Show menu

Helping you to help your pets

Tel: 01264 729 165   Fax: 01264 324 546

Anton Vets Newsletter #1

Hello ….Happy New Year….and welcome to the first issue of Anton Vets Newsletter.

We hope you all had a great Christmas and are ready to start the new year 2012 !

We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank-you to everyone for all the good wishes, cards and presents that we received over the festive period. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you.

NEWS

Please check out the rest of the website to see our staff line up, we have had several new members joining towards the end of 2011 – including Jenny Hayes our lovely new full time vet and Lynne Steele who will be working Saturday morning surgeries.

As you will probably have noticed if you have visited the practice recently we are in the process of extending into the next door unit – plans are on the wall in the corridor as you come in and hopefully we will be able to open into the new larger premises in April.

New years resolutions

Are you guilty, like me, of making new years resolutions and then forgetting about them after a few weeks. We have a few ideas for new years resolutions that may help you and your pet and we will be around to give you support to see them through.

Weight loss

Obesity in pets is sadly becoming a serious problem. Overweight animals will be more prone to problems with mobility and arthritis can be aggravated, heart problems will be exacerbated and animals may develop diabetes. Dieting and a good exercise plan are important but as with people weight loss can be a hard road to travel. Commitment to the cause with the support of our nursing team who will offer regular weigh ins, advice with the correct diet food and encouragement to keep trying will make dieting your pet easier and make your pets life and yours a whole lot better.

Brushing your pets teeth

Just like us our pet puppies and kittens have deciduous ‘milk teeth’ which fall out as they develop and usually by the age of around 6 months of age have been replaced by adult teeth. Some dogs and cats may get problems with retained deciduous teeth which may need to be removed. Your vet will discuss and advise you regarding this as your puppy or kitten grows. Once all the adult teeth are present if you are able to brush your pats teeth everyday you will help to limit plaque and subsequent tartar build up and keep healthy gums and mouth.

If you have your pet as a puppy or kitten then it is a good idea to get them used to allowing you to open their mouth and to gently brush in a circular motion on the teeth and gums. Special pet toothbrushes and toothpaste are available for use and toothpaste is a variety of flavours to make it more acceptable to your pet.

If you have a rescue or older pet who has not been used to teeth brushing you can gradually get them accustomed to this as a regular event by taking it very slowly and trying to make it an enjoyable experience for them and hopefully you in the long term. Our nurses are well equipped with tips and advice on how best to introduce tooth brushing so please come and chat with them if you are keen to give it a go.

Grooming

Grooming your pet can not only be a relaxing and enjoyable experience for them but can also be very beneficial to remove dead hair and reduce the amount of hair ingested and the likelyhood of fur balls especially in cats. It is also a very good way of noticing any early problems with lumps or bumps, aches and pains etc. Some pets take a while to get used to grooming but again slow introduction and repeated short episodes can make it relaxing and rewarding for you both. Speak to our nurses about the best grooming equipment to use for your cat or dogs coat.

Prescriptions

When requesting repeat prescriptions we would please ask you to give us 24 hours notice so that we can have time to organize the medication for you to collect.

Watch this space

We are hoping to organize evening meetings, puppy parties and first aid courses in the near future. Details will be available on the website so watch this space !