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We are happy to offer helpful and friendly advice to pet owners regarding treatments, procedures and general health care for your pets. Our fully qualified veterinary nurse is also available for minor procedures. For exmaple:
Weight checks Microchipping Worming Bandaging Dietary advice Empty anal glands Second vaccinations Nail clipping
Below is some basic advice on routine treatments for your pets.
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Primary vaccinations are usually done as puppies or kittens as a course and there after as an annual vaccination.
Vaccinations are important to prevent your pet contracting something infectious. Some of the diseases can be life threatening, especially to the very young and very old.
Of course there are lots of other things your pet can contract but vaccinations minimise the risk and short of keeping your pet indoors all day ever day and removing your shoes every time you are with them your pet will inevitably be exposed to infections in everyday life.
The diseases we vaccinate against are:
Dogs
Also available is a vaccination against Kennel Cough (Bordatella Bronchiseptica) which is not done routinely along with boosters but is something usually done when your dog goes into Boarding Kennels. We would always recommend that you check with the kennels first before getting it done as some kennels would prefer it not to be done. If it is to be done it needs to be given 7-10 days before going into kennels. The reason for this being it is a Live Vaccine and your dog is potentially infectious to others. The vaccine lasts 6-12 months depending on which brand of vaccine is used. Our Clinic offers a discounted rate for the Kennel Cough vaccination when given alongside the yearly booster.
Cats
Rabbits
Don't forget if you have any worries or queries at all – just ask!
A good regular worming programme is recommended especially if there are children around as a particular roundworm can be passed to humans.
Some worms ( Endoparasites) can be passed to puppies and kittens by their mother in the womb, via the placenta. Therefore breeders should worm pregnant bitches and queens regularly during pregnancy and also worm the litter from a very young age.
Most puppies and kittens will get more worming when they come in for their primary vaccinations.
The term neutering, also known as spaying for females and castration for males, means that you take away necessary hormones and body pats required for reproduction so they don't have babies and come into season (heat). Bitches will have seasons all their life.
Spaying Operation (for females)
This is also known as an Ovariohysterectomy. Which means we remove both the ovaries and the uterus. This is called a routine operation but is quite a big operation and would hopefully be the biggest operation your pet will ever need. It is performed under a full general anaesthetic.
Advantages of this operation:
Castration Operations (for males)
This operation in both cats and dogs is relatively minor compared to neutering females but still requires a full general anaesthetic.
Advantages of this operation are:
Contraceptive implant (for males)
An alternative to surgical castration which enables you to assess the effect that castration will have on your dog, without surgery. This is a temporary method, but may be repeated to maintain effect. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us for more information.
Disadvantages of all neutering:
Changes in coat texture may be seen in some breeds.
Your pet will tend to put in weight after being neutered.
Your pets oral health is very important to us, therefore there are a few basic things we would recommend you do.
Teeth are specifically designed for a purpose. Dogs and cats are mostly carnivores (meat eaters) and their teeth have specialised jobs – catching, killing and eating prey. But in modern day society our pets diet is mostly made up of the food we choose to feed them (and the odd mouse/bird). They do not need to hunt like their ancestors.
Puppies and kittens can be born without teeth. They appear around 2-3 weeks of age in cats and 3-4 weeks in dog. Teething (shedding baby teeth/deciduous teeth) starts around 16 weeks and is complete at 6-7 months. This is the time your puppy will try to chew things.
We would recommend that from a young age you handle your pets mouth and examine it regularly. This will help them to tolerate tooth brushing/cleaning and examinations in the future.
Yours pets gums should be a nice salmon pink colour, no smell on their breath, the teeth should be white, clear and not discoloured. Bad breath can be a sign of a dental/oral disease.
It is important to take care of your pets teeth on a daily basis and there are a variety of ways in which you can do this. Brushing your pets teeth should be done from a young age with special toothpaste and brushes. Care should be taken and we recommend you ask us to demonstrate this technique for you. Children should never be allowed to do this as although it looks like fun your pet may object.
There are also various diets and chews you can give your pet to promote good dental health.
Please speak to us if you have any questions or need advice.
Fleas are usually thought of as just a nuisance parasite but have the potential to cause many other problems for both your pet and you.
These problems can range from skin allergies to other diseases that can affect you as well as your pet. It is not often easy to tell if your pet has fleas so the best thing to do is to treat you pet regularly and routinely whether they have fleas or not. Don't wait until your pet has fleas then treat them, as by this time it may be a bigger problem than expected.. Better to treat as a preventative rather than a cure.
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