How much dog surgery and vet care cost in the US
Dog surgery costs $500 to $7,500 for most procedures, and $2,500 is the typical figure: elective work sits at the bottom of that band, orthopedic and emergency abdominal surgery at the top, and spinal surgery runs past $15,000. Every other bill a vet writes — a $10 rabies shot, a $540 dental with extractions, euthanasia and aftercare — falls somewhere inside the same spread.
Two clinics quote the same operation differently for reasons that are boring and knowable. Whether the dog arrives as an emergency or on a schedule is the largest multiplier; whether a board-certified specialist operates is the next; nights in hospital and the rent the practice pays finish the job. Geography alone is worth roughly 2.2x — in the 2025 50-state price study ASQ360 ran for CareCredit, a simple tooth extraction averages $63 in Mississippi and $140 in Hawaii for identical work.
Each page below prices one procedure four ways: a national range, a regional table, the itemized invoice behind the quote, and the drivers that move the total. Read the basis column in the regional table first — rows marked published come from a fee schedule or a survey, rows marked indexed are the national range shifted by a measured geographic ratio, and we label them rather than blending the two. Sources are listed on every page. Nothing here is veterinary advice.
64 procedures priced. Jump to: Routine & preventive (10) · Vaccines & shots (6) · Surgery (39) · Diagnostics (3) · Chronic conditions (3) · End-of-life (3)
Routine & preventive
The predictable bills — spays, neuters, dentals and the annual exam — where the clinic you walk into usually moves the price further than the state you live in.
- dog dental cleaning cost
A dog dental cleaning costs $307 to $702, with $388 typical. See the regional price table, the itemized invoice, and what extractions actually add on top.
- cat spay cost
A cat spay or neuter costs $45 to $576, with $322 typical. See published clinic fee schedules, the add-on menu, and which of four prices applies to you.
- dog spay cost
A dog spay or neuter costs $75 to $874, with $455 typical. Compare published nonprofit clinic fee schedules against private practice before you book it.
- cat teeth cleaning price
A cat teeth cleaning costs $300 to $682, typical $375. See why feline tooth resorption decides the final bill, plus the regional table and itemized invoice.
- dog rabies shot cost
A dog rabies shot costs $10 to $70: $9 at a county clinic, near $95 at a private practice. See the state-law rules, county tag fees and 3-year vaccine math.
- dog teeth extraction cost
Dog teeth extraction runs $540 to $2,600 all in. See why no clinic can quote it before anesthesia, the per-tooth math, and how to read a dental estimate.
- low cost dog dental cleaning
Low cost dog dental cleaning runs $125 to $1,200. The catch: low-cost means two clinic models, and only one of them beats a general practice on price.
- cost vet check up
A vet check up costs $56 to $130 for the exam alone, $66 typical. Eight clinics' posted fee schedules, what the full annual visit adds, and who pays for it.
- root canal cost for dog
A dog root canal costs $700 to $3,750, typical $3,200 — roughly 3 to 5 times an extraction. See the trade-off, the thin data behind it, and the invoice.
- urgent vet cost
An urgent vet visit costs $85 to $150, with $124 typical. Seven clinics publish the fee, six publish their routine price beside it, and the gap is the story.
Vaccines & shots
Shots the law, the boarding kennel or the groomer asks for, priced from $9 at a county rabies clinic to near $95 at a private practice for the same vial.
- cheap rabies shot for dogs
A cheap rabies shot for a dog costs $2 to $43. See named clinic prices from Boston, Cook County, Petco and Tractor Supply, and what each cheap door leaves out.
- how much shots for puppies
Puppy shots cost $40 to $475 for the whole series — three visits, not three shots. See the AAHA schedule priced at a county clinic, a retail chain and a vet.
- low cost rabies shots for cats
A low cost rabies shot for a cat runs $2 to $109. See named clinic prices, the flat $10 PureVax premium, and why cats have fewer free clinics than dogs.
- how much are cat shots
Cat shots cost $40 to $502 for the full kitten series, and the indoor-or-outdoor decision swings it 117% at one clinic. See the schedule priced at four venues.
- dhpp vaccine cost
A DHPP vaccine costs $10 to $60 per dose, and a puppy needs at least three of them. See the lepto upgrade, the three-year interval, and where a dose costs $10.
- bordetella shot cost
A bordetella shot costs $15 to $56 per dose, and the injectable needs two doses in a naive dog: an $8 sticker premium that is really $56 to $72 in year one.
Surgery
Elective, soft-tissue, orthopedic and emergency operations, from $500 procedures to five-figure spinal work, priced by who holds the scalpel and how many nights the dog stays.
Soft tissue & emergency
- hernia dog surgery cost
Dog hernia surgery costs $150 to $5,000 because hernia names four operations. Published prices per type, the spay-time discount, and where the data stops.
- dog ear hematoma surgery cost
Dog ear hematoma surgery costs $535 to $1,804. The repair is the cheap part: no published price includes the ear infection that caused it or the recheck.
- dog bowel obstruction surgery cost
Dog bowel obstruction surgery costs $1,200 to $7,976. One publisher prices the same operation 1.98x apart, and the emergency premium is now published.
- cat bowel obstruction surgery cost
Cat bowel obstruction surgery costs $755 to $5,500, about half the dog figure. Why string is the expensive kind, and the fee sheet that charges cats more.
- dog ruptured anal-gland abscess treatment cost
A ruptured dog anal gland abscess costs $100 to $1,000 per episode. What is in that bill, why our price data here is thin, and when removal gets cheaper.
- dog anus gland removal cost
Dog anal gland removal costs $650 to $5,600 — an 8.6x spread across nine published fee sheets, the widest on this site. What moves it, and what you buy.
- dog splenectomy cost
Dog splenectomy costs $1,700 to $5,000 across seven published fee sheets. Why the biopsy decides the real bill, and why none of these is the 2am price.
- cat pu surgery cost
Cat PU surgery costs $995 to $2,395 across thirteen published fee sheets. The unblocking that comes first varies 6x, and that is the bill nobody quotes.
- cost of dog bladder stone surgery
Dog bladder stone surgery costs $587 to $5,000 across fifteen fee sheets. Stone type decides whether surgery is needed, and a vet school publishes the rest.
- gastropexy cost
Gastropexy costs $600 to $2,200 planned and $2,200 to $7,500 as emergency bloat surgery. Three practices publish both halves, and insurance pays the wrong one.
- how much does it cost to fix paraphimosis in dogs
Fixing paraphimosis in dogs costs $300 to $1,500 on three published prices. Nobody prices the condition by name, and nobody prices manual reduction at all.
- pyometra dog surgery cost
Dog pyometra surgery costs $500 to $4,000. The measured after-hours premium, why an elective spay costs a quarter as much, and where the surgery costs less.
- salivary mucocele dog surgery cost
Salivary mucocele surgery in dogs costs $1,681 to $2,400 — three fee sheets within 1.4x. The cheaper option nobody prices, and what draining it costs later.
- how much are dog stitches
Dog stitches cost $182 to $2,600 because the word covers four different injuries. Published prices by wound length, anaesthetic depth and body weight.
Orthopedic
- acl surgery cost dog
Dog ACL surgery costs $1,000 to $10,000, and up to 60% of dogs tear the other knee too. See the technique price ladder, the workup and the recovery bills.
- hip dysplasia surgery cost dog
Dog hip dysplasia surgery costs $1,200 to $10,000. Compare FHO against total hip replacement, see university prices, and the cheaper options that expire.
- cost of hip replacement surgery in dogs
Dog hip replacement costs $6,000 to $10,000 per hip, but the two universities that publish a price bill $8,700 to $14,000 for the whole surgical episode.
- luxating patella surgery cost
Luxating patella surgery costs $400 to $5,000 per knee. See how the grade sets the price, why half of dogs need both knees done, and where our data is thin.
- tplo dog surgery cost
TPLO dog surgery costs $2,500 to $7,500. Compare published teaching-hospital and referral prices, why both knees run 1.7x, and the bills after discharge.
- cost of leg amputation for dog
Dog leg amputation costs $735 to $6,800. Seven published fee sheets span 9.2x, and which practice you use moves the price more than your dog's weight does.
- broken leg dog surgery cost
Dog broken leg surgery costs $1,371 to $5,803. Published prices by fixation method, the real cost of splinting instead, and what the ER adds before surgery.
- dog spinal surgery cost
Dog spinal surgery costs $2,500 to $15,000, and the MRI is billed first. See regional prices, the itemized invoice, and what conservative care really buys.
Eyes
- cherry eye dog surgery cost
Cherry eye surgery costs $275 at a nonprofit clinic, $544 on average and up to $1,900 with an ophthalmologist. Published fees and the per-eye pricing trap.
- entropion in dogs surgery cost
Entropion surgery for dogs costs $125 to $3,000 and is priced per eyelid, not per dog. Five published US fee schedules, and the breeds excluded from them.
- eye removal surgery for dogs cost
Dog eye removal costs $200 at a nonprofit clinic and $3,000 at a full-service hospital. Weight-banded published fees and what each quote actually bundles.
- eye removal surgery cat cost
Cat eye removal costs $415 to $2,000, and both US clinics that split fees by species charge less for a cat than a dog. Published prices and honest gaps.
- cat cataracts surgery cost
Cat cataract surgery costs $2,000 to $2,500 per eye and $3,000 to $3,500 for both. One publication is the entire US price record, and this page says why.
- dog eye surgery cost
Dog eye surgery costs $300 to $6,700, and which operation your dog needs decides the bill. Cataract surgery priced in full, plus where the other four sit.
Masses & oncology
- canine lipoma removal cost
Removing a fatty lump from a dog costs $250 to $1,800, and the first question is whether to remove it at all. Published lab fees and the age-at-surgery trap.
- how much does chemo for dogs cost
Dog chemotherapy costs $1,800 to $16,000. A vet school's published drug list, the oral versus intravenous gap, and why the average is a lymphoma figure.
- cost of chemo for cats
Cat chemotherapy costs $2,500 to $9,500. The cheapest feline lymphoma has the best prognosis and no published US price — this page says so and shows why.
- dog tumor removal cost
Dog tumor removal costs $250 to $3,000, and histopathology is billed separately. What the biopsy buys, the price ladder by mass type, and where data is thin.
- how much is a biopsy for a dog
A dog biopsy costs $144 to $1,110. Three public laboratory fee schedules show the pathologist charges your vet $55 to $165 — and what the invoice says instead.
- dog eyelid tumor removal cost
Removing an eyelid tumor from a dog costs $320 in general practice and $2,200 with an ophthalmologist. Millimetres decide the operation, and the price.
- lymphoma dog treatment cost
Treating canine lymphoma costs $3,600 to $16,000. A vet school's published protocol and rescue prices, the B-cell and T-cell split, and what relapse costs.
Airway
- boas surgery costs
BOAS surgery costs $1,450 to $5,500. Compare four published airway fee sheets, see when the one-anaesthetic bundle saves $819, and when it saves nothing.
- cost of stenotic nares surgery
Stenotic nares surgery costs $485 to $1,519, a 3.1x spread between practices for the same short operation. See three published fee sheets and the bundle math.
Other operations
- dog heartworm treatment cost
Dog heartworm treatment costs $300 to $1,800. One nonprofit publishes the price by weight band, the clearest public proof of what a dog's size does here.
- cat surgery costs
Cat surgery costs $350 to $6,282. Five practices publish a full feline price list and the same operation differs 3.4x between them. Compare them line by line.
Diagnostics
The imaging and workups that get billed before anyone treats anything, which is why they show up on an estimate you were not expecting.
- dog ultrasound cost
A dog ultrasound costs $383 to $880, typically $483. See regional prices, sedation and biopsy add-ons, and what an abnormal scan really costs you next.
- cat ultrasound cost
A cat ultrasound costs $383 to $880 on carried-over canine data. See the one cat-specific figure published, regional estimates, and what follows a scan.
- cat endoscopy cost
Cat endoscopy costs $1,000 to $3,700, but no US practice publishes a cat-specific price. What the scope covers, and what it costs when retrieval fails.
Chronic conditions
Conditions a pet lives with rather than recovers from, where the number that matters is what the next twelve months cost, not what the first visit did.
- cat hyperthyroidism treatment cost
Cat hyperthyroidism treatment costs $1,000 to $4,000 in year one, then $490 to $1,200 a year on tablets - or close to nothing if radioiodine cures it outright.
- diabetic cat treatment cost
Diabetic cat treatment costs $950 to $3,600 in the first year, then $700 to $3,200 every year after - unless the cat goes into remission and it stops.
- cushing's dog treatment cost
Cushing's disease in dogs costs $1,400 to $5,100 in the first year, then $900 to $3,600 a year forever. See the lab fee behind the monitoring test you pay for.
End-of-life
Euthanasia and aftercare costs written plainly — at home against in clinic, communal against private cremation — with no capture forms and no sales pitch.
- dog cremation cost
Dog cremation runs $45 to $525, priced by body weight rather than by state. What communal, private and individual actually mean, and what you get back.
- euthanasia vet cost
Euthanizing a dog averages $139 in a clinic and $410 at home. Published fees, what the appointment involves step by step, and options if you cannot pay.
- does pet insurance cover euthanasia
Euthanasia is covered by most pet insurers when a vet recommends it for a covered condition. Cremation usually is not. All 17 carriers, checked one by one.