Getting a new puppy can be a great experience for anyone. While raising your new friend from little up can be an adventure like no other. It’s important to realize that a new puppy comes along with a lot of responsibility. One of the most costly parts of our owning a pet is taking it to the vet. Understanding what you will be paying during your initial visit to your veterinarian can help you to better prepare to ensure that you can cover the costs of having a pet.
Take Your Puppy To The Vet Within 10 Day
Regardless of whether you get your puppy from a shelter or from a licensed breeder, it’s always imperative that you take them to a vet within the first 10 days of getting them. This helps to uphold any legal recourse you have if there is an issue with a puppy. In addition, it’s good to have a veterinarian visit early on to ensure that your puppy gets the vaccinations it needs to be healthy and happy throughout its entire life.
What Happens During Their First Visit?
Your pup’s first veterinarian visit will be different than their normal annual exams. At the initial visit, your veterinarian will check over your entire dog and start to create a relationship that will last throughout their lifetime. It’s always a good idea to schedule your puppy’s first appointment weeks or months in advance. The best veterinarians out there will have a schedule that is full, so you want to get your pup on the list early.
Your veterinarian will do multiple things during your first puppy visit, which include:
- Examine their skin, coat, teeth, mouth, nose, ears, eyes, feet, and genitalia
- Takes their weight and temperature
- Palpate their lymph nodes and abdomen
- Listen to their lungs and heart
- Examine their feces for worms
- Take a history of your puppy
All of these things will help your new veterinarian get to know your pup better and check to ensure that they have no medical issues or diseases. During this initial visit, your veterinarian may also discuss future care options such as spaying, neutering, and microchipping. At this vet visit, you should be asking any questions that you have regarding the care or future care of your puppy.
What Will My Puppy Vet Visit Cost?
Now, since you understand what’s involved in your pet’s first visit with their veterinarian, it’s time to talk about the puppy vet visit cost. It’s important to know that prices vary widely depending on numerous factors like your geographical location and the experience of your vet. In most cases, dog owners can expect their puppy cost to be anywhere from $75 to $300 on their first vet visit. If your puppy needs vaccinations, you can expect to add more money to that total. It’s always a good idea to contact the veterinarian’s office ahead of time to figure out what the cost of the visit will be so that you’re prepared to pay the expenses.
It’s important to realize that there are many programs out there that can help you with your puppy cost and care. Pet insurance is always a great option to look into that will help you to avoid any major financial pitfalls during the raising of your puppy. Other programs include vaccine clinics and veterinary wellness programs. You should talk to your vet about any of these programs to see if you qualify to help reduce the cost of taking care of your dog.
While you may be a little surprised at how much it costs for your first puppy visit, you need to put it into perspective. You want to ensure that your puppy is healthy for life, and that starts with taking care of them when they are little. This is the perfect time to allow them to get vaccinations that prevent them from getting certain diseases and illnesses. During this initial visit, you also get some insight into how to properly care for your puppy to avoid future problems with their health.
Taking care of a new puppy comes along with a lot of responsibilities. From avid playtimes to getting an initial pet visit, there are a lot of things that you need to think about. In a financial sense, you should now be better prepared to deal with the cost of your puppy. It’s always a good idea to do some research ahead of time to determine what the cost of specific things are going to be regarding your puppy so that you can financially prepare yourself to handle it.