Despite all the critics, vaccinations for dogs are an important part of preventive health care. Because they help you to protect your four-legged friend from serious illnesses and their consequences. The cost of your dog’s vaccinations depends on the vaccine and the veterinarian’s pricing.
The GOT regulates what veterinarians are allowed to invoice
While the cost of vaccinating a dog can vary from doctor to species, it is of course not set at random. What a veterinarian may charge for his services is regulated in the fee schedule for veterinarians (GOT).
Usually the following activities cause costs when vaccinating a dog:
- General preliminary examination
- vaccine injection
- Checking the identity using the microchip
- Entry in the vaccination record
The possible differences in the costs for one and the same vaccination in dogs are due to the fact that the GOT only gives veterinarians a framework within which their prices must move.
For example, a veterinarian may charge EUR 4.49 (single fee rate), EUR 8.98 (double rate) or EUR 13.47 (triple rate) for the pure vaccination injection. The same applies to the other activities in this context, such as a possible preliminary investigation.
Vaccination costs depend on the vaccine
In addition to the cost of vaccinating your dog, the vet charges the cost of the vaccine. This is not regulated in the veterinarians’ fee schedule, but depends on what your four-legged friend is to be vaccinated against.
Examples of costs for vaccinations in dogs
A simple vaccination against rabies costs around 30 euros for dogs. However, combination vaccinations, in which the four-legged friend is immunized against several diseases at once, are more common.
For example, if you decide to give your dog a 6-fold vaccination against distemper, parvovirus, HCC, rabies, leptospirosis and kennel cough, you have to reckon with costs of around 50 to 70 euros.
If you want to vaccinate your dog against leishmaniasis because of a planned trip to southern Europe, a single vaccination costs around 60 euros.
Primary immunization costs
Keep in mind that our examples refer to the cost of a single vaccine injection. In order to ensure vaccination protection, a so-called basic immunization is necessary at the beginning.
Depending on the vaccine, the dog must be vaccinated two to three times at intervals of four weeks before it is immune to the disease in question. The costs for vaccination are therefore particularly high for dogs in the first year.
In addition, it is necessary that booster vaccinations are carried out regularly. How often a booster is required also depends on the vaccine. Annual intervals are often provided. In some cases, however, it is sufficient to refresh the vaccination every three years.
Important vaccinations for dogs
Regardless of what it costs you to vaccinate your dog, you should be aware that there are at least a handful of diseases for which vaccination protection is essentially essential.
The Standing Vaccination Commission for Veterinary Medicine describes these as mandatory or core vaccinations.
Core vaccinations include:
- rabies
- distemper
- leptospirosis
- parvovirus
- HCC (canine contagious hepatitis)
We recommend that you do not skip these vaccinations for your dog. However, it cannot be said in general whether immunization against other diseases such as Lyme disease or leishmaniasis makes sense. The risk of infection must be weighed against that of the vaccination in each individual case.
Ask in advance what the vaccination of the dog costs
Since vaccination is a standard service, it cannot be assumed that this will result in extraordinary additional work. For this reason, we recommend that you ask the vet beforehand what it will cost to vaccinate your dog.
It is quite possible that you can get the same service cheaper from another veterinarian. If you think the estimated cost of vaccinating your dog is exceptionally high, it may be worth getting a quote from another veterinarian.
Costs for vaccinations in dogs – our conclusion
The cost you incur for vaccinating your dog will depend on both the specific vaccination and the rate charged by your veterinarian.
Since a basic immunization is necessary first, in which your dog has to be vaccinated several times at fairly short intervals, the costs for vaccination are particularly high in the first year. In order for the vaccination protection to last a lifetime, regular booster vaccinations, which also cause costs, are necessary in the further course.
To save money on your dog’s vaccinations, it can be worth asking several veterinarians for a quote.