Puppy teeth Question: Vet says to pull at $50 a pop

[JamesMom]

Hello, Dissers.

We got a new chihauhau puppy (19-23 weeks) longhair 6 weeks ago from a guy giving away the litter from his truck parked on the side of the road.
The kids LOVE him. I had his third round of shots today and the next month he will be nuetered. The vet said he still had 3 baby teeth and if they didn't fall out on their own they would need to be pulled. We can wait and see, but if they are still there, it would be easiest to do it when the dog was knocked out during nueter surgery. The cost is $50 each remaining tooth (potentially x 3). The vet said this was common for small breeds.

Anybody hear of this? Is the vet right? Is there any harm in leaving the teeth be? I got a month to decide Praying the Puppy Tooth Fairy visits soon! Thanks in advance.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Soak a washcloth in water, wring some of the water out, roll up and freeze. Then use it to play tug of war with the dog. Repeat. Save yourself $150.

Hello, Dissers.

We got a new chihauhau puppy (19-23 weeks) longhair 6 weeks ago from a guy giving away the litter from his truck parked on the side of the road.
The kids LOVE him. I had his third round of shots today and the next month he will be nuetered. The vet said he still had 3 baby teeth and if they didn't fall out on their own they would need to be pulled. We can wait and see, but if they are still there, it would be easiest to do it when the dog was knocked out during nueter surgery. The cost is $50 each remaining tooth (potentially x 3). The vet said this was common for small breeds.

Anybody hear of this? Is the vet right? Is there any harm in leaving the teeth be? I got a month to decide Praying the Puppy Tooth Fairy visits soon! Thanks in advance.

 

[shelly3girls]

If the adult teeth have already come in then it is best to pull the puppy teeth. Our vet charged $30/tooth but thankfully we only needed on pulled.

 

[kacaju]

Hello, Dissers.

We got a new chihauhau puppy (19-23 weeks) longhair 6 weeks ago from a guy giving away the litter from his truck parked on the side of the road.
The kids LOVE him. I had his third round of shots today and the next month he will be nuetered. The vet said he still had 3 baby teeth and if they didn't fall out on their own they would need to be pulled. We can wait and see, but if they are still there, it would be easiest to do it when the dog was knocked out during nueter surgery. The cost is $50 each remaining tooth (potentially x 3). The vet said this was common for small breeds.

Anybody hear of this? Is the vet right? Is there any harm in leaving the teeth be? I got a month to decide Praying the Puppy Tooth Fairy visits soon! Thanks in advance.

I used to work for a Vet. Yes it does happen and the reason behind doing it is just what they said. It is easier since he is already being knocked out to be fixed.

Heck...my dd17 had to have baby teeth pulled because they were not coming out on their own!!

 

[lindsmom]

Our shih tzu had 15 baby teeth pulled (yes, FIFTEEN!) while she was out for spaying. Vet said he had never pulled so many from one dog at one time. She had a full double row of shark teeth, top and bottom - very freaky. Luckily, they only charged us $7.50 per tooth but this was 10 years ago. Dunno what the charge would be today. Also, I think he gave us a deal because there were just so many.

 

[disneypofq05]

We have a small breed puppy also. Our vet said the same thing about her teeth. She still had 3 baby teeth when she was spayed in August. They were only able to pull one out. The vet said he didn't want to pull the other two because it would have interfered with the adult teeth coming in. He said if they did not come out by January then they would have to be pulled. It looks like she's going to have to have them pulled as they haven't fell out yet. It was 25 dollars to get the one tooth pulled. I'm sure it will be more for the other two becuase it'll be more involved.

 

[jrmasm]

My male needed one pulled when he was neutered.

 

[ZachnElli]

Wow, my vet just did it! When I had her spayed she had a few double teeth and I picked her up, they were gone. I assumed he pulled them, but there was no extra charge.

 

[luvmy3]

My puppy had 2 pulled when she was spayed. I had never heard of doing that but she was our first puppy so I had no idea. He called me while I was out so I didn't have any time to research it, they just said its easier to do when they are under, and if they still have baby teeth by that age its normal to have them pulled.

 

[Bete]

You could always inquire somewhere else. You can say the dog needs spaying pretty soon and you heard about baby teeth needing to come out and that your dog still has three left. See what the other vet says. They don't know you already have a vet. Also, check charges at the time you do this with the other vet for comparison purposes; so, you know what the local rate is in your area.

It never hurts to ask your vet for a discount; since, you are getting multiple procedures done at the same time. If they value you as a future customer; hopefully, they will do something.

Even if you get a so called free dog; it's not free. If you give a dog good care; it's expensive to own a dog. In the old days they didn't give the care and many dogs didn't live their full life span, either. It's a decison you need to make. Our dog is a true family member and I want her healthy, etc.

Also, I feel smaller dogs need more care; it's like they are delicate. I have a small dog and I love her to a fault. She has changed my whole demeanor for the better. It's worth every penny I spend on her and I do go overboard with her care. I feel it's worth it. We are not rich, either. It hurts when we have to dish it out this way, but I feel that's the responsibility you take on as a pet owner.

You may even want to do a blood panel on her. Make sure her heart, liver, kidney are doing good. The blood work will check for diabetes, too.

You are money ahead, anyway. Price the cost of the dog at a breeder, pet shop, etc. Use the saved money to get your puppy off to a good start.

If money is tight you may have to tell the kids this is their Xmas gift this year. Or at least get them aware the gifts will be smaller in value; because, the dog is the major gift this year to the family.

 

[chabs]

We have a maltipoo and our vet pulled 2 of her baby teeth when she was spayed without even asking either. Didn't charge us-just told us about it when we picked her up. They said that the smaller breeds tend to have difficulties with losing their baby teeth naturally, which causes problems for them when they get older if they are not pulled. I would call around and get pricing from other vets. $50 each seems excessive.

 

[JamesMom]

OP here.

Thanks for the responses. My puppy goes to a chain Vet located inside a Petsmart and I bought the puppy care plan which includes all shots, deworming, visits and neutering (including blood work, etc) for the first year. I get a 10% discount on all other services and products (like heartworm meds & flea/tick). I wanted to make sure I wasn't being offered misc services just to pad the bill.

 

[Leshaface]

OP here.

Thanks for the responses. My puppy goes to a chain Vet located inside a Petsmart and I bought the puppy care plan which includes all shots, deworming, visits and neutering (including blood work, etc) for the first year. I get a 10% discount on all other services and products (like heartworm meds & flea/tick). I wanted to make sure I wasn't being offered misc services just to pad the bill.

Petsmart has a vet!?

Do you know if they're cheaper than going to an independent vet? Right now for my pug puppy, i'm being charged $42 for every Vaccination and when I take him to get neutered it will be over $100...Thank you!

 

[Eastern]

I have a toy fox terrier. Her baby teeth all fell out within about 2 weeks. A few were hanging so the vet pulled out those 4 for $20. It takes them seconds to do it. $50 per tooth is very high. And I live in central NJ where everything is $$.

 

[CouponCon]

I have a pomeranian she is about 6 lbs.......she had to have teeth pulled. I was also told it was common in small breeds. I can't remember how much we paid though???

 

[TnTWalter]

my small breed 'havanese' had an overbite. I knew this when I purchased him but the breeder and her vet were not concerned. My vet was very concerned and used the term 'parrot mouth' which I then looked up and freaked...she sent me to a specialist who wanted to do about $1200 worth of work. I paid $100 for that specialist visit. Thankfully I was on a board deovted to havanese and many told me not to worry and wait and see.......and so I decided I'd take my chances....4 years later my dog is perfectly fine.

Trish

 

[amccu18007]

I would call around. $50 per tooth is A LOT.

 

[princessmom29]

It really depends on how complicated the extraction is. Our minidoxie had 2 retained baby teeth pulled while she was under for a spay, and it was about $70 extra. She was 4 months when we got her and was spayed at 6 months. Those teeth were in there well and weren't coming out. Their nerves we dangerously close to the nerves of her adult teeth so extra care was needed. She came home with stitches in her mouth becuase they needed a wider incision to safegaurd the adult teeth.

 

[nunzia]

My DH is a vet tech so this is part of his job..yes, it seems these chihauhaus need teeth pulled quite alot. Anyway..he said in general, if they are just being pulled (no cleaning or anything) and the dog is already under for something else they only charge about $5.00 a tooth. As a poster said, you may bne able to do this yourself, but to keep puppy happy and your fingers bite free, maybe look around for a better deal.

 

[Atotty]

When we got our latest puppy I checked out our local PetSmart's vet prices vs my usual vet for my older dog. PetSmart was a lot more expensive even with the "special" package.

I would suggest shopping around, too.