Welcome to the Autumn 2010 edition of the practice newsletter. Hopefully, like most of us, you had an opportunity to have a break during the summer months and are now refreshed and ready for the challenges of everyday life.
The summer months are amongst our busiest at the practice. The warmer weather makes fleas more prevalent-this increases the number of cats and dogs that we see with skin problems. The better weather encourages most of us to take our dogs out for longer walks-as a consequence we tend to see more dogs with cuts and grazes. Most people find that their cats spend more time outdoors during the summer-this leads to an increase in the number of fight wounds and abscesses that we see at the surgery.
The arrival of a new pet in a household is a very special time. I am continually impressed by the preparation that so many of you put in prior to the arrival of a new pet. It makes such a difference to how quickly the pet settles in. Our pets make huge contributions to our enjoyment and quality of life. Your care contributes enormously to theirs.
Veterinary Essentials
We have recently introduced Hill’s new range of Veterinary Essentials to the surgery. These diets replace the Hill’s Science plan range. The Veterinary Essentials range is much simpler than its predecessor and provides only three dietary options for cats and dogs. In cats the range includes kitten, young adult and mature. In dogs the options are puppy, adult and mature. The diets combine excellent nutrition, palatability, simplicity and value for money in one bag. All of the diets are now on sale at the surgery. Please feel free to ask if you need any advice.
Vets TV
In July we installed a television in the practice reception. I am afraid we will not be showing soap operas and talent shows for you to watch while you are waiting for your appointment. We will instead be showing video footage of a variety of treatments that we perform at the surgery. In due course we hope to also be able to provide you with information about pets in search of new homes and about other local community events. I am afraid the television service will not be a substitute for us speaking directly with you. We feel good communication with you about your pets is vital to the service that we provide so will continue to speak with you as much as before.
Worming
Worming your cats and dogs is important for their own health and public health. We continue to recommend worming adults dogs and cats every three months. We will give individual advice on worming puppies and kittens when we see them.
We are continuing to run our buy three doses get one free offer with Milbemax. For those of you who, like me, struggle to remember to worm your pets we can provide a three monthly worming reminder by text or by email-ask at reception for details.
And finally there are a few cats that, despite all of our valiant efforts, we are unable to administer worming tablets. Profender offers an effective and easier solution for these challenging cats. It is applied to the skin at the back of the neck in the same way as many of the spot on flea products. Ask at the surgery for details.
Kennel Cough
Kennel cough or, to use its correct title infectious tracheobronchitis, is a well known disease in dogs. However there are still many misconceptions about the causes and spread of the disease.
Kennel cough is caused by a variety of viruses and bacteria. It can affect all dogs and is of particular risk to puppies, old and debilitated dogs. The most common infectious agents are Bordetella Bronchiseptica and Canine Parainfluenza.
Although the name suggests the disease originates from kennels approximately half of cases originate from day to day contact with contagious dogs in parks, dog training clubs and even at your veterinary surgery. Kennel cough can generally be treated successfully-however it can take a number of days to disappear and affected dogs can be contagious to dogs for a number of weeks.
The best protection against kennel cough is with an intranasal vaccine. Many kennels insist on vaccination and some dogs now have it administered annually to reduce the chances of picking up kennel cough through contact with other dogs.
More and more of you are taking advantage of our extended opening hours on Sunday mornings. We are now open from 9am to 12.30pm on Sundays for routine and urgent appointments, prescription collections, food purchase and general advice.
Like many of us the present economic situation has put financial pressure on some charities. Merial, the manufacturers of the flea treatment Frontline Combo, will give a small donation to local animal charities for each box of the product that is purchased over the next few months. There will be a display on the notice board showing how much money has been raised for the charity.
Practice Ambulance
More and more of you are taking advantage of our animal ambulance service. We are able to collect and return all pets to and from your house for a small charge. The ambulance is also used for prescription deliveries, food deliveries and house visits. So if you are having difficulties transporting your pets to the surgery just give us a ring.