DATES HEROp4 PET - Langford Veterinary Services

News
The newsletter of the Langford Small Animal Practice
Small Animal
Summer
2015
DATES
FOR YOUR
DIARY p2
PET
NEWS
Q&A
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PET
HERO
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Welcome
to the summer 2015 newsletter
of the Langford Small Animal Practice
Dates for your diary
September
5th - Chew Stoke Harvest Home
We will be attending this show for the first time so if you are
there pop over to us and say hello! The day includes a flower
& produce show, a dog show, raffle, stalls and our Langford
Once again I have put together
some of the typical seasonal
advice for helping you keep your
pet healthy during the warmer
months and holiday season. I
have also included a brief vaccine
and parasite update covering
changes and trends over the last
12 months. For the Q&A section this summer I have covered
raw food feeding as we are increasingly encountering dog
owners who have chosen this feeding method for their dog.
Equine Practice will be the on call vets for the Horse Show and
Congratulations to our final year students who all graduated
this year and thank you to you, our clients, for your support
in their training. Those of you who have been in the practice
over the spring will have noticed that the new groups of
students have started their rotations and are getting to
grips with the clinical work after three and a half years of
theoretical learning. I hope that you will continue to support
these students and please feel free to provide feedback to
the staff about them so that we can enhance their learning.
As always we encourage you to provide the clinic with
feedback through our Friends and Family Test but you can
also send us feedback via email, Facebook or in person.
Thank you to those who have already provided feedback,
it has been very pleasing to hear such positive comments.
Diane Leggo. We will meet at
A testament to the level of service we offer is the increasing
growth of the practice. We have just concluded applications
for a new Trainee Veterinary Nurse and a new receptionist
to help support the increased workload. The new staff
members should be starting in the next few months and
I hope I will be able to tell you a little about the successful
applicants in the autumn newsletter.
sponsoring three of the classes.
October
17th - Healthy Pet Club Dog Walk
Save the date! Join us for a
social afternoon with a group
dog walk led by our Head Nurse,
the Practice at 1.30pm before
heading off for a walk in the
local area. Refreshments will be
provided at the Practice. More
details to follow. If you would like
to attend or have any questions,
contact us on 01934 852 422 or
[email protected]
If there is a topic you would like further information on
as part of a client education evening, please submit your
idea to [email protected].
Ask a Vet...
I hope you have an enjoyable summer.
James Allsop
BVSc GPCert(FelP) MRCVS
Clinical Lead of the Small Animal Practice
@LangfordVets
Like us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/langfordvetservicessap
Got a question for one of our vets?
If you have a question about your pet then send it in to sap@
langfordvets.co.uk and the best question will be featured
here in the next issue.
PRACTICE NEWS:
Parasite News
Charity Cake Sale
The wetter weather
may lead to an
increase in slugs and
snails so make sure
you keep your dog’s
worming up to date to cover against
lungworm.
Thanks to everyone who baked, ate and
donated during our charity cake sale
back in May. We raised £150, which was
matched by Langford Veterinary Services
to make £300 donated to International
Animal Rescue.
Our routine worming recommendation
is licenced to treat lungworm but please
speak to our vets for specific advice
if your dog is prone to munching on
molluscs.
PET NEWS:
Adders
Please be careful walking in the Mendips
and other areas to keep your dog away
from Adders. This protected species
can inflict a painful and dangerous bite
to dogs, although urgent treatment is
normally successful in
achieving a good
outcome.
We have seen very few ticks on dogs this
year which we think might be due to the
change in our recommended flea and
tick product which lasts 12 weeks and
has a very rapid kill against ticks. This is
good news as recent studies of ticks in
the Somerset area have demonstrated a
high number carrying Lyme disease.
There are a couple of new spot-on
products available that repel ticks and
biting flies which we recommend for dogs
travelling to Europe, however please
speak to the vet to discuss the specific
requirements for whichever country you
are visiting.
Your Questions Answered
I have been reading about raw food
feeding on the internet and am thinking about
trying it for my dog, what do you think?
RMBD (Raw Meat Based Diets) are an increasingly common choice for many
dog owners in the UK and USA. Claimed benefits vary dramatically from being
evolutionarily “correct” right through to curing various diseases. The World Small Animal
Veterinary Association (WSAVA) released a statement covering this topic a few weeks
ago. You can read the whole document on their website but summarised is:
There is currently no properly documented
evidence of health benefits for RMBD,
but there are well documented
risks. As such, the World Small
Animal Veterinary Association Global
Nutrition Committee recommends that
RMBD not be fed to dogs and cats.
*Special Offers*
25% discount off
VetEssentials cat
and dog food
Throughout
August
and
September 2015 we are
offering a 25% discount* off
all VetEssentials dog and cat
food! *This offer is not available
in conjunction with staff or
Healthy Pet Club discounts.
Healthy Pet Club
We
want
to
make
preventative healthcare easy
and affordable, to help you
give your pets the best care
possible.
Healthy Pet Club is not
insurance. It covers the regular
treatments your pet needs
throughout life including:
• Annual health check and
booster vaccination
• Six month health check
• Year-round flea, tick
prevention and worming
treatment
• Discounts on other
selected services and
products.
To find out more information,
visit www.langfordvets.co.uk/
healthypetclub
Pet Hero: Penny Baker
PET NEWS:
Pet Travel
We have seen a marked increase in
the number of pet passports requested
indicating that yet more dog owners are
choosing to take their dog to Europe
with them this summer. The pet passport
system is fairly easy and you can normally
Penny is a 12 year old Jack Russell
Terrier who had been attacked by a
German Sheppard. She had a large bite
wound to her neck exposing muscle
and nervous tissue. She had a wound
on her chin with a flap and puncture
wound on top of her head and multiple
wounds on ears. She also had multiple
wounds over her left hand side.
travel 21 days after rabies vaccination.
There
are
some
country-specific
recommendations so please discuss
these with the vet at your appointment.
Throughout her ordeal, Penny remained
very placid and calm and was happy
to be handled during the dressing
changes. She continued to eat well
and take her medications, which were
helping the healing process.
Vaccination Update
We
have
now
completed
the
Leptospirosis update for dogs vaccinated
at the practice. This could not have come
at a better time with the wet start to the
summer potentially increasing the risk of
disease due to rats and other animals
contaminating water with their urine.
She was taken to surgery to have all
the wounds flushed and cleaned and
sutured with a drain placed in the
biggest wound. This drain would allow
any excess fluid that was building
up in the wound cavity to drain out,
preventing swelling and discomfort.
It had taken nearly three weeks of
regular checks, dressing changes and
examinations but Penny was still happy
to come and see us and wagged her
tail when she walked in.
All of her wounds were dressed to
prevent her from licking them and
creating further infection and irritation.
She had intravenous antibiotics and
pain relief through the night and was
reassessed in the morning.
Although we have not seen any clinical
cases of Leptospirosis in the practice in
the last 12 months, a local Bristol practice
has been actively looking for the disease
The next day, Penny was sore and
bruised but she was well enough to go
home with more antibiotics and pain
relief. Penny came in every two days
to have her dressings changed and, at
each appointment, she was becoming
much happier in herself.
Penny is a very brave and worthy Pet Hero.
and found over 50 dogs (to date) testing
positive for exposure since November
2014.
Small Animal Practice Opening Hours
Mon-Fri 8.30am - 6pm Sat 9am - 12pm
Many of those tested were positive for the
Wed (early open) 8am Tues/Thurs (late close) 7pm www.langfordvets.co.uk
new strain which is included in the current
L4 vaccine which we use to protect your
For 24 hour emergency care and
access to urgent advice call
dog. Vaccination against Leptospirosis is
01934 852 422
unfortunately short lasting and should be
repeated every year to provide protection.
Email us:
[email protected]
Langford Small Animal Practice, Langford, Bristol, BS40 5DU
Langford Veterinary Services Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Bristol