Introduction

Your beloved pet has been feeling lethargic lately, so you decide to take him to the vet. But when you get there and hand over your credit card at the counter, you find out that your dog needs blood work, an x-ray, and a physical therapy appointment before he can even be seen by the doctor. Suddenly it’s not just costing money for a checkup anymore—you’re spending like it’s Christmas! While this scenario is certainly not ideal for anyone involved (including your dog), this doesn’t have to be the case every time you visit our office. In fact there are many ways that both owners and veterinarians alike can save money when taking care of pets! So let’s get into them!

Do not go to the vet for a routine checkup.

• Do not go to the vet for a routine checkup. If your pet needs a checkup and vaccination, it is better to visit their regular vet. The vet will look at the pet and give them an examination. This can be done by a general practitioner or specialist, depending on the type of animal.
• The only reason why you should go to another practice is if they offer services that are not available at your usual veterinary clinic (i.e., surgery). Otherwise, there’s no need to spend extra money just because it’s “routine.”

Do not get lab work done if there is not a clinical reason for it.

If you’re considering getting your pet’s lab work done, ask yourself: “Does my pet need this?” If the answer is no, then don’t do it. You’ll spend a lot of money and waste precious time that could be spent doing something more fun with your dog. Asking yourself this question helps you avoid extraneous testing—which is exactly what you want to do when dealing with a vet bill.

Here are two examples of how to decide whether or not your pet needs lab work:

• Your vet says he wants to run some blood tests for an unrelated ear infection because his ears look a little red and swollen. That’s fine! It’s definitely reasonable for him to want to check out the health of your dog’s ears before prescribing medicine for them—provided there isn’t already another reason why his ears look inflamed (like allergies). But if there isn’t any redness or swelling near the ear canal or any other symptoms that would lead you or anyone else who knows your dog well enough (like its trainer) think “oh yeah this looks like an infection,” then don’t get those blood tests done! In fact, just say no! The worst thing that could happen here is wasting money on unnecessary tests while missing out on spending quality time with Fido instead.

Do not bring a healthy pet for boarding.

You should not board your pet.

If you think that your pet will be happier in a kennel, then you need to rethink your priorities. Pets are not dogs and cats are not children. A healthy animal can be left at home in a safe place. If he is lonely because his human is gone, then he will get used to being alone after a couple of days or so and should be just fine when left alone for longer periods of time during the day or overnight if necessary (if this seems like too long for an indoor/outdoor cat, consider getting one of those automatic feeding systems).

In addition to saving money on boarding fees and vet bills by boarding your pet yourself instead of dropping him off somewhere else with strangers who may care less about him than you do, there are many other ways that taking care of these things yourself can save even more money:

Do not go to a veterinary specialist if there is no need for specialty care.

Many pet owners are under the impression that visiting a veterinary specialist is always the best option. In truth, specialists can be very expensive and sometimes unnecessary. For example, if your dog has an ear infection, it may be more cost-effective to treat him at home than it would be to pay for specialized treatment at the vet’s office.

Specialists also don’t always have the latest technology or cutting-edge treatments available on their premises; they might refer you elsewhere if they don’t feel comfortable treating your pet or are out of their depth in solving a particular problem. If this happens, you could end up paying twice as much money for a problem that could have been solved with less specialized help—or even by doing some research online yourself!

Get all vaccines only if necessary.

• [Get all vaccines only if necessary](https://www.petmd.com/dog/vaccinations-for-dogs#)
• You might not need to get your pet vaccinated every year, and even then there are some vaccines that can be skipped entirely. For example, if you live in an area where rabies is not a threat (such as most of the United States), it’s best not to give your pet any vaccine at all. If you do live in an area where rabies is prevalent, it’s still important that your pet receive its first round of vaccinations before it ever comes into contact with any type of animal or human; however, after this initial round, getting vaccinated once every three years should suffice for most dogs who aren’t regularly exposed to wild animals (and even then many vets will recommend yearly shots).

Bring your dog in immediately if he seems ill or is in pain or distress, but use common sense.

You know the old saying “better safe than sorry” right? Well, it’s true. You should bring your dog in for an exam if he seems ill or is in pain or distress. But you also don’t need to be an alarmist either! If there is something wrong with your pet and you have any questions at all about whether they need to see a vet immediately (and I hope this isn’t something that happens often) then ask first! The doctor would rather spend one more minute chatting with you than having to call after hours because of a false alarm brought on by some over-reacting owner who doesn’t know when enough is enough.

When you are at the office, follow the veterinarian’s advice, even if you don’t agree with everything she says (which you probably won’t) but be willing to talk to her about anything you don’t understand and be respectful of her time because being able to have your questions answered by phone can save both time and money!

You may not agree with everything the vet says, but don’t let that bother you. Be respectful of the veterinarian’s time and follow her instructions as best as you can. If there are parts of your animal’s care plan that seem confusing or if there are things about which you don’t understand, ask questions when being examined by the veterinarian before leaving so that you will feel confident in his care plan and understand everything he has told you.

You can save both time and money by calling the veterinarian before leaving so that he can answer any questions or concerns about your animal’s condition directly over the phone rather than having to go into an office visit just for those questions-and again later on when he writes up medications or other prescriptions based on what was discussed during those phone calls.

If you are concerned about something specific on your bill after an appointment then ask us before leaving so that we can explain any charges that may be confusing since they may appear ambiguous without context; be sure not forget any details such as medications prescribed during this process either!

If you are concerned about something specific on your bill after an appointment then ask us before leaving so that we can explain any charges that may be confusing since they may appear ambiguous without context; be sure not forget any details such as medications prescribed during this process either!

This is especially important if you are planning to file for reimbursement from your insurance company. If the billing department does not have a clear understanding of what took place during your visit, it could lead to delays in processing or even denial of some services.

Visiting a vet can be expensive, but there are ways to save money when it comes time for your pet’s checkup!

• Do not go to the vet for a routine checkup.
• Do not get lab work done if there is not a clinical reason for it (this goes without saying).
• Do not bring your cat in for boarding while you’re on vacation—he’ll be fine at home!
• If your pet has an ear infection and needs antibiotics, don’t go see a veterinary ophthalmologist; see his regular veterinarian instead!
• If your dog is vomiting or having diarrhea (and needs antibiotics), then take him to the vet immediately rather than waiting several days hoping that he’ll get better on his own – this will only cost more money later when treatment becomes necessary due to dehydration or complications from bacterial overgrowth in their stomachs (which can happen quickly).

Conclusion

We hope these tips will help you save money on vet visits in the future.