Not just dogs and cats

I thought you'd like to see a picture of one of the more unusual creatures we have treated recently.

We commonly have tortoises visiting the practice, as Mike Jessop, one of our partners has a special interest in tortoises and reptiles. This Sulcata tortoise was a rather memorable patient. It took two of us to carry him.

He had an operation under a general anaesthetic and is doing well.

Here's Leanne, our trainee nurse helping him back to bed.

Pet Smile Month

September is National Pet Smile Month and we are doing our bit to support dental care by offering free dental checks to any dogs or cats registered at the practice.

Dental disease is vastly under diagnosed and under treated in the UK. Studies show that 80% of dogs and cats have gum disease by the time they are three years old.

Initially dental disease is reversible, but it leads to reddened painful gums, tooth root exposure, holes through the enamel into the sensitive pulp and eventually loss of teeth. This is of course painful for your pet.

The trouble for many owners is that animals do not show signs of having a painful mouth until late in the course of the disease. Many owners never check their pet's mouths and are surprised when we show them what is going on. Yellowing tartar, broken teeth and smelly breath may be lurking inside your pet's mouth. Have a look today, or even better, let us look for you.

All pets who have a dental examination during Pet Smile Month will be given a free dental care guide and a goodie bag containing a fingerbrush, toothpaste and information about dental care. For owners we are offering 10% off dental procedures booked and performed during September and the same discount on dental care products.

To find out more about Pet Smile Month visit
http://www.petsmile.org/home.html
or ask one of our vets, nurses or receptionists and look out for more about dental disease during the month of September.

Congratulations to Leanne

Sorry for the silence on the blog, but I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to update recently. With the schools off, our vets, like most other families have been on holiday, so those of us who were left behind have been really busy.

I wanted to use this blog to congratulate Leanne Roberts, our trainee veterinary nurse who passed her first set of nursing exams this week. Leanne has worked very hard all year and we're very proud of her.

Veterinary nursing takes a lot of commitment from the students. Most veterinary nurses work full time; attending college once a week on a day release basis and studying in the evenings and at weekends. The two year course involves college assignments, examinations and a portfolio based on the cases they help to treat whilst they are in practice.

The portfolio involves a large number of case reports, of varying lengths covering all aspects of animal management and veterinary care. In order to complete it, the nurses have to research and learn a huge amount of information.

One of our other nurse trainees attends a full time four year course at Bristol University. This will give her a degree in veterinary nursing, which includes equine nursing and advanced medical and surgical nursing.

Because they have this level of knowledge and understanding of a range of subjects, we encourage our nurses to promote pet health in their free nursing clinic. These cover a variety of conditions including dental care, pain clinics, puppy and kitten health monitoring, weight loss clubs and the after eight club for senior pets. As with human nurses they can measure blood pressure, analyse urine and take and process blood samples.

We're really proud of our nurses and the commitment they show to pet health care. Look out for them the next time you're in the practice and if you have a question about your pet's health, then ask away.

New Ultrasound Machine

We've just had out new ultrasound machine delivered and we're very pleased with it. We had an older machine, which was top of the range when we got it ten years ago, but obviously technology has moved on since then and we felt that we should do so too.

Whilst the images on the old machine were ok, we wanted something better - picture the difference between a old black and white television and a high definition, flatscreen tv.

We were particularly interested in getting better pictures of dog and cats' abdomens. With an ultrasound machine we can look at all sorts of organs in a conscious animal, avoiding the need for anaesthetics. Of course we can look for pregnancies and the reproductive tract in both males and females, but we can study other organs including their liver, kidneys, spleen, intestines and bladder.

Because the new machine also has a Doppler function, we can look a blood flow within blood vessels and the heart. This will allow us to investigate a whole range of heart and other conditions. We can watch the blood flow in different directions, as with this picture of jugular blood vessels.

We can also measure across the heart to see if the chambers are narrowed or the heart wall is thickened.

We're looking forward to using the new machine to help treat dogs and cats. I think it looks a bit like Wall-E, the robot in Pixar's new film; I'm hoping it's not smart enough to develop a life of its own, whilst we're out.

Identichips Reunited

In a lovely finish to our microchip month, there was a fantastic example of why it is worth having your pet identichipped. A dog who belongs to one of our clients, had been missing for almost a year, when he was taken in to our emergency service in Ystrad Mynach.

They scanned him, because he had been found as a stray and he was reunited with his owners later that evening.

The same week, two dogs who had been involved in a road traffic accident were brought in to our surgery in Merthyr Tydfil. Because they had been identichipped, we were able to contact the owner and after treatment, they were returned home.

Articles in the Merthyr Express and Cynon Valley Leader telling Cringer's story can be found at

The chips are up for Cringer

Cringer comes home

Other Staffordshire Bull Terriers helped by Jac

One of our patients has appeared in the Merthyr Express, to support others of his breed. Jac and his owner were interviewed to set the record straight on Staffordshire Bull terriers, a breed that the RSPCA commonly have a problem rehoming from their centres.

Family softy with a ruff reputation

Jun 12 2008 by Ian Caleb, Merthyr Express

Family softy with a ruff reputation

UNWANTED and unloved – the image of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier as a snarling menace is turning people away in droves.

According to latest RSPCA figures, the feisty canine is being ignored because of its supposedly aggressive and dangerous behaviour.

But in a week where the number of Staffies looking for a home is one and a half times bigger than any other dog, the charity is asking potential owners to pause for thought when plumbing for a pooch.

Ray Rees, a patron of Merthyr Tydfil’s Ash Veterinary Surgery, is the proud owner of seven-month old Jac – and has sworn by the breed for 37 years.

He said: “The idea they are nasty is rubbish. They are full of life, the most faithful, mischievous dogs you could ever find.

“They sometimes don't like other dogs, but they are great with children."

“It’s all about the upbringing. I hate to see them being trained to be aggressive, but they don’t know any better if they are trained to be that way.

“I bring mine up to be friendly, and they are. As long as they have been brought up that way, they make brilliant pets.”

The RSPCA Manager for Wales Kate Jones said it is bad and ill informed owners who are to blame for their reputation and, in a week where they are encouraging people to rehouse dogs, breeds such as Staffies should be considered by anyone looking for a loving companion.

She said: “Staffies have had a terrible press, but this is not of their own making – in fact they're wonderful dogs.

“If well cared for and properly trained they can make brilliant companions.

“Our experience suggests that problems occur when bad owners exploit the Staffie’s desire to please by training them to show aggression.

“If you're thinking of getting an animal, please visit an RSPCA centre during Pet Adoption Week – ending June 15 – and get to know one of the thousands of animals in our care.

“If you end up taking a Staffie or one of the other dogs on our most unwanted list back, you'll know you've given an extra special animal a much-needed new home.”

For an information pack about adopting an animal from the RSPCA, call the dedicated Pet Adoption Week phone line on 0300 123 8484 or find out more by visiting www.rspca.org.uk/paw

The article can be found at

http://www.walesonline.co.uk

(apologies for the poor picture, it's the same in the original)

Choosing a puppy or kitten

On Sunday we went to the breeder of the Maine Coon kitten we are having, to choose the one we wanted. As you can understand, I'm sure, this was a pretty exciting day. When we walked in and the kittens looked like this, it was even harder.

Although it's bound to be exciting, it can be pretty daunting to decide on an animal you are going to spend many (hopefully happy) years with.

The first thing to think about is whether your chosen pet is going to fit into your lifestyle. I would love a dog, but I work full time and really don't feel I could spend enough time with it to make life fun for it. Think about the time and space you can commit to a pet and how it will fit in the with rest of the people and pets you share your home with.

A friend lodges with a couple who have just bought a Doberman puppy. They both work full time and this young active dog ends up spending most of its time in an indoor kennel in the kitchen - this is not fair on the puppy, or the lodgers, who end up cleaning him out and amusing him most of the time.

Having decided on an animal and a breed you might like, spend a bit of time finding out about it. Many pedigree breeds are prone to inherited problems. Some of these can be reduced by good breeding, e.g. hip dysplasia in large breed dogs, so find out if there is a scheme within the breed to eradicate these problems. Moggies and mongrels tend to be free of may inherited problems as they have a wider gene pool.

I know that Maine Coons (Giacomo's breed) suffer from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a heart condition causing thickening of the muscle of the heart) and hip dysplasia (a malformation of the hip joints). His father has been screened clear of cardiomyopathy and I can monitor any signs of both diseases by making sure he has regular check ups. Pedigree cats are also in danger of catching FIP (feline infectious peritonitis, a horrible and often fatal disease) in breeding colonies, but breeders can take special steps of avoid this, which his breeder has done.

Once you have decided on a breed, or you know someone who has moggies or mongrel dogs you are interested in, arrange to go and see the litter. You should also take the chance to meet at least the mother, and if possible the father. In cats, the friendliness of the kittens comes mainly from the father, not the mother, so meet the stud if at all possible (obviously if no one knows who dad was, you can't do this).

When you get to the breeder, have a good look round and ask lots of questions. Have the puppies or kittens been in the house, or do they live in a kennel outside? How much contact have they had with people? Have they been handled regularly? Are they used to being groomed? Have they met children and other animals?

It is very important to socialise puppies and kittens well in their early life (up to 10 weeks in cats, up to 14 weeks in dogs). Anything that they meet in this early period, they will take in their stride, things they meet later, they will assume are scary and may take a lot of convincing otherwise. For this reason you want puppies and kittens which familiar with all sorts of different people and household events and have been handled regularly.

Sadly, many dogs are still bred by puppy farmers and are kept in outbuildings for these vital first weeks of life. This means that the puppy you get is nervous of virtually everything he comes across. These are often the dogs who develop behavioural problems and aggression in later life and many are put down because of it.

When you get to see the litter, stay calm and quiet and let the puppies and kittens approach you. Temperament wise, you are looking for an outgoing puppy or kitten- one which is not too boisterous, but not the one that hangs back and won't approach. You want one of the litter who is somewhere in the middle.

Do not pick the runt, or the smallest one because you feel sorry for it. You want a healthy, happy animal which will enjoy life with you, not one who may be prone to problems.

Look around for signs of sickness or diarrhoea - if so avoid these animals. All the litter should be about the same size and should be well covered in flesh - not too fat or too thin. Check the following

• eyes - should be bright and clear with no discharge
• ears - clean with no matting or brown wax (this can be a sign of ear mites)
• coat - the coat should be clean and not matted, with no sign of black dirt, fleas or scurf, which can be a sign of mites. There should be no bald patches (although sometimes you will get little grazes from puppies and kittens playing together)
• abdomen - their tummy should not be bloated as this can be a sign of worms
• walking - watch them walk and play. There should be no sign of lameness or pain

If all the puppies and kittens are healthy, then it's a matter of personal choice. There were two kittens which we were tempted by in this litter and in the end, Ian chose the one he preferred. And here he is - Giacomo. We can take him home in two weeks, when he has had his second vaccination.

Before you take your puppy or kitten home, remember to ask

• When were they wormed, how often and what with?
• Have they been vaccinated (you should be given a certificate to prove this)
• What are they used to being fed? (most breeders will send you home with some food. Feed them on this for the next few days, then change it gradually to a good quality food (we use Hills)
• Have they been flea treated and if so, what with?
• What sort of litter are the kittens used to (make sure you start them off on the same one)
  

Arrange a check up with your vet as soon as possible, to ensure that they are healthy and that there are no unpleasant surprises you should know about. Also arrange a lifetime cover insurance policy for them. This can be set up before you actually collect the puppy or kitten so that they are covered as soon as you get them.

Then...
take them home and enjoy them. Puppies and kittens are great fun and a pleasure to spend time with. My tip; be prepared for all the hours you'll waste, just watching them!