I got lucky for routine stuff. We have a mobile vet that does a vaccine clinic at the feed store where I work once a month. They’re very reasonable for vaccines, microchips, heartworm tests etc. They don’t charge an exam fee, so you only pay for the actual services, but they do do a brief general exam when you go for vaccines. The vet and all the techs are super nice–more personable than some in my local vet’s office. Several feed stores in our area host similar clinics and they’re a huge hit. I have a regular vet for non-routine stuff and can easily share records for the mobile vet via internet, so it’s super easy to keep everything up to date.
For routine stuff, if you have similar clinic close by, it’s a great option and saves a ton of money. I do a lot of my own vaccines (advantage of working in the feed store; I’m the one handling them, so I know they go immediately from cold packaging to the fridge!) but I recently had rabies vaccine & heart worm test / prevention for the dog and dewormer for both cats for under $100. At my regular vet, It’s at least $50 just to walk in the door.
As far as rabies, does your local Shelter/Humane Society do community rabies vax clinics? Haven’t looked into them in my area lately, but they’re generally very inexpensive (or sometimes free).
I wonder if it’s more of a CYA move on the part of the vets who follow the “kitchen sink protocol”.
There’ve been threads here on COTH linking stories of bad reviews driving vets to quit the profession and not infrequently suicide. Say Fluffy gets a more conservative or moderate course of treatment and dies/loses an eye or limb or a litter of pups - most owners want answers and they’re going to Dr. Google. Rightly or wrongly the owner gets it in their head that the vet SHOULD have administered thisthisandthat high priced medications all together right from the start and Fluffy would be just fine. They excoriate the vet on social media and in extreme cases harrass them in person or on the phone.
It’s a fine line and a conundrum. Of course I’m not discounting that some vets are going for the max out of the gate in order to keep the mortgage or rent on the facility up to date, plus the finance charges on the state-of-the-art anesthesia equipment. Never mind those student loans they’re stuck with for decades. I personally don’t think there’s a thing wrong with that but YMMV.
Yes, Heartworm meds (the ones she’s on, Heartguard) are about $100 from Chewy; I’m sure the vet charged more (would have to go back and look at the itemized bill), and I asked for a script for HW from the vet for Te’a - submitted it to Chewy and it’s $50 (but will have to do it again in 6 months because they only wrote it for 6 months’ worth, anticipating growth/weight change.)
Yeah, it was a “cursory” exam - at best! I got a call from them asking screening questions (I confirmed that she was still completely healthy and that nothing had changed from 3 weeks prior), and the vet called me back about 3 minutes later saying that she was “fine” - they had given her the shots and had done an “exam” on her.
I’m fine with a quick lookover, but $85?? I think this is SOP for them, even when you don’t request it - and they sure do charge a LOT for a minute or two of looking a dog over!
NOVA is insane with the cost of, well, EVERYTHING. 
It’s really depressing - and has gotten a LOT worse in the past 15 years or so, the area is almost completely saturated. My husband and I aren’t High Rollers and we have a very modest lifestyle; biggest expense is the horse. We never go anywhere, do anything, I don’t shop (for other than horse stuff), we are pretty DIY. I haven’t bought any clothes (he hasn’t either) in about 18 months - though I did treat myself to a new pair of breeches for my last birthday! We have older cars, a 29 year old Suburban as our tow vehicle, and we try not to spend on things other than the animals and food (and other necessities), but this makes us pretty unusual for this area. (I often feel like a fish out of water, but I was raised here; we moved from N.E. when I was 8 - my father was a physics professor at Brown but got offered a govt. job in the Defense Dept. that he couldn’t resist - they needed his skills. My parents were of modest means too - NO excessive spending, it was not their thing. They were from Milwaukee and had the Mid-west way of being, so between the bloated self-aggrandizing gasbags and the transience of the area, they never completely fit in.)
Got WAY off topic, LOL!
Thanks, @Equibrit - yes, that sounds perfectly reasonable and I can certainly cite it.
Hmmm, finding a less expensive place for the Rabies shot might be an option. It’s not that I mind paying for the shot, but they may insist on doing another DHPP and of course will charge me $85 again. As long as records are kept, I can always go back to Pender if I need them.
@Mara, that’s very interesting, and makes sense. UGH. I HATE people like this!, vets work very hard and care about the health of the animals, but they are not miracle workers and they don’t have crystal balls. Since I have talked to a lot of dog owners, I know (for a fact) that Pender is one of the highest-priced practices in the area - but there aren’t many that are NOT high priced! I started using them 18 years ago, largely because they had good reviews and were so close. Luckily for me I have had pretty healthy animals, but in an emergency - it’s good to know that they are MINUTES away; sometimes minutes count.
The reason I started this thread was to pick brains about vaccine protocols since theirs seemed excessive (check! 
), and find out whether others’ vets charged such a pricey exam fee for every dog, every time they were brought in for routine stuff.
I will have to post from my phone in order to attach pics; I just got back from teaching my Saturday classes (so am fried) and need to go exercise, do P/T, stretch, and go out the barn to ride and clean things and prepare my horse for a CT tomorrow - her first “jumping” competition in 6 months. I tore three tendons attaching my hamstring to my pelvis back in November (I didn’t fall, I heard a “pop” when in the air over a x-country cabin), and have been rehabbing and doing therapy and gradually strengthening it ever since with the eventual goal of getting back to jumping (have been back in the saddle since the beginning of March, but primarily doing dressage.)
Thanks to everyone for the input! 
I know exactly what you’re talking about when you refer to the gasbags, lol! When I lived there, you’d hear somebody brag about their position in government. I even had one drunk dude hit on me at a dance club by saying he worked for the government. I laughed so hard. EVERYONE works for the government, lol! The quietest people are usually the spooky ones that do the really interesting stuff they can’t tell you about. 
I have family that grew up in Arlington (my stepmother’s family, but we’re all really close). It was a different town when she grew up there. I love hearing her stories.
It’s a perfectly reasonable option to get vaccines at your farm store/feed store or rabies from local “events” organized by your extension service. Our local TSC uses Pet Vet; https://petvet.vippetcare.com/services-pricing/ (Pet wellness Centre in Manassas Store)
Not only do you save a lot but you also get to follow your chosen protocol.
I definitely understand your dilemma. It sounds like you’re conflicted between a high-cost practice that’s close by, and therefore is there for an emergency (and will know your dog well, and have all the dog’s records on hand), versus going to a lower-cost clinic farther away.
When my favorite vet left my local practice for one 45 minutes away, I considered following him. I stayed because my dog was elderly and I didn’t want her to have a long car ride, but I did feel as if I was being pressured to do more expensive interventions by the new vet, and as a layperson, it’s hard to feel comfortable challenging advice.
Of course, with vaccines, like others have said, you can mix and match with lower cost clinics and reference other literature. But it’s important to have a vet you feel is putting the health of your dog first, versus recommending expensive interventions that might not be the best idea. And it’s annoying to have to Google everything a vet says, to see if what they are saying is truly best practices. My dog has since passed away, but I sometimes regretted not driving the extra distance to the other practice.
Thank you! Yes - exactly
You have some very good points, definitely something to ponder! Thanks again for succinctly summing up the issue. (and sorry about the loss of your old friend 
)
Yes, I do miss her, she was a wonderful little dog! And vets are a tough choice, regardless of the dog’s age! Really good vets are worth their weight in gold–I think most of us (within reason) can stomach paying a fair vet bill when it’s necessary, it’s when that doubt about trusting the vet is niggling at the mind that it’s hard.
I use cheap vaccine clinics and go to a vet when I need them. I have all dogs vaccine histories on my phone.
I really appreciate all the input, thank you again so much! I scheduled Téa for a rabies shot on May 28, they are doing a shot clinic at the local CVS.
I’m trying to figure out how to post pictures, I did it before so surely I can do it again? Not sure what button to hit to access the photos on my phone - everything little icon I touch sends me different places, but not to my photos. 
They still charge a lot more for a 3 year rabies vacc; and it only differs from the one year in the packaging. I believe it depends on local legal requirements.
AAHA recommendations; https://www.aaha.org/aaha-guidelines/vaccination-canine-configuration/vaccination-recommendations-for-general-practice/
This is quite interesting;
Producer/Supplier charges more for 3 year than 1 year.
Regulations are based on the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians.
I am no help with the phone thing. I fight with mine all the time.
Not sure if this will help you with posting a photo or not but here are the instruction for how to post a photo here:
Once you know your dog is HW clear, you can buy the meds MUCH cheaper from pet vet suppliers in Canada! Incidentally, Ivermectin is not safe for herding breeds unless they are tested to be ok for it. I do my own vaccinations for my horses, dogs and cats.
perhaps additional instruction/practice or daughter help ???
I don’t see a dog ?
- says image can not be loaded ?
@Zu_Zu - I think there’s something wrong with the forum, everyone has been complaining that pictures aren’t loading, emoticons aren’t showing up, etc. – apparently it crashed last night and there are still some things that aren’t working right!
just razzing you Dr. ~ I, myself am
tech challenged, I don’t even try to post pics …
just hope your new puppy is GREAT and you’re still wearing that permanent SMILE
treats for your puppy
carrots for Ella
chocolate martini for you
LOL!
That was a laughing emoticon - I am fully expecting that it will not show up because of the recent issues on the BB! :-/
Yeah, I’m pretty “challenged”; my adult daughter often helps me (when she’s here), but she gets very impatient with me (BAD child!), but thanks to @trubandloki, I at least knew which icon to use to access photos! If they don’t eventually show up, I’ll try again later.
Thanks for the good wishes, as always! They get plenty of the above ^^, and I prefer Chardonnay but wouldn’t kick a chocolate martini out of bed. Hope you’re well!
