Sanatorium Road Cardiff CF11 8DG Tel: 029 2038 2211 www.park-vets.com OUR SMALL ANIMAL TEAM Simon Moat Suzanne Baxter Mary Walters Andy Wales Welcome to our Autumn Companion Animal Newsletter. We hope you all had a lovely summer and are preparing for the darker nights! Firework Night will soon be here. And several weeks before and after and Christmas and New Year As the firework season seems to get longer each year. Every year, we at Park Vets experience a huge flurry of panic calls for help just before Bonfire Night. This can be such a stressful time for both pets and their owners. Why not prepare in advance this year? Is Your Dog Afraid Of Fireworks? If our dogs don t experience loud noises as pups, they often are unable to cope with novel frightening sounds such as fireworks or loud engine noises as they get older. Some breeds are more sensitive to others. Ignored, noise phobias tend to get worse with time, not better, so you really need to act to help your dog if he s scared of fireworks. When the event is imminent: Don t fuss or reassure a scared dog as this will simply reward the fearful behaviour. Remember ignore unwanted fearful behaviour, but reward calm behaviour. Keep him company he may injure himself if left alone. Don t ever punish your dog when he is scared as this only confirms that there is something of which to be afraid. Do ignore the noises themselves and try to keep your dog busy with some form of active game. Give him a small but stodgy high carb meal (e.g. pasta, rice) in the late afternoon. This will help make him feel calm and sleepy during the evening. Don t forget to let him go out to the toilet before it gets dark and the fireworks start! Make sure your dog is safe and secure so he can t bolt and escape if a sudden noise occurs. Before dark, make sure your dog is in a familiar but blacked out room with his toys and other comforters. Turn up the volume of the radio or television.
Marina Crockford Andy Jeffers Morgan Richards Make your dog a den, for example blankets thrown over the back of the settee to form a dark safe place. If you know of a dog that is not scared by these noises and who gets on well with the problem dog, invite him for a sleepover! Playing with the non-fearful dog may help the other dog to relax. Helpful Products There are many helpful products on the market, but they must be used in conjunction with behaviour therapy to have any success. We have available Adaptil, a plug-in diffuser, spray or collar that can comfort your dog and help him cope with his fears. It produces a scent that only your dog can smell, and mimics the pheromone produced by bitches when they suckle their pups. The effect is not immediate, so the diffuser needs to be plugged in continually for up to 2 weeks before the scary event. ZYLKENE is a natural palatable product given with food to help reduce your pet s anxiety levels. Zylkene should also be started before the anticipated series of fearful events. Both ADAPTIL and ZYLKENE can help your pet manage firework stress, but also can facilitate any training programmes to help your dog deal with its fear of noise in the future. We also sell Pet Remedy homeopathic calming products. These Products are all available at Reception without a veterinary prescription Aoife McCarthy Anti Anxiety Medications: For severely affected pets we can prescribe various medicines. Depending on the chosen drug, your dog may need to start these tablets some time before the fearful event. Please contact the surgery for advice. Don t forget fireworks happen every year and it is likely that your dog s fear will get worse each time. Attila Trombitas If your dog has extreme noise phobia, please contact Park Vets. We can arrange an extended consultation and explain the principles of Noise Desensitisation. Information sheets on Noise Desensitisation and CDs of Firework noise are available at Reception. Although this programme requires major owner commitment, it will certainly reap dividends for the well-being of your pet. Useful Websites: www.adaptil.com/uk www.zylkenepet.co.uk * We have a special offer of 50% off all Adaptil products until end of December 2015.
Thomas Searle Jonny Faire And don t forget our garden creatures: Who might be hiding in your bonfire pile thinking it s safe and secure? Always check for that missing tortoise or garden hedgehog who mistakenly might think this is a safe place to hibernate Not! A sad fact of life is that many of these animals are cooked by mistake every year! Don t let this happen in your garden or local playing field. Did you know that the native British Hedgehog is now on the endangered list and if numbers continue to decline as they have since 1950, they will be extinct by 2020! As for our pet tortoises they are slowing down now as the days get colder and the day length decreases. If you need advice on how to hibernate or even if your tortoise is fit for hibernation, please get in touch. If we can t answer your query, our visiting specialist Sophie Jenkins of Origin Vets certainly can. Helping our pets naturally: Ryan Francis Matthew Pack Dates for the Calendar: 18 TH 31 ST October 2015 Best Dressed Halloween pet see our facebook page for info We now stock a growing range of natural products for those owners who are keen to explore this option for their pets. Why not ask about our Lintbells Products today? Whether as an aid to pain reduction in your arthritic Labrador, or to help calm your itchy Westie s skin, or add a shine to your cat s dry coat. There are many products on offer which are drug free and available from reception without a prescription. Why not have a chat with one of our nurses today? Dentals Sorry to labour this point, but have you checked your dog or cat s teeth recently? This seems to be something that gets missed so often. Dog breath should not be an accepted part of owning a pet. It is simply due to lack of dental routine. What would our dentist or hygienist say if we confessed to never brushing our teeth between check-ups? And what sort of state would our teeth be in? So as always, prevention is better than cure, so why not book a free dental check-up appointment with a vet nurse to run through this extremely important and so often neglected part of your pet s total care, and avoid that knowing look at vaccination time, when one of the vets says Oh dear, his teeth are really not good, he needs a dental with extractions under a general anesthetic.. Suzanne
EAR PROBLEMS Does your dog have ear problems? Are you constantly struggling to apply prescribed medication? We may have the perfect solution, we have recently started stocking the latest ear medication to be brought to the veterinary market, it is a first line treatment for routine ear problems that only requires once a week application! This means that we can apply the first dose for you and then the second at your follow up consultation. We are very excited that this could make treating ear problems a far easier for you and most importantly your pet! Emma Hollingworth Macmillan Coffee Morning We had another wonderful response this from our annual coffee morning from staff and customers. We managed to beat last years amount of 250.00 and raised over 300.00 for Macmillan Nurses. Well done everyone!! Best Dressed Halloween Pet Competition Send us in a photo of your pet dressed up ready for Halloween to be in with a chance to win a mystery prize. Post your entries on our Facebook page and don t forget to LIKE it while you re there. Winners will be picked on 1 st November by Emma our Clinical Manager and notified via Facebook
Welcoming back New and Old to Park Vets Welcome back to Jess Reader We are very excited at Park Vets to be welcoming back Jess Reader, who is a favourite with a lot of our clients. New Vets Matt, Jonny and Ryan In September we welcomed three new grads Matthew Pack, Jonny Faire who will both be working with small and farm animals and Ryan Francis who will be concentrating on the small animals only. Matt Jonny Ryan New Nurse Teri Ann Baldwin Terri-Ann joined us in September Terri-Ann qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2012 and has worked in Small Animal practices in Cardiff since, joining the team at Park in September 2015. Her main interests are animal health nutrition and rehabilitation. Outside of work she loves to attend plenty of gigs and festivals and spends her spare time with her little monsters, two cats called Castiel and Nala.
PUPPY AND KITTENS PACKAGES Give your puppy the best start in life with our NEW Puppy Packages!! Keep your puppy healthy with a full course of puppy vaccinations (given at 8 and 12 weeks). A Free Puppy Health Check by one of our caring qualified vets Free Microchip keeping your pet safe should it go missing. One free dose of Nexgard to keep fleas at bay. Free four weeks pet insurance for those unexpected vet fees. 10% discount off Neutering (valid up to 12 months of Age). Take advantage of a 25% discount off Milbemax worming pack (i.e 4 for the price of 3). Join our free Youth Club with one of our qualified Nurses (*Only available at our Cardiff Surgery). Free food vouchers for Royal Canin All for 65.00 inc VAT Give your kitten the best start in life with our NEW Kitten Packages!! Keep your Kitten healthy with a full course of Kitten vaccinations (given at 8 and 12 weeks). A Free Kitten Health Check by one of our caring qualified vets Free Microchip keeping your pet safe should it go missing. One free dose of Broadline a combination flea & worming treatment Free four weeks pet insurance for those unexpected vet fees. 10% discount off Neutering (valid up to 1 year of Age). Join our free Youth Club with one of our qualified Nurses (*Only available at our Cardiff Surgery). Free food vouchers for Royal Canin. All for 70.00 inc VAT
Pet Health Club Why it makes perfect sense to join our Pet Health Club It helps you provide essential routine care for your pet, which is all part of being a responsible pet owner You save money on the cost of treatments and services that keep your pet healthy and happy You can spread the cost of routine care by convenient Direct Debit, making it easier to manage Save money and spread the cost with convenient direct debits Included in your Health Club - Your Annual booster vaccination - 12 months Flea and worm treatment Check out the extra benefits of membership: Free micro chipping for dogs 25% off micro chipping for cats 30 annual voucher for out of hours treatment 10% off repeat prescriptions 10% off routine dentals and dentistry products 10% off routine neutering 15% off diets including prescription diets 10% off additional parasite control And it s so easy to join Ask at reception and join our Pet Health Club today. There is no joining fee so just ask for an application form and we ll get you started on a program of affordable life-long veterinary care for your pet. FREE health checks with our nurses for nail clips, weight checks, ear cleaning and general advice DOGS Toy 0-3kg Small 4-10kg Medium 11kg - 25kg Large 26kg - 40kg Very Large 41-65kg CATS Cats Less than 10kg Cost Per Month 8.61 per month 9.92 per month 10.46 per month 12.91 per month 18.29 per month 9.53 per month
Photo Gallery We would love to see some photos of your pets out and about to add to our newsletter. You can email them to julie.parkvets@hotmail.co.uk or drop them into reception with a little note of when and where it was taken. We will then add them in a gallery to our next newsletter. Below are some staff pets for you to enjoy!! This lovely girl is Molly the Choc Lab belonging to our longstanding client Ms Alison Day Here s Poppy Day in the late summer sun Here s Honey Day A gorgeous collie cross breed This is the lovely Teddy Day in his winter Coat Ms Day certainly has her hands full with this lovely lot!!!! This trendy girl Tilly belongs to one of our farming clients Mr Lewis at Ty Fry Farm! Doesn t she look fab in her sunglasses?