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?

Vaccinations

Regular vaccination of your pet is the best way to prevent a selection of very harmful and potentially fatal diseases.

Dogs can start their vaccines from 8 weeks of age, when the immunity they gain from their mother is wearing off. Two doses are given 2 weeks apart, then yearly booster vaccinations

In cats the vaccines start at 9 weeks of age and the two doses are 3 weeks apart, also followed by yearly boosters.

Research is being done into how frequently booster vaccinations need to be done. We currently recommend yearly boosters, and we always perform a full health check on your pet at this time.

Kennel cough

Kennel cough is an infectious respiratory disease of dogs which usually presents as peristent coughing. It isn't a serious condition in healthy animals but will need treatment by your vet and is potentially more serious for very young or old animals or those that are already ill. It is generally seen spreading between dogs when they are in close proximity to each other, traditionally seen just after being in kennels. We can now vaccinate against kennel cough and we recommend this for dogs that are likely to be staying in kennels, many kennels are now requesting that all dogs that stay with them are vaccinated. The vaccine lasts for 1 year and can be repeated at that point if needed.

Why do we vaccinate?

When animals (and humans!) are exposed to infections the body's immune system identifies the infectious organism and creates a response that specifically kills it. This process takes time however and isn't quick enough to deal with some infections before they cause serious problems.

Vaccination is a way of preventing disease by exposing the body to killed or inactivated forms of diseases, allowing the immune system to learn how to target them. So when the body is invaded the organism is dealt with swiftly and often with no visible signs of disease. The diseases we vaccinate against are generally the type where we have little or no specific treatment for, and so all we can do is support the animal while we wait for their immune system to deal with the infection. Some are quite serious and it is much more preferable to prevent the disease in the first place.