Regular Vet Vs Banfield

[Guest cruzNhounds]

I never used Banfield but a few of my co-workers have, they seem to like them OK. Our peeps are established at two places, one being a 24 hr EM care. Prices vary between the both and they have never charged us for nail trimming. If you would to ask me to choose just one that would be hard, the girls LOVE Dr Baker and I love Dr Rick.

[Guest kydie]

O.K. I live in the middle of nowhere, is Banfield like a doc-in-a-box outfit?

and $31.00 for a nail trim, my vet does it for free,(don't let him see this post) and if he did charge that ,,,,I'd tell him to stick it up his a@@

a groomer will do it as a walk in (here) for $5.00

[Guest Swifthounds]

There are pros and cons to Banfield but for $360 a year each dog gets all their shots, unlimited office visits, a dental(not including extractions), an X-ray, a urine test, a full blood panel, and 20% off their products.

 

This is how they lure in new puppy owners and less experienced dog owners. If you convince the dog owner that they need to overvaccinate with "annual shots", it starts to look like a good deal. The vaccines themselves run only $2-3 each, the bloodwork and U/A $30-40, the x-ray very little since they're corporate and bought their expensive x-ray machines in bulk, so the only place where their costs might approach that amount is the dental. If you want to save money on a dental, the easiest way is to skimp on the anesthesia.

[Guest Swifthounds]

I agree that a dental without anesthesia isn't safe or effective.

[Guest MZH]

Rita needed to go to the local Banfield b/c she came down with an earache on Christmas Eve night and when our regular vet was closed for 3 or 4 days afterwards. Banfield was open the day after Christmas and did a fine job with her. Friends have their "plans" and are very happy with their vet who saved one dog from a horrendous illness. (He actually knows greyhounds too.) So, it just depends who's the vet at a particular Banfield.

[Guest MZH]

In my opinion a dental without anesthesia is a complete waste of money. You physically can not get into all the nooks and crannies of the mouth so you end up missing tons of stuff and you can't polish properly. Considering that I have at least 5 different doctors I see a year and there's nothing really wrong with me it seems perfectly logical that my dog needs a dentist too.

 

Agreed -- and dentals w/o anesthesia are dangerous too. I can imagine bacteria spreading in unsavory ways. Better to use PetzLife dental cleaning, materials or any similar thing on a regular basis instaed. To stay on topic, my friends take their hounds to Banfield for everything, including dentals, and they are very pleased with the place.