Spaying/neutering options

I have a sister-in-law who always finds the absolutely most expensive way to accomplish any task. She recently got a Yorkie and when it came time to getting it neutered she took it to an upscale pet spa and spent $600, just for the neutering. Is that customary? Surely not. I also have a new puppy. She comes from am exceptional pedigree so I'm gonna hold off spaying her cuz I may show her if she develops into something special, but if she instead matures into a pet-quality dog only, where can I take her to have her spayed for a more reasonable fee (it's been so long since I owned a dog, I don't know nothin bout nothin anymore).

Well we don't know what area you are in to recommend a place.

The Vet you take your puppy to should be able to give you an idea on price. I just had my doberman neutered last week at my regular Vet and it was 217.00 total with tax and all, LOL

A female WILL cost more to be spayed because there is more involved verses what they do to a male.

Depending on your area you should expect to pay somewhere between 300.00-400.00 for a female. It could be a little more or little less, but I think that is the average around here.

In our area we have a low cost, high quality spay/neuter srevice that costs $65 for a big dog. $600--ACK

WOW! 65.00 for a big dog? That is pricing from my childhood!

Around here we have the Neuter Scooter which travels to certain towns at certain times, but it's for Cats only. I don't believe we have anything like that here for dogs..........least not that I have heard of.

Call around to some of the vets in your area and ask for their prices. When I moved, that's what I did.

I just got my dog spayed yesterday and also fixed a hernia for $295. That included her meds and everything.

Where does your sister live?

Many big cities have very expensive vet care... where I live it is very expensive to get anything done.

For example... my dog had luxating patella surgery last year and it was over 1200 dollars (one knee) in NY... I was talking to my cousin who owns a vet hospital in NC and he said he charges 600 there.

We have a low cost clinic here too . I think it's $65 too . I'd pay the extra to have my vets do it though .

we paid 209 to have Daisy spayed.

I paid $80 for Voodoo's neuter, after a coupon for 15% off. Vet care here isn't usually too expensive.

Ilsa was done six years ago, and hers cost... 193.21, drugs included.
Here was her breakdown (keep in mind this was back in 2002)
14 Cephalexin 500mg - $14.13
Laser setup/use - $45.00
3 Rimadyl 100mg - $5.50
Anesthesia - $35.00
O.R. Setup/supplies - $21.00
Heart monitor - $8.40
Canine Hysterectomy - $63.00


Ronin's Neuter two weeks ago ended up being $145. Pretty scary that a spay 6 years ago and a Neuter two weeks ago are only $50 difference... yikes. And the vet that spayed Ilsa was pricey, the vet that neutered Ronin is cheap. Doubly yikes.

Middie's was over $200... and the basic price was about $150. I told my mom exactly what I wanted done, and they hit her up with things to do to him while he was under when she dropped him off, even though I had talked it through with her AND a vet previously... she pretty much paid for everything they COULD have possibly done, except maybe, a teeth cleaning or removing the **** scrotum. *sigh*

The bottom line is that "fancy" vets and spa-type places are going to charge you a lot more. Not because they are any better than the vet down the street, but because they can knowing you will pay it.

I have never in my life heard of a $600 spay bill. IMO it's downright absurd. But people, including vets, work to make a profit and if they know they will get the prices they set, then set them high they will.

We charge $60 for a dog neuter and spay prices vary depending on the weight of the dog. But the most a spay will cost is $200. And the bloodwork, which is optional, is an additional $45. I do realize that we are able to offer these prices because we are such a large clinic (8 vets, 20 techs, 2 assistants, 3 office managers) and see such a high volume of clients, but the fact remains that it doesn't cost a vet very much money to spay/neuter your dog. The main difference in price is what each vet charges you for his/her labor.

I paid $250 to neuter Goober (cat)

My friend Tanya paid aprox $600 to neuter her Boxer and I think it was from her local vet clinic.

Northern Virginia is ridiculously expensive though. I'm sure there are lots of places that do it for a lot less if you really look. There are low cost spay/neuter places out here. The only reason why I didn't go that route with Goober was because every low cost place I called out here said they pretty much only work with feral cats.

Where do you live?

where did you get Middie's done? I swear for these kinds of procedures I'm going to have to travel out of my area. I take them to Caring Hands Vet in Centreville.

A lot depends on where you live, and yes, to some extent, you do get what you pay for. Personally, I want a relationship with the people putting my dog under anesthesia and performing surgery on them, so I would just use my regular vet, provided that I'm happy with them. If I'm not happy with them, I'd change vets.

I want thorough monitoring on my pets. I want an IV catheter at the very least for quick veinous access if it's needed. It probably won't be, but if yours is the one dog who has problems with anesthesia, it's gonna suck. I want that the surgery pack used is going to have been sterilized in an autoclave specifically for my dog. I don't want one-size-fits-all anesthesia drugs. I want my dog to be treated as an individual. It matters to me, and I'm willing to pay for it.

$600 is astronomical for this area, but I don't know where you are.

I've heard of Caring Hands, it's where my Uncle goes. Are they inexpensive..?

I paid 50 bucks to have Walker done and we paid 100 for Patches

They're about average. They def charge a little less than the vet I was going to prior to. They charged $250 for Goober's neuter plus the cost of meds.

You can usually check with your local Humane Society. They're generally pretty cheap and do a pretty fair job of it. At the very least, they can also tell you which vets they would recommend for the job.