The Parkvets approach to...

Saying Hello to your New Puppy

Saying Hello To Your New Puppy

If you’ve made the choice to acquire a new four-legged member of your family, the chances are you’re someone who will want to make the very best choices for your pet. But did you know that making responsible choices as a pet owner starts before your furry friend is first welcomed into your home?

Where you get your pet from is incredibly important, for example. You may have heard of pet ‘farms’ or ‘mills’, where huge numbers of domestic animals are bred to sell to unwitting customers. These breeders often operate with very little regard for the health and wellbeing of the animals in their care. This can lead to animals born with medical issues that are often incurable, as well as being incredibly cruel. Whilst some pet shops are extremely conscientious about where they source animals from, many others still use mills as a cheap and easy option.

This is just one reason why Parkvets are now offering “pre-ownership” appointments for anyone looking to take on the responsibility of owning an animal. Appointments are available at our Longfield, Swanley and main Sidcup Hospital and are completely free of charge. You will meet with a nurse to discuss all the elements of pet ownership, which will allow you to make a more informed decision when you finally acquire your new companion. Topics to discuss include what to look for in a reputable breeder, whether your home is suitable for a particular species or breed of pet, caring for your pet during their early years, diet and exercise requirements. Of course, any specific questions you have about your potential pet will be answered for you.

Pre-ownership appointments can only be booked in our Longfield, Swanley or main Sidcup hospital with a nurse, to book an appointment please call 0208 3008111.

Protecting your pet Through Vaccination

Did you know that your dog is susceptible to a variety of particular diseases that can potentially be fatal if left untreated? That is why it is recommended for all puppies and dogs to receive annual protection against the most serious threats.

When your puppy is a few weeks old, they will need to undergo two initial injections two to four weeks apart. Following this, they will only need a ‘booster’ vaccination once a year to ensure that their immunity is always topped up.

Your puppy should have their first vaccination at around 8 weeks of age. They should be vaccinated against:

Canine Parvovirus
Canine Distemper Virus
Infectious Canine Hepatitis
Leptospirosis
Parainfluenza

A kennel cough vaccination is also recommended to protect your puppy from contracting the virus during socialisation with other dogs.

If you plan to take your puppy to training classes or ‘doggy daycare’, or to leave them in the kennels while you are away on holiday, we strongly recommend this additional protection.

Going forward, the vet will discuss your pet’s lifestyle at their annual booster appointment and recommend an appropriate vaccination protocol.

What’s more, here at Parkvets we carry out a full health check on your dog every time they come in to see us for their vaccinations, just to make sure they are still happy and healthy, and that everything is as it should be.

For more information on the vaccinations that are recommended for your pet, or to book an appointment, please give us a call on: 0208 300 8111.

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Protecting your Pet Against Parasites

Parasites are defined as organisms that live on another mammal as a ‘host’, and feed off them as a source of nutrition.

There are several different types of parasite that can affect your dog, and once your dog is infected you and your family may be at risk too. Some parasites can cause significant disease in both humans and animals, which is why it is so important to ensure that your pet receives proper protection.

Parasites can be divided into two main groups. There are endoparasites, which live inside the host’s body – such as roundworms, tapeworms and lungworms – and ectoparasites, which live outside the body – such as fleas, ticks and mange.

Roundworms Toxocara and Toxascaris are particularly harmful to human health, and may occasionally cause blindness or possibly epilepsy in people. In addition the tapeworm Echinococcus, which is very common in Wales and Europe, can cause severe disease and even death.

For your pet dog, Angiostrongylus (lungworm) is often life threatening and mange or fleas can also cause significant distress. Additionally, ticks or sandflies are carriers of serious disease and are particularly prevalent if you take your pet abroad. As with many illnesses, the effects can be significantly more pronounced in very young or very old animals.

For dogs we have a number of options depending on your dog’s lifestyle. These include Advocate and Simparica Trio, both of which are licensed treatments for lungworm. We also recommend using Drontal Plus or Droncit intermittently which both treat tapeworm, or Advantix which treats tick infestations.

Some parasite treatments are oral and some are topical. Your vet will discuss the best one for your pet.

Please feel free to contact us on 0208 300 8111 for more information about the most suitable parasite control programme for your dog, or discuss this with your vet at their annual health check.

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Insuring Your Pet

Even with the best will in the world, sometimes unpredictable things happen. Illnesses are often unexpected, so it’s best to be prepared in case something does happen to your feline friend.

Pet insurance offers you that vital reassurance that no matter what treatment your pet needs, it can be covered. There’s nothing worse than having to weigh up the importance of your pet’s wellbeing against your ability to meet the costs.

That’s why here at Parkvets we work closely with our insurance partner Petplan, to ensure that as many pets as possible are covered against unexpected circumstances. Petplan provides an excellent “cover for life” policy, as well as delivering great customer service.

You’ll probably find it’s one of the best investments you’ll ever make. To learn more about Petplan or why insurance is so strongly recommended for your pet, please give us a call on 0208 300 8111.

Neutering Your Pet

Unless you are intending to breed from your pet, getting your companion neutered is often considered the most responsible thing to do. Neutering involves removing your pet’s sexual organs so they’re unable to reproduce. It also protects your dog from a range of diseases and other conditions, as they age.

The neutering procedure is a comparatively simple operation, and in many cases your pet will be home and recovering with you by the end of the day. When you come to collect them after their procedure, one of our team will run through some post-operative care with you. You will also be given pain relief for your pet to keep them comfortable for the next couple of days, until they’re feeling back to their normal self.

For male dogs, neutering will reduce the risk of them from suffering from diseases of the prostate and testicles, as well as reducing unwanted sexual behaviour such as mounting objects, aggression and urinary marking.

Likewise, for female dogs neutering can reduce the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers, as well as problems with the mammary glands. It also removes the risk of accidental pregnancies and will prevent unwanted sexual and hormonal attention from male animals.

For more information about the neutering procedure, or to book your pet’s neutering appointment, please feel free to call us on 0208 300 8111.

Introducing Laparoscopic Spays To Parkvets

Here at Parkvets, we have invested in equipment for laparoscopic spays, also known as ‘keyhole’ spays. This is a minimally invasive way of performing this routine surgery, and involves removal of both ovaries although the uterus remains in situ. The procedure involves placing three ports into the abdomen, through which instruments can be passed. These ports can each then be closed with only 1-2 stitches, leaving only three small 1-2cm incisions to heal. The whole procedure involves a lot less tugging and stretching, and so pain is usually much reduced when compared to a standard spay – and the patients can return to normal much more swiftly. However, as our patients love to chew, they will still need a buster collar or body suit to stop them!

Laparoscopic spays carry a similar degree of risk of complications to routine spays as, although recovery is more comfortable, there can be trauma from the instruments and camera in rare cases and, as in humans, a percentage of keyhole surgeries still need converting to ‘open’ spays due to unforeseen circumstances.

We now routinely perform keyhole spays. The results are amazing and our patients are recovering very quickly. Please speak to our Clinical Support Service team for more information.

Finding Your Pet If They Get Lost

You know as well as we do how inquisitive pets can be, and how quickly dogs can get carried away chasing after a bird or squirrel in the park. Unfortunately this means that their likelihood of getting lost is often even higher than normal, but a simple microchip could help reunite you with them if this was ever to happen.

It is now a legal requirement that all dogs are microchipped in order that owners can be more easily traced. A microchip is a very small piece of technology – roughly the same size as a grain of rice – which is inserted underneath the skin between your pet’s shoulder blades. The chip carries a unique code which can be read using a specialist scanner. When entered into a national database of domestic pets, this code will bring up your contact details and identify you as the owner.

The computerised database can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means that no matter when your pet might wander a little too far from home, the relevant animal authorities will be able to scan them and get in touch with you straight away.

The specialist microchip scanners that reveal your pet’s code, and subsequently your contact details, are only held by specific authorities including all veterinary practices, rescue shelters, dog wardens and animal welfare charities like the RSPCA.

The microchipping procedure is very quick, lasting only a few seconds, and can be carried out almost painlessly. Many pets are not even aware that it has happened. Your pet can be chipped during a routine consultation, or during a surgical procedure if you let us know in advance. It’s a small price to pay for the knowledge that your pet can be traced and returned to you in the event that they ever go missing.

In the unfortunate event that your pet has gone missing, Parkvets will do their very best to help during this difficult time. We will take advantage of social media to help spread the word and keep a log of your pet’s details at all Parkvets practice locations.

For more information about microchipping, or to book an appointment for your pet, please call us on 0208 300 8111.

Keeping Your Pet's Teeth In Tip Top Condition

Your dog is good at tolerating pain, and therefore won’t always make it obvious when they’re experiencing any problems with their teeth. However, minor problems or inflammation can soon develop into potentially serious diseases and infections, so it’s important to ensure that your dog attends regular dental check-ups.

At Parkvets our nurses are able to carry out thorough oral hygiene consultations and offer advice on how you can best care for your pet’s teeth. Should your furry friend then require treatment, we can carry out scaling and polishing – much like you would have at your own dentist.

However, there are several things you can do at home to help keep your dog’s mouth in top condition and disease at bay

Brushing teeth daily – but remember that you should always use specialist animal toothpaste, never human products. One of our team can demonstrate the best techniques for doing this with minimal stress or discomfort to your pet.
A dry diet – Crunching hard biscuit-type food will act in an abrasive way against your pet’s teeth, removing any plaque build-up.

The following tell-tale behaviour could indicate that your dog is suffering from a problem with their mouth or teeth:

Quiet or subdued behaviour
Pawing at the mouth
Not eating/difficulty eating/chewing on one side of the mouth
Keen to eat (visiting the food bowl) but then not eating
Excess salivation

If your pet demonstrates any of the symptoms above, we recommend that you book an appointment to see one of our dental nurses as soon as possible.

For more information about oral care for your pet, or to book an appointment to see one of our team for a dental check-up, simply call us on 0208 300 8111.

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Meeting Your Pet's Nutritional Needs

When it comes to choosing a brand or type of food for your pet, there are so many options available that you may well feel overwhelmed at the choice!

Any of our vets or nurses will be happy to talk to you about the best options for your dog, based on their size, breed and typical lifestyle.

Simply give us a call, pop in whenever you are next passing, or bring it up with one of our team during your dog's next appointment.

However, here at Parkvets we particularly recommend Purina food, because of its excellent natural balance of nutrition and essential vitamins and minerals. There are also several varieties available, each tailored to the different needs or sensitivities that your pet might have.

Saying Goodbye, When The Time Comes

As much as we’d undoubtedly like them to stay around forever, eventually the time will come for you to have to say goodbye to your pet. This is an understandably distressing experience for any owner, and here at Parkvets we have a series of measures in place to help make it as stress-free as possible for you.

Our staff are specially trained through Compassion Understood to help you prepare for your pet’s passing and to plan any arrangements necessary afterwards – all you have to do is let us know what you’d prefer and we’ll take care of the rest for you.

What’s more, we can guarantee that there will always be someone at our hospital for you to talk to if you ever need a little extra support – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – who will be happy to give you as much time as you need.

You can rest assured that we will do our very best to accommodate any particular requests you might have, and will always put your pet’s welfare and your needs first.

For more information about our euthanasia and pet cremation services, please download the PDF file Saying Goodbye. If you have any questions or would like further advice or support from a member of our team, please feel free to call us on 0208 300 8111.