Information for Owners

Vaccinations

Why should I vaccinate my pet and how often?

Fleas and Worms

Why and how often should I use preventative treatments?

Neutering

Why is this beneficial and what does it involve?

Microchipping

What is microchipping and what does it involve?

Nutrition

How to choose the best food for your pet

Insurance

Why should I insure my pet and how do I choose the best policy?

Pet Passports

Why are they needed and how do I get one for my pet?

Nutrition

Commercial complete dog and cat foods are the best way to provide balanced nutrition for your pet, always feed amounts as recommended on the food's packaging. We recommend and sell Hills Science Plan diets for a cost-effective and good quality diet. Some groups of animals have special dietary requirements -

Puppies/Kittens

It is most important that your puppy/kitten is fed on a diet designed specifically for puppies, as they require a different balance of energy, protein and minerals. It is very difficult to achieve this with a home-cooked diet and commercial puppy and kitten foods are the best way to provide the ideal nutrition. Younger animals need to eat more frequently, as a rough guide feed 4 times a day until 3 months old, then 3 times a day until 4 months old, then twice daily. You can change your puppy/kitten onto adult food at about 1 year of age.

Older animals

As animals get older their dietary requirements change and there are diets designed to keep them healthy. Recommendations for what age to change onto senior diet vary with species and breed, ask your vet for advice on when to change over.

Large breeds

Larger breed dogs have special requirements particularly involving the levels of calcium in their diet and especially while they are young and growing, using a diet designed for larger breeds will help to prevent problems with their bones and joints. Ask your vet if your dog would benefit from this kind of diet.

Special requirements

There are now many prescription diets which provide a valuable addition to other treatments for your pet, for conditions ranging from diarrhoea to arthritis to chronic kidney failure. Your vet will advise you if a prescription diet is appropriate for your pet.