Ask the Vet
Ensuring the good health of your dog or cat is of course vital, from making sure they are vaccinated on time to spotting the early signs of illness or any other problems.
This section will help give you a guide to the most common recommended preventative treatments and ailments. If your pet is showing symptoms of illness, this guide is here to help you identify what is wrong and recommend the right course of action. If the symptoms are not listed then contact Clive at vet@pethealthdirect.co.uk and Clive will get back to you
Vaccinations
When do puppies start their vaccinations?
- 1st vaccination can be given from 7 weeks of age with a 2nd at 10 weeks or older and there must be at least 2 weeks between the 2 injections.
- Vaccinate against Parvovirus, Leptospirosis, (both common diseases in this area,) Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza and coronavirus.
- Also vaccinate against kennel cough given by drops down the nose. This is not a killer disease but is essential prior to going to kennels (and we do sometimes get outbreaks outside kennels.)
Is it essential to give boosters every year?
- The annual booster does not include all the above diseases every year but it does include at least Parvovirus and Leptospira every year as studies have shown that, particularly in the case of the latter, antibody levels drop too low soon after the booster time has passed.
- vaccinations include a free health check which is particularly useful as pets get older and any problems can be raised with the vet.
Are there any side-effects from the vacinations?
- I can also say that, in more than 20 years as a vet, I have never been aware of a serious reaction to a vaccine in one of my patients.
What about cat vaccines?
- kittens can start their injections from 9 weeks of age with a 2nd dose given 3 weeks later. We recommend vaccination against cat 'flu, feline enteritis, leukaemia, (a virus spread by blood or saliva from another cat,) and chlamydia (a nasty form of conjunctivitis and upper respiratory tract infection.)
Neutering
Bitches
- we spay most bitches at 6 months of age, before they have a season. The womb is smaller then making the operation easier for dog and vet. Spaying young like this prevents mammary tumours (the dog equivalent of breast cancer) almost 100%. It also obviously prevents womb infections (otherwise very common) and tumours in later life.
- if a bitch has had a season we wait about 3 months before operating to allow the hormones to settle.
- the main disadvantages of spaying are weight gain (easily avoided by feeding less - come and see Mr Bournes spayed bitches if you wish) and urinary incontinence (bed wetting). The latter is easily controlled by 'hormone replacement therapy' or other treatments.
- the operation is quite major but is very safe :- we haven't had a death in the 19 years I've been here ( which is several thousand bitches). Bitches are usually back to normal in 2-4 days, though they have stitches in for 10 days.
- if you are on means tested benefits you can have your bitch spayed for £25 under the Dog's Trust scheme.
Male dogs
- many males don't require castration
- the operation is useful for dogs exhibiting excessive sexual behaviour e.g. mating cushions/visitor's legs (!!), escaping to search for bitches.
- it can reduce aggressive behaviour but is not a panacea for all bad behaviour
- the operation can be done from 6 months of age but we usually leave it until 12 months as many behaviour problems in these 'adolescent' dogs can be cured by training.
- again the price is £25 for those on means tested benefits.
Cats
-female cats are usually spayed at 5-6 months old.
- males can be castrated at this age or, if left another 3-4 months, they will develop a more tomcat type appearance. If left much longer they will develop other, less desirable, tomcat characteristics!
Worming
Dogs
- all pups should be wormed 3-4 times at 10-14 day intervals with a product that tackles roundworms. They acquire these worms from their mums in the womb or via milk ( aren't worms cunning! ).
- from then worming every 3 months with a product that tackles round and tapeworms ( e.g. our Milbemax ) usually suffices.
Cats
- as with pups all kittens need treatment for roundworms
- older kittens and adults also acquire tapeworms either from fleas or by eating prey ( birds and rodents ).
- Milbemax is a very effective tablet - it deals with all worms.
- for those cats which don't like tablets ( and there are many ) there is a 'spot-on' wormer (a few drops of liquid applied to the back of the neck) called Profender. This kills all worms. Panacur favourites are a very palatable tablet ( my cats wolf them down) but they don't kill all varieties of worms