Routine healthcare for pets

Vaccination:

We strongly believe that prevention is better than cure and therefore recommend an initial vaccination course followed by annual boosters in order to protect against potential fatal diseases. Remember that it is important for your puppy's socialisation skills to be able to walk them as soon as possible.

We prefer puppies and kittens to be in their new homes for a week before their first vaccination as this allows time for any transient upset tummy to settle. We vaccinate puppies from 8 weeks old and allow 2 weeks between their first, second and third injections. Kittens are vaccinated from 9 weeks old and allow 3 weeks until their second injection.

Rabbits should be vaccinated annually from 5 weeks old against myxomatosis and viral haemorrhagic disease.

Their subsequent annual boosters are a good time for your pet to have a thorough clinical examination and gives you an opportunity to ask about any other health or diet issues.

Worming

Regular worming treatments are important for your pet but the frequency is dictated by your pet's lifestyle. High worm burdens can caused digestive problems and weight loss. Certain roundworms can also be very harmful to people, especially young children. Worm eggs arepassed which stick to their fur and can be easily transferred when a child touches the animal and licks their fingers!

Puppies and kittens should be wormed every 2 weeks until they are 12 weeks old then monthly until 6 months old. Their adult worming programme should be every 3-6 months depending on lifestyle and a personal risk assessment.

Flea treatments

For total and effective flea treatment it is important to understand the flea's life cycle and use different control measures at each stage. Products are dispensed according to your pet's age and weight.Fleas are a much bigger problem during the warmer summer months, however due to our comfortable central heating they can easily survive the winter making them a year round problem. Heavy flea infestations can be very dangerous to young or weak animals and some animals can develop an allergy to the flea's saliva causing an excessive and severe reaction.

Neutering.

We recommend that males and females are neutered if they are not going to be used for breeding in the future. There are many health benefits of this as well as stopping unwanted pregnancies. Although it may cause their metabolism to slow, careful diet control can easily prevent weight gain. Please speak to a veterinary surgeon if you would like to know exactly what is involved. Historically, bitches were spayed at 6 months old or 4 months after their season and dogs were castrated at 9 months old although this can be done earlier. More recent evidence has shown that larger breeds of dog should be allowed to mature and they should not be neutered until 18-24 months. It is also not recommended to castrate dogs showing any signs of nervous aggression as this can potentially exacerbate this behaviour. We advise you speak to a member of the clinical team if you would like further advice on when would be best to neuter your dog or bitch. There is also a form of chemical castration available for males that is administered as an implant that can last for either 6 or 12 months. Kittens are neutered at 6 months old although a male kitten living with a female kitten (even if brother and sister!) should be castrated at 5 months old. 

Microchipping

A microchip enables you and your pet's details to be logged onto an international database. A unique number is coded onto the chip which is implanted under the skin which can be read using a special scanning devise. This will allow your pet to be re united with you if it becomes lost or is involved in an accident. It can also be used to identify your pet if it is stolen. Pets can be microchippped during a routine consultation or during surgery. It is an ideal time to have your pet microchipped during their neutering procedure.

Pet Insurance

Due to current FSA regulations, we are unable to recommend anyindividual insurance companies, but we are allowed to discuss different policy options and would strongly recommend insurance for any unforeseen bills!