I haven't, but they are the same brands. Our vet has similar prices so I don't worry about it. In the US you need a prescription from the vet (although I think an "ok" phone call will suffice), not sure if its different in Canada. If the price is lower, I would do it.
Although you have to realize that the more stuff you buy elsewhere, the higher prices your vet is going to charge for things you can't get elsewhere. They have overhead and need to make a living as well.
Yes I'm aware they need to make a living however I don't know if anyone know that here in Canada everything is "WAY" overpriced. What you pay for a bottle of aspirin, about $5.00, we pay over $13.00. We pay double for most items. Everyone was looking forward to having a Target but we don't get the Target prices. I've included a link to Marketplace where they did an investigation on prices in Canada. I'm looking at $450 just for 3 dogs on heart worm because they won't give it to us unless you come in and pay the examination fee.
I haven't purchased heart worm medicine on line, but I get Frontline Plus from Amazon. About $28 (with shipping ) for a 3 month supply. Last time I bought it from my local vet, it was $22 for one month. I'm aware that they have expenses and have no problem supporting local businesses, but that's some mark-up. If I can get comparable savings on heart worm med...I will get it on-line as well.
My sister in law and niece were commenting on how they get thier yorkies heart worm/flea and tick meds from 1-800 ped meds. All they need is a prescription from the vet. And how much cheaper it is. They were saying they use something that is all in one, anyone heard of something like this?
Nope, never buy that stuff online.
The guarantee that Heartgard has (if your dog does get Heartworm while on Heartgard they will pay 100% of treatment cost) is only valid when purchased from a vet.
Heartgard always has coupons available and I get tons of them from them so it wouldn't be that much cheaper for me....plus I like the peace of mind of having that guarantee.
Where do you get the coupons? Can you use them at your vet?
The only thing i get from my vet is a rebate of $12. However, I bought a box over 6 months ago and still have not received the rebate check from Heartguard... uggg.... Vet submitts the rebates and they are checking into it.
I wish Interceptor would come back. You submit your own rebate and always get the check.
You should still do a blood test on the dogs every year, maybe two even if you get the meds online. I have never gotten meds onlien but have gotten heartworm thru the rescue (as opposed to the vet). But fosters still get a full vet visit and blood test to confirm heartworm status.
Have you looked at other vets? A quick blood test done by a vet tech is generally all you need to get the meds.
I used to get something from the Vet that was a beef flavored cube, it covered Heart worms, round worms, hook worms, fleas, ticks.....not sure if that's all or not. This was like 15 years ago and cost around $135 a year, which included the heart worm test. I don't remember the name of it. Or of the vet. The vets here (I've moved since then) say they don't know what I'm talking about. So??
If you are already doing wellness checks they shoudl NOT need to go in for a full visit to get their heartworm. At most the vet should just ask for a blood test every 1-2 years before starting, which can be done by a vet tech (keeping cost down) and then give you heartowrm meds.
If they are requesting a full vet visit I would change vets or fight it. that's nuts. I think a tech visit is $30-40 for me, the blood test is a snap test so not expensive.
I've purchased heartworm meds online. BUT it required a faxed prescription from vet. The company called my vet. My vet does heartworm test every 2 years and wont authorize script if test hasnt been done.
It's very easy and inexpensive to treat proactively for heartworm. No reason not to do it. You can purchase Ivermectin here: J R Enterprises Heartworm Prevention for $25. It will treat your dog for years and is the exact same preventative that's in heartguard.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Just Labradors
1.9M posts
19.8K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to Labrador Retriever owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeding, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!