.

 

[Rhodesianjess]

Shop around bud, I paid £200 couple of years ago for one of my bitches. A beater friend was charged £1000 plus for his lab bitch, same local town but different vets surgery.
Shopping around would be my advice.

 

[Bowland blades]

Remember The VET has to hit profitability targets for those venture capitalist owners . I don't sterilise mine instead i manage them

 

[sauer]

2yrs old lab and I was 278 quid 2yrs ago
Cost based mainly on anesthetic and body vet told me weight so sounds expensive for a jack Russel

Paul

 

[moeggesit]

Not aware of any cancer risk but they are more prone to pyometra. £500 seems a bit steep but I would personally go to a reputable vet.

 

[Buchan]

The cancer risk is mammary tumours and that risk drops if the bitch is spayed before 2nd or 3rd season. After this, there is no appreciable change in risk. Uterine cancer is almost unheard of in dogs. There is an advantage in neutering as the glands swell with each season, so if they swell after spaying, one knows to get it checked in case it is a tumour. Most mammary tumours are benign, thankfully, but can get massive and be a pain to remove.
Pyometra is a real risk if they have never had pups and if they have ever had a false pregnancy, it occurs late in life, sick dog and more difficult op. So more expensive.
That fee is probably about ball park these days. We use better anaesthetic drugs, better monitoring and better suture material - and better pain relief than humans get!

 

[tonyshooter]

£500 ( ish ) at a small independent vets near S8 postcode, so I think your are not far off the mark with £478.

 

[Pelyma]

Remember The VET has to hit profitability targets for those venture capitalist owners . I don't sterilise mine instead i manage them

How do you do that then?

 

[royalewithcheese]

Ours was about £250 for our 10kg dog to be speyed, that included a little coat thing for her to wear so she couldn't lick the incision, and included the medication which was some stronger painkillers for the first 2 days, and then dog paracetamol for a few days after

 

[PMA]

We had out 7 year old working cocker spayed last October total bill was £400

 

[barbel]

our cocker was spayed, had a lovely coat, afterwards it looks washed out and gone wild, also gains weight easier, I now call her muttley brilliant bitch, but the coat not so,

 

[Pelyma]

We breed whippets and Labradors, once we have got to a stage of not having any more puppies from a bitch, usually one or two litters then we spey them. Having had bitches that have had a pyometra it is far safer. It is also understandably much more expensive to deal with.

We also castrate the boys once they have finished studying duties.

I’m the first to criticise the big corporates, but in this situation they are dammed if they do and dammed if they don’t. My wife is a VN and bred dogs for 45 years so we do have a bit of knowledge. The next question is what method should you use

 

[Bo Diddley]

A Border Terrier four weeks ago cost £300, which included a follow-up check and four days of painkillers.
It was traditional surgery, not keyhole, because she was under 10kg.

 

[VSS]

My sister (a vet & practice owner specialising in very small pets and exotics) charges £125 for doing a small mammal spay, according to the price list on her website, so I'm guessing at least twice that wouldn't be out of order for a bitch spay these days?

(Incidentally, I think it's a shame that more vets don't list their prices for routine procedures on their websites).

 

[pendle]

Animal trust have quoted me £300.00 for my bitch. She has had her season starting 20th April. Now watch to see if she has a phantom pregnancy again

 

[SikaSeeker]

Should be spaying her fairly young if it’s for those reasons. Fives a bit old for that.

 

[EMcC]

Should be spaying her fairly young if it’s for those reasons. Fives a bit old for that.

Thanks for that info, the trouble is I can't back peddle her

 

[SikaSeeker]

Thanks for that info, the trouble is I can't back peddle her

If only we could hey!

 

[Buchan]

Should be spaying her fairly young if it’s for those reasons. Fives a bit old for that.

For clarity, five isn't old for spay. I've done them into double figures to avoid a pyometra

 

[wildfowler.250]

I have a small female Jack Russel, five years old and am now thinking or have been advised, to get her speyed.
I have been told and have no experience of Jack Russels, that if she is not speyed or had pups, when she gets older she will become prone to cancer.
I have made enquiries with my local vetinary and quoted £478 for the procedure and ££££???? for medicine or treatment after.
That seems to me, a strange fee for such a procedure and not knowing what medication is needed after the procedure.
Can anybody advise me.

Seems about average cost wise. It always amazes me that people advise shopping around on cost but never recommend also seeing what the facilities are also like in these other clinics.

Yes you may get a cheaper bill. But are the facilities, monitoring equipment, number of nurses/staff to look after your pet equal/similar? Maybe most folk aren’t bothered about this but something to consider.

I could be wrong but I suspect most practices would also likely expect you to register with them longer term if they’re doing a spay/neuter on your pet.