Small Animal Services
Consultations
Our well trained veterinary staff are ready to assist you by consulting on all matters that affect the health of your pet. We routinely perform consultations for many medical conditions not limited to endocrine or hormonal problems, organ dysfunction, cancer or tumour management, lameness or soreness, itchy skin and allergies, ear disease. As many of our patients are now living longer we are well trained and equipped to consult on cardiac and respiratory disease and are also available for second opinions or case reviews.
Vaccination
Vaccination still is the most effective method for the prevention of many infectious diseases that can be devastating to our patients. Our veterinarians continually review our recommended vaccination protocols to ensure that we can offer our patients the very best protection against many fatal diseases whilst also balancing the potential risks of administering vaccine. Our veterinarians will discuss with you your patients lifestyle and other risk factors and make appropriate recommendations.
We routinely vaccinate dogs against Parvovirus, Infectious Canine Hepatitis, Distemper virus as well as Infectious Rhinotracheitis virus and Bordetella BroncisepticaI(Canine/Kennel Cough). We
routinely vaccinate all cats with access to the outside world against Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV), Feline Immunodefficiency Virus(FIV), Panleucopaenia, Calicivirus and Rhinotracheitis virus.
Our vaccination strategies and protocols are consistent with the vaccination policies of both the Australian Veterinary Association and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association.
Routine Preventative Health Care
Routine health care such as regular deworming and external parasite (fleas, ticks) prevention remains a very important part of your animals wellbeing. As your pets primary health care providers we feel very strongly that we keep you informed of the importance of this as well as the best method of prevention for your pet.
This can often differ between animals depending on environment and the animals life style, other animals in the household and concurrent health problems of your pet.
Microchipping
Microchipping offers a permanent form of identification for your animal that can never leave their person. When a dog ID tag is lost or a collar slipped, it is the only form of identification that can reunite you with your animal. When your animal is microchipped, your details are permanently linked to the microchip number so your pet can never be declared “stray”. Under recent changes to the Dog Act 1976, and the introduction of the Cat Act 2011, it is now law for your pet to be microchipped.
We can easily implant your animal with a microchip awake and under local anaesthesia, or when sedated or anaesthetized for another procedure. Once implanted the number is sent to the Australian Animal Registry along with you and your pets details for permanent placement in the database. To view your animal’s microchip details or to change your contact details click on the link to the AAR.
If you do not know your animals microchip number then please give us a call and we can provide this or call in to have your animal scanned to find out if they are chipped or not.
Desexing
We thoroughly enjoy the management of breeding bitches and providing advice for the rearing of puppies and kittens but we do advocate the desexing of all dogs and cats not to be used for breeding purposes.
Under normal circumstances, our practice advocates desexing of young animals at the age of 6 months which allows them to grow and become strong before undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia.
The timing at 6 months also ensures they are desexed before coming into season as many fertile young dogs and cats often fall pregnant by accident under the age of 1 year. For our detailed recommendation on when to sterilise your dog please click here.
Surgery
We routinely perform soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery in our purpose built surgery. We like to take the time prior to surgery to discuss the surgical goals, risks and likely outcomes of your animals surgery.
Most surgeries require general anaesthesia and our veterinary and nursing staff are trained well to ensure that your pet is well cared for during surgery. Through the use of pre-anaesthetic blood testing, IV fluid therapy and monitoring, anaesthetic risk is minimal for most routine surgeries.
On lengthy and more complicated surgeries your pet will require a higher level of monitoring during surgery and the immediate post-operative period, and we are well equipped and trained to do so. This includes surgery on Brachycephalic patients such as Pugs and French Bulldogs.
As many of our patients are living long lives we routinely perform surgery and dentals on geriatric patients thus prolonging their lives and improving their qualities of life.
Essential Puppy Learning (Puppy Classes)
We are very strong proponents of the benefits of your puppy attending puppy classes.
Puppies need to start these classes between 8 and 14 weeks of age.
Puppy classes are designed to provide you and your pup with a safe environment for controlled socialisation with novel situations and with other puppies of the same age. It is critical. Read More...
Laboratory Testing
Laboratory testing is an essential service that we offer that is used both to aid the diagnosis of disease and to monitor the correct management of ongoing health problems.
Our hospital is well equipped with the latest laboratory equipment and covers a broad range of applications including haematology, biochemistry, blood gas, urine analysis and bacterial culture.
Although we are 2½ hours from Perth we feel it is essential to be able to offer your animal same day results on all routine laboratory testing.
Senior / Geriatric Care
Similar to ourselves, our pets are now living much longer lives than they did many years ago. We feel this is due to significant improvements in routine nutrition and veterinary medicine as well as societies abilities to offer pets a better level of veterinary support over their lives.
As a result of this we now routinely see dogs living into their late teens and cats living well over 20 years of age. We recommend that pets over the age of 8years are examined twice a year to help meet their increasing needs.
We routinely use the annual check-up for this purpose and often will recommend a “senior check-up” one other time during the year to help maintain wellness for longer.
Many serious conditions such as early kidney disease, heart disease, and mobility dysfunction can be greatly improved with minimal lifestyle and dietary change and regular examination can help in early low grade intervention.
Grooming & Bathing
Operational difficulties around the COVID pandemic resulted in us no longer offering routine grooming and bathing services.
We remain committed helping keep our wonderful pets looking their best and so have compiled a list of local groomers whom we have spoken to and are happy for us to pass on their contact details. Where possible they may be able to assist you and your pet with a grooming services:
Sly Dogs (Leigh Sly) 0409 100 834
Posh Dogs (Nerissa Frindt) 0402 772 566
JP Dog Grooming (Jessica Piekarek) 0456 726 757
Behaviour Advice and Training
Behavioural problems can be very common and through the advice of our veterinarians and the work of Tessa Gaskell we can often make a big difference to the quality of life of these pets. Tessa is a Delta Society qualified behavioural trainer and a CASI certified non-veterinary behavioural consultant.
Behavioural problems such as separation distress, storm phobia’s, barking and destructive behaviour are all too common and by assisting owners in re-training and enriching their pets lives we often make both owners and their animals daily lives happier.
Nutritional Advice
Good nutrition is one of the single most important things we can offer our pets that will have a long lasting effect on their health, well being and longevity. Our nutritional advice for your pet will be based upon their breed, age, and activity level and in some case the management of health problems and diseases will require special diets.
We routinely recommend super premium diets such as Advance, Royal Canin and Delicate Care foods. These diets minimize food related health problems and will have your pet at their best.
Weightloss Clinic
Undesirable weight gain is becoming increasingly common in our beloved pets and our veterinary and nursing staff are always available to give you advice that can lead to your pet reaching their healthy weight.
Through effective healthy nutrition and a carefully constructed exercise plan we can be very successful in helping your pet shed any unwanted kilo’s!
Dental Care
Good oral hygiene helps to prevent a range of dental problems such as tooth decay, gum disease and even dental erosion. Preventative care is the best treatment for all dental issues and regular check-ups can help us keep on-top of your pets oral hygiene.
We offer thorough dental examinations for most domestic animals of all ages. Under general anaesthetic we can provide routine and complex prophylactic scaling and cleaning of your pets teeth by a veterinarian, oral surgery and tooth extractions, and where appropriate we offer state of the art dental radiography. Read more!