Vaccinations

Dog vaccinations are highly recommended as a yearly injection for the life of your pet. There are life-threatening diseases out there where a simple yearly booster vaccination will help protect your pet from 

  • Parvovirus. This disease causes severe bloody diarrhoea & vomiting and unfortunately about 50% of dogs can dies from this.
  • Leptospirosis This awful disease causes the liver and kidneys to shut down, it can affect a dog at any age, sadly most infected dogs die even with intensive treatment. This is a zoonotic disease that can affect humans too. It is spread in rats urine so any dog that comes into contact with grass/walkways in both urban and countryside areas are susceptible to this disease.
  • Hepatitis

  • Distemper 

Puppies need their 1st injection at 8-9 weeks and then a second injection at 10-12 weeks of age.

We recommend keeping your pet away from public places/ other animals until a week after their 2nd puppy vaccination. This is to help prevent them contracting any of the above diseases

We also recommend considering the Canine Cough vaccine annually to stop your pet from getting a nasty viral cough that can last for 2-3 months

Flea & Worming

Dogs are naturally inquisitive and can pick up all kinds of parasites on their walks- the most common being fleas & worms. Even the most fastidiously clean dog can pick up parasites so we recommend an on going treatment regime to help protect your pet as much as possible, 

Most worms live in your pets intestines and can lead to internal problems, nutritional deficiencies and severe discomfort if left untreated.   There are three main types of worms:

  • Roundworms look like strings of spaghetti. The eggs are invisible to the human eye which makes them difficult to spot. They can be picked up from the environment or passed from animal to animal. They can also be passed onto humans especially children, where serious infestation can lead to severe problems including blindness (toxocariasis)
  • Tapeworm look like flattened grains of rice. You may see these in your pets faeces. They are not passed directly from animal to animal. They require an intermediate host such as the flea. If you suspect a tapeworm problem then it is advisable to treat for fleas too. 
  • Lungworm can cause serious issues in your pet such as coughing and can even be fatal by causing blood clotting problems. It is carried in slugs and snails that dogs can easily eat by accident 

  • Regular treatment is key. Puppies should be wormed every month until they are 6 months of age and then they can go on 3 monthly treatments. Puppies naturally have a high burden of worms as they can be passed through their mothers milk.

  • There are lots of different treatment options and we would be delighted to recommend a suitable option for your pet. Please note that no worm treatment will prevent re-infestation- they only kill worms already present in your pet making it very important to keep up with regular treatments.

  • Fleas affect every dog from the cleanest house dog to the farm dog no matter how clean your home is. Fleas can be very difficult to eradicate from your home once they get in there so regular flea prevention is best for your pet and also for your home. 90% of fleas will be in the environment and only at best 10% of a flea infestation will be on your pet. They like to lay & hatch eggs quickly too! 

  • Dogs can also have allergies to flea bites as the flea saliva can cause a hypersensitivity reaction making the skin  red, inflamed, scabby and very itchy! Fortunately  if you suspect you have fleas in your home we can give you a household flea killing spray along with a treatment for your pet. 

Neutering

With animal charities over-run with thousands of unwanted pets each year, and the known lifetime cost of owning a pet to be in the region of €15,000, responsible owners know that it makes sense to neuter their pet to avoid unwanted pregnancies and also life threatening illnesses such as:

Females

  • Pyometra (infection of the womb)
  • Ovarian cancer
  • False/pseudo pregnancies (females can get really painful mastitis- infected swollen mammary glands with this too)

Males

  • Testicular cancer
  • Prostate inflammation/cancer
  • Aggression
  • Leg mounting

MYTH: neutering your pet (males- castration, females- spay) does not change their personality

It is a day procedure and we perform the surgery to the highest standards possible.

We offer standard neutering options along with our gold neutering options which include pre-anesthetic blood testing to make sure it is safe to perform the anesthetic.

Microchipping

It is a sad fact that pets go missing every day, fortunately fitting a microchip in your pet greatly increases the chances of you being re-united with your four legged friend. It is now compulsory by law to have your dog microchipped. 

A microchip is a permanent electronic identification device injected under the skin at the back of the neck- it is about the size of a grain of rice. It contains a unique identifying number unique to your pet. If your pet gets lost a quick scan at a vets and you will be quickly re-united with them. It is quick and simple to implant the device and your pet will be blissfully unaware it is there afterwards. It is important to keep your details up to date if you move/change address/change phone number as your details are kept on a national database. 

Please bring proof of address (utility bill) along with photo ID at your pets microchipping appointment

Dental Care

Just as we humans have regular dental checks pets need them too. Dental disease is very common and you may not notice that your pet has issues with their teeth as they are naturally very good at hiding aches and pains. 

We recommend that your pet has a dental examination once yearly. This may include dental descaling and polishing of the teeth under a general anaesthetic or may require tooth extractions. We will always discuss our findings first, make you aware of the cost implcations of any required treatments. 

Please ask us for advice on preventing dental disease such as special foods and cleaning products.

Pet Passports

We can issue pet passports to pups and dogs older than 12 weeks of age. A pet passport requires both a microchip and a rabies vaccination. You dog will need a passport to travel to both Europe and the UK. Please always check the travel guidelines with regards to travel to UK as with Brexit, the rules are liable to change!