How Much Does Dog Surgery Cost?

The cost of dog surgery can vary greatly, depending on the procedure, your location, and your pet’s breed and overall health. The average cost of dog surgery can be anywhere from $500–$7,000. However, you can plan by knowing the general cost of common surgeries.

Key Points: 

• Surgery can be costly, but it’s often a necessary expense that’s part of being a dog owner.
• Many dogs need routine surgeries like spaying or neutering, but others require emergency surgeries for various health issues.
• Knowing the estimated cost of common types of dog surgeries can help you be financially prepared when the time comes.

Common Dog Surgeries And Their Cost

Anesthesia

Dogs need anesthesia when undergoing surgery, just like people — it helps keep dogs comfortable during procedures. The price of the anesthesia will depend on:

• Your dog’s size
• Your dog’s health
• The procedure

The price of anesthesia usually ranges from $90–$1,200.

Spaying and Neutering

Spaying and neutering are vet-recommended procedures that:

• Are often recommended by vets
• Makes your pet calmer and less inclined toward aggression
• Is safe in the majority of cases, with over a million of these procedures performed every year

When you buy or adopt a dog, the dog may already be spayed or neutered. However, if you rescue a dog or purchase a puppy, you will likely have to get it spayed or neutered, making you responsible for that cost.

Spaying

While spaying and neutering both describe similar procedures (i.e., sterilizing the pet by removing its reproductive organs), spaying is more complicated. Spaying refers to sterilizing female animals by removing their internal uterus and ovaries.
Spaying can cost anywhere from $50–$500.

Neutering

Neutering usually refers to sterilizing male dogs by removing their testicles. This pet surgery costs anywhere from $35–$350.

Dental Extractions

Your dog may require a dental extraction for a few different reasons:

• Periodontal disease — the result of plaque and bacteria buildup, leading to tooth decay and gum deterioration
• Unerupted teeth — when your dog’s permanent teeth don’t fully come through
• Broken teeth — the result of trauma like accidents or from chewing on hard objects

Sometimes, broken teeth can be treated through root canals. Otherwise, they will need to be extracted. These procedures cost between $500 and $900.

Skin Growths

Many dogs experience skin growths throughout their lifetime. Some of these growths include:

• Benign growths, which are harmless
• Malignant growths, which can be a sign of life-threatening cancer

Since you never know if your pet’s growths are life-threatening or not, you should always have them checked.

Your vet may only need to perform a biopsy, which involves inserting a needle into the growth to extract cells for testing and analysis. For simple skin growth removal, you will likely pay $180–$375.

GI Surgery

GI surgeries are common dog surgeries for these reasons:

• Removing foreign objects your dog swallowed
• Blockages
• Bloat

If you know your dog has ingested something it shouldn’t, you should take them to the vet. If foreign objects aren’t properly dealt with, they can cause blockages that may be fatal to your dog.

Surgery for blockages involves extracting the object causing the blockage and repairing any potential damage to the intestinal wall or stomach that resulted from the obstruction. Removing foreign objects usually costs $2,000–$5,000, while intestinal blockage dog surgery costs as much as $7,000.

Bloat is another common GI surgery for dogs. The more clinical term for this is gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV), a condition where your dog’s stomach becomes swollen and distended from gas, food, or fluid.

GDV can impair blood flow to your dog’s stomach, which can be fatal. Some signs of bloat include a swollen stomach, pale gums, rapid or weak pulse, and dry heaving. Surgery to treat GDV costs anywhere from $1,500–$7,500.

Cataract Surgery

Cataracts don’t always significantly impact your dog’s vision, but they can lessen your dog’s quality of life. The more cataracts mature, the more likely it is that your dog will eventually go blind.

Signs of cataracts in your dog include:

• The development of a bluish haze
• White spots
• A white and opaque appearance in your dog’s eye(s)

Blindness isn’t the only negative aspect of cataracts, unfortunately. Sometimes, they also cause a buildup of fluid in the lens capsule, which can be quite painful. This dog operation costs between $2,700–$4,000.

Bladder Stone Removal

Bladder stones in dogs are similar to kidney stones in humans. Bladder stones can be:

• A large, single stone
• A collection of stones that are the size of sand
• A mixture of both large stones and smaller stones

These stones are made up of a collection of minerals that develop in the bladder and cause pain, urinary tract infections, and obstructions. Signs your dog has a bladder stone(s) include:

• Difficulty or discomfort while urinating
• Changes in urination patterns where they start frequently urinating in small amounts
• Blood in urine
• Discolored or cloudy urine
• Swollen or sensitive stomach
• Lethargy and avoidance of exercise
• Vomiting

Surgery to remove bladder stones is advantageous because your dog can start healing immediately after surgery. This surgery, called cystotomy, costs $1,500–$3,500.

Orthopedic Surgery

Some of the reasons your dog may need orthopedic surgery include:

• Hip replacements
• CCL tears
• Fractures or broken bones

You can try to minimize the risks of orthopedic surgery by keeping your dog healthy and at a good weight. However, orthopedic surgery is sometimes unavoidable.

Orthopedic surgery for dogs costs a lot of money. Here are some of the most common types and their associated costs:

Hip Replacement Surgery

Sometimes, dogs develop hip dysplasia or other dysfunctions that require treatment through surgery.

Signs your dog may have painful hips requiring treatment include lameness, stiffness, and reduced desire to exercise. These symptoms accompany pain and greatly reduce your dog’s quality of life.

Hip replacement surgery costs $3,500–$7,000.

CCL Tear

CCL stands for canine cruciate ligament, which describes when the ligaments around the knee are torn. The results are either partial or complete instability of the knee joint, as well as pain and lameness.

Torn ligaments do not heal on their own, and they cannot be completely repaired.

However, CCL tear surgery can help reduce pain and get your pet back to a somewhat normal gait and activity level. CCL surgery costs $1,000–$3,000.

Fractures and Broken Bones

Your dog may suffer an injury that either fractures or completely breaks its bones. These injuries are excruciatingly painful, and orthopedic surgery to repair injury to the bones costs up to $5,000.

Spinal Surgery

If your dog has a herniated disc, it may need spinal surgery. Signs of a herniated disc in your dog include:

• Inability to walk, either on the hind legs or all four legs
• Sudden incoordination or lameness
• Inability to urinate on their own

Herniated discs are not only painful, but they can also reduce the function of your dog’s body as they try to compensate. Surgery to repair herniated discs costs $1,500–$4,000.

Cancer Surgery

When dogs have cancer, they may need a variety of procedures, including:

• Radiographing of the lungs to check for any other potential tumors
• Draining their lymph nodes
• Checking their abdomen and organs, particularly their liver

After having surgery to remove tumors or growths, your dog will need blood work, X-rays, and medication. These costs quickly add up. For all of these services combined, you will likely need to pay upward of $10,000.

Paying for Your Dog’s Surgery

Since dog surgery costs hundreds or thousands of dollars, how are you supposed to pay for it? There are some options:

• Out-of-pocket
• Payment plans through your vet
• Pet insurance
• Personal loans

These options can help manage the costs of dog surgery.

Payment Plans

If paying out-of-pocket isn’t an option, talk to your vet about a payment plan. This can allow you to pay in smaller installments over a period of time so your dog can get the surgery it needs.

Pet Insurance

Pet insurance should be something you have if you own a pet. In fact, you should try to get it before your pet ever comes home with you the first time.

With pet insurance, you pay a monthly premium for coverage. During vet visits or procedures, you pay the cost out-of-pocket (or put it on a credit card) and then send the invoice to your insurer as a claim. The insurer then reimburses you, usually between 70–100%.

Personal Loans

Personal loans are another way you can pay for your pet’s surgery. Various personal loan options are available, with varying terms and interest rates. These work similarly to the payment plans you’d get from your vet, except they’re through a lender and have interest fees.

Final Word

If you own a dog, it’s important to remember that surgery is an expense you might need to pay for at some point. But how much does dog surgery cost? Unfortunately, it can vary widely depending on what your dog needs, but this list should give you an idea of how much it might be. Luckily, you can explore plenty of options to afford surgery for your dog.