Anyone use Petmeds online???

[LadyR]

Anybody get their dog's medications online at Petmeds? Any problems? My dog needs her Heartguard and Frontline meds and I'm wondering if I can just buy them online and save some money. Also, she was given antibiotic eye drops last year for an eye infection. It looks like she needs the drops again and I see that Petmeds sells the exact same drops for half the price I paid at the vets. Would it be a bad thing to skip her annual exam (I think she was scheduled for another leptospirosis booster, no rabbies shot) and buy these three items online? Last year it was nearly $200 for her annual!!

[Soph the vet]

PetMeds is a reputable source but they require prescriptions from your vet for anything that is not OTC. For example, at our clinic we require that the dog was examined within the last and/or had a heartworm test before we will OK a fax prescription from PetMeds. The same would go for eye medication. Check with your vet to see what their requirements are. Buying prescription medication directly from an online source would be illegal as it violates the Veterinary Practice Act so PetMeds will not sell you anything directly that would require a veterinarian's signature.

As for the cost of your dog's annual: $200 might be very reasonable if you are including the cost of Heartguard and Frontline for 9 months. A typical yearly exam at our clinic costs $51 for the office call and physical exam, about $20 for each vaccination and $18 for a hearworm test. Depending on the number of vaccines and products that you buy you can see how easy it is to spend $200 on a dog. I tell owners to expect to spend about $1000 per year on their dog including routine vet, grooming and food expenses. When you compare the cost of what we do for our clients to what we get as consumers from the human medical profession I think we are a bargain.:D I will examine your dog, do all necessary tests that day, give you the results the same day, prescribe appropriate medication or recommend any surgery the same day or refer you to a specialist who can usually see you the same week. We have the same amount of education that human doctors do but not just in one species but usually canine, feline, bovine, equine, caprine, ovine, avian, rodentia, lagamorphs, and reptiles, not to mention that I also had to take fish medicine of which I remember none. So just try to think of that when you get your vet bill the next time. I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm just trying to put things in perspective. We all realize that most pets don't have insurance. The overwhelming majority of us are not out to gouge our clients but rather we want to offer excellent service for a decent wage.;)

[sandellie4]

We've used PetMeds to save money, but only for routine maintenance meds, such as tick meds, and vitamins. We buy ALL of our Heartworm medicine through our vet because it's too important to risk having something go wrong with a mail service. A friend of mine was using PetMeds for Heartworm meds and when her dog got Heartworm anyway, she found out that if she'd bought it through her vet, it would have been guaranteed; if the meds failed, the expense of treating Heartworm would be covered. We shopped around very carefully for a vet who would work for our family. We trust him, and we do pay more to take our dogs there than we would to just get a prescription to fax to PetMeds. Our dogs are taken to every annual, and sometimes the vet finds something we never even suspected. One of our dogs had Lyme disease and his kidney function had been affected. Another of our dogs had a skin lesion that was removed and turned out to be malignant. Both dogs are fine, and the fair-skinned one now wears sunscreen and stays out of the sun during the hottest part of the day. Health is too important to take for granted. We cut our budget in other ways, lots of other ways, but not in that area.

 

:grouphug: to you and your doggie!

[LadyR]

$200 might be very reasonable if you are including the cost of Heartguard and Frontline for 9 months.

I wish it was for 9 months! It was just 1 dose each. Add in the exam, Lyme test, a couple of booster shots, bio-hazard fee, eye flourescein stain and meds and the cost gets up there. It was also suggested I start taking her twice a year because she is getting older. I thought I could save money by skipping this year's exam since she doesn't need major shots; but even my husband, who just tolerates my dog, is telling me to make the vet appointment for her.

 

I also had to take fish medicine

Reminded me of the time our beloved goldfish got ick and needed medicine. Oh, the things we do for our pets.

[Deidre in GA]

i've gotten Sentinel heartworm medicine from 1-800-PetMed a few times including last week. i have found a much less expensive source for flea medication. a poster on another forum i read raved about flea medication kits from a seller on eBay, Happy_Pets. i used them (Buy It Now) last week and paid less money for a 6 month kit for Frontline Plus than the 3 Month supply of regular Frontline from PetMed. the return address on the envelope says their own website is

 

NoMoreFleasPlease.com

 

i assume their eBay prices and the website prices are the same although i haven't checked as i'm set for the next 6 months.

[MrsMe]

I use it for a med that my dog needs monthly for arthritis type pain. Saves me $30 per month! They ship fast and I usually get free shipping and $10 off.

[Kari C in SC]

I have used it for heartworm and a medication for my older dog's incontinence. It saved me about 40% on the incontinence meds. I still have to go to the vet to get the prescription, but the savings is worth having it sent to petmeds.