The medical and social benefits of castrating your dog

• reduces unacceptable sexual behaviour.
• reduces occurrences of prostrate problems.
• reduces incidence of anal tumours.
• reduces the tendency to stray.
• removes the risk of testicular tumours.
• removes the risk of unwanted puppies.

All neutering operations are carried out on a day care basis. Your pet will be admitted to the surgery in the morning and will he able to go home in the afternoon.

Castration

Neutering of the male dog is carried out from six months of age. He will be clipped underneath and will have a small wound closed with a few sutures. These sutures will need removing after ten days. You will be invited back for a post-operative check after three days.

It is not unusual to see some swelling.

On collection of your pet you will be given full instructions on his aftercare.

We know there can be a tendency for some weight gain after surgery and for this reason we like to weigh your dog a month after his operation. By doing this we can detect any tendency to weight gain and advise you on nutritional control to prevent abnormal weight gain.

It is our policy to offer a pre-anaesthetic blood test to any animal having a general anaesthetic. This is carried out on the day of the operation and enables us to check that their liver and kidneys are in good health.

For any further information please contact us.

Our water walker is an underwater variable speed treadmill, designed for various skeletal or muscular problems. The water is maintained at a balmy 30°C to make your dog comfortable and to stimulate cardio-vascular activity, which aids circulation to the affected area.

Conditions which can benefit from water walker physiotherapy

• Post orthopaedic surgery (after sutures removed).
• Fracture repairs.
• Cruciate ligament repairs.
• Excision arthoplasty.
• Spinal problems (spondylosis etc).
• Arthritis.
• OCD (osteo-chrondrosis dessicans).
• Age related muscular dystrophy.
• CDRM.
• Hip Dysplasia.
• Weight loss programs.

Prices

The first session is free! This session will be designed for your dog to become accustomed to the water walker experience. Your pet will receive a check over by our nurse prior to entering the water walker before a gentle 5-minute walk on the treadmill with varying water levels.

Following sessions will be in 15- 30 minute blocks costing £25 per session. These will be built up depending upon your pets’ needs. Check with your insurance company, most companies will cover up to £250 for complimentary therapies.

Please ask at reception, one of our nurses can show you the facilities and answer any queries.

Water Walker Preparation

Before bringing your dog in for a session…

• Please make sure your dog is clean.
• It is a good idea not to feed your dog for 2 hours beforehand.
• Please make sure your dog has been to the toilet.
• If your dog has been unwell please telephone the nurse, we may need to postpone your session.

And after a session…

• Your dog will appreciate rest in a warm room following his / her session (we always make sure your dog is dry before they leave).
• Please make sure that your pet receives and medication which the vet has prescribed for his / her condition.
• At your next session tell the nurse of any stiffness or discomfort your pet has shown since his last session.

If unsure of anything please don’t hesitate to call.

Puppies

Puppies need to be treated for roundworms.

They become infested with these worms from their mothers, who excrete them in their milk. The breeder should have already started your puppies worming programme.

Recommended Treatment Regime

Using Panacur granules or paste wormer every month until your puppy is six months old.

Adult Dogs

All adult dogs should be treated against roundworm and tapeworm at least every six months, whether or not there are obvious signs. Low grade infestations of roundworms can contaminate the environment with their long lived eggs. Any infestation with one or more of the different types needs to be eliminated.

Recommended Treatment Regime

Drontal Plus tablets contain the most effective combination of drug to kill both round and tapeworm infestation with one dose.

Panacur granules or paste may be used, especially for dogs who are difficult to administer tablets to. Droncit injections can also be given to treat tapeworm infestation in dogs.

Pregnant Bitches

The aim is to eliminate transfer of roundworms from mother to pups producing a virtually worm free litter and giving them a better start in life.

Recommended Treatment Regime

Panacur granules, given from day 42 of pregnancy to 2 days after whelping.

All products mentioned are available from the surgery.

Please ask at reception for advice.

Is your dog one in a million? Of course he is!

But did you know that over a million dogs in the UK are suffering form arthritis?

Try the simple self assessment test to find out if your dog may be one of them.

1. Does your dog have difficulty standing up after a period of rest, or sleep?
2. Does your dog seem to have ‘slowed down’ and become less keen to exercise?
3. Does your dog have difficulty jumping up, getting into the car, or climbing stairs?
4. Has your dog been showing signs of lameness?

If you have answered YES to any of these questions, your dog could have arthritis and would benefit from a checkup. Please ask at Reception for an appointment.

Arthritis Awareness at Cheshire Pet Medical Centre – Put the Spring Back in Your Dog’s Step !

The Three Point Plan

Thank you for bringing your dog for an arthritis check. Your dog’s checkup revealed that they are one of the one million + dogs in the UK suffering from canine arthritis.

Just like arthritis in humans, this can affect one or more joints causing them to become inflamed and painful. Affected dogs are reluctant to move the painful joints and they may become stiff, especially after a period of rest. They may have difficulty climbing stairs, getting into the car or jumping onto to sofa, or they may simply not seem to enjoy walks and games as much as they once did.

Many caring owners don’t realise that their dog is suffering from arthritis, putting the changes in their dog’s behaviour down to old age.

A three point treatment plan can relieve the signs of arthritis and help restore your dog’s enjoyment of life. Most dogs respond extremely well to treatment and owners are frequently astonished and delighted by the new lease of life that treatment gives to their friend. Often it is only after owners see the changes following treatment that they realise just how much their dog’s quality of life has been affected.

The three point treatment plan can relieve signs of arthritis and restore your dog’s enjoyment of life. The three elements of this plan are :

1. Weight Control
2. Exercise Control
3. Pain Relief

Starting an arthritis care program NOW will not only improve your dog’s quality of life in the short term, but it will help your dog to remain mobile and slow the progression of the disease in the future.

The medical and social reasons for spaying your cat

1. reduces the number of unwanted kittens.
2. reduces the incidence of cat fights.
3. prevents ovarian and uterine cancer.
4. prevents pyometra a potentially life threatening disease of the uterus.
5. dramatically reduces the incidence of mammary cancer.

All neutering operations are carried out on a day care basis so your pet will be admitted to the surgery in the morning and will he able to go home in the afternoon.

Spaying

Neutering the female cat is done from the age of 6 months of age.

She will be clipped on her side usually and will have a small incision closed with one or two sutures.

The uterus and ovaries are removed and hence your cat will have no further seasons.

The sutures are removed 10 days after the surgery.

When you come to collect your cat you will receive full written instructions on her after care.

It is our policy to offer a pre-anaesthetic blood test to any animal having a general anaesthetic. This is carried out on the day of her operation and enables us to check that her liver and kidneys are in good health.

For any further information please contact us.

Is Your Pet a Roly Poly?

Obesity is the medical term for a patient that is more than 15% overweight. It is also a very common problem within the pet population, affecting over 50% of dogs and cats. It is usually the consequence of owners spoiling their pets with treats etc.

Science tells us that excess weight damages the heart and liver functions. It can also aggravate joint conditions and lead to behavioural problems.

We can help to keep your pet fitter by advising on diets. Remember losing weight does not just mean cutting calories. We also have to ensure that the balance of essential vitamins and minerals remains correct.

There are special prescription diets that can help.

Our staff arc trained to help with this important aspect of pet healthcare, and would like to offer your pet(s) the chance to enrol in our “Weight Watching Club” free of charge.

Each pet will be offered private consultation and an individually tailored diet plan to help him or her to achieve their target weight.

As further incentives to shed those pounds, you will receive a “Half Way There” Reward and on reaching “Target Weight” money-off vouchers, a certificate and gift.

On successful completion, your pet has the opportunity to enter the Hill’s Pet Slimmer of the Year Competition and the chance to win:

1. £500 pampering for your pet.
2. 1 years free supply of Hill’s pet food.
3. £2,000 worth of holiday vouchers for you.

We look forward to you joining us to shed those pounds and, if you get a chance, please bring a “before” photograph for our display.

Does your pet’s breath smell?

Bad breath is often a pointer to poor oral hygiene. This in turn leads to a build up of dental plaque and tartar. The consequences of these are gum infections and tooth decay.

We are very keen to promote good preventative dental care. Our staff are trained in dental hygiene and can help you select a programme best suited to you and your pet.

We arc sure that prevention is always better than cure, since severe dental disease may only he resolved with a full general anaesthetic and even extractions.

There are a number of products available to help you with prevention and control. Some of these arc listed below:

1. Dental chews.
2. Tooth brushing.
3. Dental gels.
4. Special foods.

Please feel free to ask for advice on any of the above methods of dental hygiene.

Nowadays, with the majority of houses having central heating, there is an all year round flea problem.

A number of different control measures are available and the nursing staff will advise you which control would best suit your household. Some of these measures are listed below:

Program

Given in food once a month to dogs and cats or by injection to cats every 6 months Program sterilises any fleas which might bite and so prevents any build up of fleas.

Frontline

Frontline works in a similar way to Advantage, but has the benefit of also being effective against lice and ticks. This product is available as a drop-on or as a spray.

House Hold Sprays

House hold sprays can be used to prevent flea eggs developing and hatching out in the house and can be used alongside other products. Remember they can be toxic to fish and cagebirds so read the instructions for use carefully.

Rabbit diet and health

This information is aimed at helping clients on keeping their pet rabbit as healthy as possible by feeding a nutritionally balanced diet. Deficiencies of particular nutrients in a rabbit’s diet can cause specific health problems. The most important element of a rabbit’s diet is fibre. If a rabbit’s diet does not contain the right quality and quantity of fibre, it can suffer from dental and gastrointestinal problems. It is also important to include other nutrients in the diet, such as Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Calcium, which can help in the prevention of muscular, nervous and vascular problems, as well as the preclusion of uroliths.

In addition, the right diet is an important factor in helping to prevent the increasing problem of obesity. Some manufactured rabbit foods contain unnecessary levels of sugars to help improve palatability, so it is important to select a diet that provides the ideal amount of calories. In addition, root vegetables such as carrots are high in sugary starch, so owners that experience obesity problems with their rabbit should be advised to avoid such foods. Obesity can predispose to serious health problems including arthritis, osteoporosis, faecal retention around the perineum, urine scalding, fly strike and metabolic disease, so it is important for owners to keep an eye on their rabbit’s weight and feed an appropriate diet.

The natural diet

In its natural habitat, the rabbit eats grasses, weeds, leaves, and the bark of shrubs, bushes and trees. Recommending a natural diet raises a number of issues that should be considered when advising the domestic rabbit owner:

• Availability of good quality, natural grasses, plants and bark
• Risk of feeding poisonous plants
• Owner requiring a more convenient option
• The pet rabbit feeding selectively
• Owner’s propensity to ‘treat’, causing obesity
• Selecting food items the rabbit prefers, affecting nutritional balance

In an ideal world, a natural diet is the best option – but can owners realistically meet the nutritional needs of their pets in this way? It is often best to recommend feeding high quality hay such as alfalfa (or if not available, Timothy hay), topped up with a higher quality, high-fibre extruded mono component food, which the owner can purchase from most specialist pet stores. In addition, it is recommended to feed a selection of ‘green’ foods daily including broccoli, cabbage, parsley, watercress, celery leaves, endive, raddichio, bok choy, dock, basil, kale, carrot tops and beet tops. Your clients can easily purchase these from the supermarket, but they should be advised to wash them first before feeding. Some plants (including lettuce), are toxic to rabbits, so plants not on the list above should be avoided. Fruit should be regarded as a treat item and fed in limited quantities only as it is high in simple sugars and can lead to gastro-intestinal disturbance and dental problems.

Extruded mono component food

Mono component nutritionally complete foods are extruded, pelleted or baked biscuits that contain all the nutrients a small animal needs in each bite-sized piece, to ensure that a balanced diet is fed and selective feeding is prevented.

Fibre – making the right choice

We know the rabbit requires high levels of fibre – at least X% – but is there a difference in the quality of fibre available…

Alfalfa is the ultimate source of fibre, with higher levels of digestible and indigestible fibre than grass. The plant structure and high lignin content of alfalfa is also beneficial in promoting dental wear. Alfalfa also contains very good levels of essential amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. This is because alfalfa is a member of the legume family, which are capable of fixing their own nitrogen due to the presence of special bacteria that live in nodules on the roots of the plants. The roots of alfalfa plants can reach depths of 4 metres, which means they can pick up lots of minerals which, when fed as a hay or as the principal fibre source in a mono component product, are passed on in the rabbit’s diet. Alfalfa is especially plentiful in calcium, which is also essential to keeping a rabbit’s teeth strong and healthy. Alfalfa is also low in anti-nutritive factors and therefore enables the rabbit to obtain more nutrients than grass alone. It helps to defend against pathogenic bacteria in the gut and is lower in sugar than other forages to help prevent obesity.