It’s Halloween tomorrow! This means it’s very nearly fireworks time with many official events planned for this and next weekend.
Fireworks displays can be a terrifying time for pets with unpredictable loud bangs and flashes. Here are a few tips to help our pets feel less anxious on the night:
Walk dogs early and time evening toilet trips carefully to avoid getting caught out. Before fireworks start, bring your dog into a room in the house which acts as a place of safety for them. Somewhere calm and nowhere too busy. Their bed should be there as a safe, familiar resting place and also provides comforting smells. Bring their toys and a chew or some treats for distraction. Make sure windows and curtains are closed to muffle sound and light and pop the tv or some music on too. Stay with your dog for reassuring company. You can offer them a toy to see if they will engage in play but don’t force them. Keep calm and avoid reacting to the fireworks as dogs can pick up on owner anxiety. It’s important to be patient if your dog exhibits unwanted behaviours such as whining or pacing. Telling them off will only add to their distress.
Cats:
Keep cats in on fireworks evening, make sure cat flaps are locked shut and that you have a couple of clean litter trays positioned by the cat flap or in their normal toileting area. Cats are very good at taking themselves off to hide when frightened so make sure they have open access to potential hiding spots like under the bed, behind the sofa or even in cupboards or under the duvet! Leave them be rather than trying to coax them out. They will come back out when they are ready.
Small furries:
If housing outdoors, can you bring your pets’ hutch into the garage or a outside shed to act as a natural barrier? Nowhere too warm though as this can be detrimental to their health when you return the hutch outside. Consider putting carpeting or blankets over the hutch, with a gap to see out, to muffle sound and light. Make sure bedding is extra deep so that your small furries can burrow down and hide. Providing distraction toys is also a great idea.
Please do give us a ring on 01922 411755 if in need of any further advice on minimising pet stress at this time.
Wishing you and your pets a safe bonfire and fireworks night
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
This is beautiful one year old Alfie who came in to see us with reduced appetite, lethargy and vomiting when drinking water. We suspected a foreign body as Alfie’s abdomen had also become tender so we too him into theatre to investigate. On exploration, we found part of what looked like a foam soft toy or ball. Definitely not edible!
Whilst the source of Alfie’s foreign body remains a mystery, please do check your dog‘s toys regularly to make sure they remain safe to play with and haven’t outstayed their welcome in the doggy toy box! It’s worth checking your garden too incase anything has come over the garden fence that shouldn’t have and looks tempting for inquisitive canines to explore!
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
With Halloween at the end of this month (and, dare we say it, shops getting ready for Christmas!), chocolates are currently on sale in even more abundance! If you are buying in for trick or treating, please be sure to keep chocolatey treats well away from inquisitive canines. Milk and dark chocolates are made with cocoa solids which contain theobromine, a substance toxic to dogs. And the darker the chocolate, the higher the concentration of theobromine. The severity of chocolate poisoning depends on how much chocolate your dog has eaten, how big your dog is and the concentration of cocoa solids.
We strongly advise contacting your vet for advice if you know your dog has eaten chocolate. It’s really helpful if you have the wrapper with the ingredients list to hand. Here are Rolo and Mars who were in to see us recently for this very reason. We were able to act quickly and make them sick to prevent the toxins from taking effect. Even though they are fabulously named, no chocolate-eating allowed!
Use our poisons checker on our 387 Vets’ Advice 24/7 page for guidance on chocolate poisoning and a whole range of other toxins too.
And don’t forget, registered clients can use our VidiVet service to touch base with a vet for free. Great for concerns out of hours if you are unsure whether your pet needs to be seen as an emergency.
We wish all pets a happy, healthy chocolate-free Halloween!
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
Happy British Veterinary Receptionist Appreciation Day to our amazing reception team! Here are Laura, Angie and Nikki, today’s front of house reception team superstars! A shout out to Clare too who is off today, and Beth who is on maternity leave. We love you all!
The recognition day was first championed by the British Veterinary Receptionist Association (BVRA) in 2019 to recognise the importance, diversity and challenge of the veterinary receptionist role. As well as being the first port of call for owners contacting the practice, booking pets in, dealing with owner queries and following up appointment reminders, receptionists liaise with our clinical teams to offer administrative support and update records when pets join us from other practices. They unpack orders, rotate stock, help with preparation of items (food and meds orders) for collection, help with managing clinicians’ diaries and so much more. It’s an incredibly rewarding job seeing pets at set intervals on their life journey and getting to know pet owners. As well as being here to celebrate pet highs, team are also here to offer support at sadder times.
Thank you to our fabulous team for all you do to help support pets and pet owners and the rest of our 387 team. We would be truly lost without you.
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
Many of you who have been into practice over the last month will have been invited to complete a customer satisfaction survey for our governing body, The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). Huge thanks to those of you who have participated. Your responses form contributing evidence towards our application for an additional RCVS Client Service Award. We have already submitted a large bank of evidence for review. On Wednesday, we have site visit from an official assessor who will be coming in to chat to team and see our practices and protocols first hand. We are keeping all fingers and toes crossed for a great result!
Additional RCVS Awards allow any practice accredited through the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme to demonstrate how their practice excels in specialist areas. There are 9 additional awards. We are currently applying for Client Service and Team and Professional Responsibility.
The Practice Standards Scheme is a great initiative to help teams run veterinary practices to the highest standards of veterinary care. Choosing an RCVS-accredited practice for your pet gives you the reassurance that your furry friend is in great hands. RCVS practices are rigorously assessed every 4 years to ensure standards are maintained. 387 Veterinary Centre has been an RCVS accredited practice since 2009.
These two additional RCVS awards will enable us to show our governing body how much we’ve invested in our service provision, clinical excellence, team training and customer care over and above their standard framework recommendations.
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
