Why Vaccinate in Dogs?

There are three viral diseases dogs may contract which are potentially fatal, against which we can vaccinate. These are distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus.

Fortunately through good vaccination practices the number of cases of canine distemper and hepatitis have declined, however parvovirus remains an all too common disease.

Kennel cough is another infectious disease which can be prevented by vaccination. It results in a severe and debilitating cough which without treatment can potentially take weeks from which to recover. As the name suggests it is commonly picked up whilst in kennels, but can be contracted via contact with any infected dog at any time. This disease is usually not life threatening but it can be severe and debilitating.

When to Vaccinate?

We recommend a vaccination regime for all puppies. These should begin at 6-8 weeks old. After this initial course vaccinations should be boosted once yearly at which time your dog will also have a complete examination in order to pick up any problems before they become serious. The added advantage of this annual examination is important. All too often we see animals present with problems that could have been more successfully treated or managed if picked up earlier.

What to Vaccinate against?

All dogs should be vaccinated with a C3 which includes Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus. Although not as life threatening, we also recommend a kennel cough vaccination which can all be included in the one injection. Together this makes up a C5.

If your dog has never been vaccinated before, it is never too late to start. As with humans, a dog’s ability to fight diseases can weaken with age. Just because they haven’t had the diseases in the past doesn’t mean they may not get them in the future.

If you have any questions regarding vaccinations please do not hesitate to ask to speak to one of the veterinarians.

Why Vaccinate in Cats

There are three main viral diseases which we vaccinate cats against. These are herpes virus and calicivirus which together make up cat flu. Feline enteritis is the third virus we protect against in a standard cat vaccination. Cat flu is characterized by sneezing, weepy eyes and mouth ulcers. It can be very debilitating, and in some cases life threatening. Feline enteritis attacks the intestines and can result in vomiting and diarrhea that can also be potentially life threatening.

Recent advances in feline research and development have also made FIV (feline aids) and FeLV (feline leukaemia) vaccines availiable. FIV is a cat-specific virus that can attack the immune system of cats, much like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can attack the immune system of human beings. FeLV is a virus that has been implicated as the cause of some feline cancers. Some people may wish to include the FIV and FeLV vaccine in their pets regime and you should discuss this with our veterinarians.

When to Vaccinate

Vaccination should ideally be done as early as possible in kittens. If your cat has never been vaccinated before, it's never too late to start. As with humans, a cats’ ability to fight these diseases can weaken as they age. Just because they haven’t had these diseases in the past doesn’t mean they may not get them in the future. After this initial course vaccinations should be boosted once yearly. At this time your cat will be also be given a complete clinical examination in order to pick up any problems before they become serious. We commonly see animals present with problems that could have been more successfully treated or managed if picked up earlier.

If you have any questions regarding these vaccinations please don’t hesitate to ask to speak to one of our veterinarians.
 

Procedure

For male cats and dogs the desexing procedure is relatively short and simple. Under a full general anaesthesia both testicles are removed via a single, small incision. The procedure takes between five (5) to (10) minutes approximately.

The procedure for desexing female dogs and cats is a little more complicated as we remove both ovaries and the uterus which are found deep within the abdomen. This is done via a small incision into the belly and takes approximately fifteen (15) minutes for a cat and approximately thirty (30) to forty-five (45) minutes for a dog.

Anaesthesia

These procedures are carried out under a full general anaesthesia. At Cheltenham Veterinary Clinic we only use the most modern and the safest anaesthetics available. We also incorporate the use of anaesthetic monitoring equipment to ensure the wellbeing of your pet and offer intavenous fluid therapy to optimise your pet's recovery.

Analgesia

Although these are not particularly painful procedures, we still give all patients twenty-four (24) hour pain killing injection prior to the procedure. This ensures the most comfortable recovery for your pet. At Cheltenham Veterinary Clinic this is already incorporated into the price of the procedure.

Recovery

Most animals are back to their normal selves within one (1) to two (2) days. Although it is important to try and them quiet for a few days, we understand this is not always possible. However, complications are rare, and all you need to do is check the wound daily and contact us immediately if there are any concerns.

Most patients do not worry about their stitches, but for the occasional “licker”, we can provide collars to prevent any collars.

If there are any queries regarding these procedures please feel free to contact the clinic and speak to one of the attending veterinaries at any time.

What is it?

As the term implies, this a worm which lives in the heart and lungs, and eventually causes death by heart failure. The good news is that I can easily be prevented.

The parasite is transferred from dog to dog by mosquitoes. The young worms take about 6 months to grow to maturity, living in the heart and lungs and then producing thousands more microfilariae (baby worms). The adults themselves may take several years to cause heart failure in their host . Unfortunately, by the time our dog has signs of heart failure it is often too late to treat them successfully. Hence our aim is to prevent the disease in the first place.

How to prevent Heartworm

Heartworm prevention differs markedly, from normal intestinal worm prevention due to one main difference. Heartworm medication is only effective at killing worms for the first month after infecting a new dog. After this the worms change to a new stage against which our medications are not effective. Consequently, our aim is to kill the worms before they reach this age. Hence we need to treat for heartworm every single month of life.

This has been the mainstay of prevention for many years giving either a tablet, or a chewy treat to our dogs monthly. As such, if an infestation does occur, the worms don’t get to reach that stage before the next tablet is given.

A wonderful new product has been available for a few years now called Proheart. This is a once yearly injection, which will protect your dog from heartworm for one year. The monthly treatments are just as effective, however, we recommend the yearly injection as it takes away the uncertainty of missed treatments. For some dogs that hate injections, the monthly treatments are still a good option. The choice is yours.

How to treat Advanced Heartworm

If your dog already has advanced heartworm disease, this can still be treated. Treatment is intensive and potentially costly and not without some potential harmful side effects. If the disease is picked up by a blood test before the patient is showing signs of heart failure then these treatments are far more likely to be effective than if diagnosed after showing clinical signs of heart failure (i.e. the more advanced the disease the more difficult it is to treat).

Therefore, if your dog has never been on heartworm prevention before, it is still a good idea to start, but we would recommend a quick blood test to make sure there are no adult worms currently present.

If you have any questions regarding heartworm prevention please do not hesitate to ask to speak to one of our veterinarians.