Purton Veterinary Group

We provide cover for emergencies 24/7.  After 7pm on weekdays and 1.30pm on weekends our emergency cover is provided by Great Western Referrals Night Owls service. 

 

This is the only emergency service with a vet and nurse on site and actively looking after patients throughout the night in Swindon.  The staff are not working the following day and have not just worked a full day so they are wide awake and able to provide the quality of care your pet needs in an emergency. 

 

The center also provides an Emergency and Critical Care Referral Service meaning that patients that need to see a RCVS Registered Specialist will be able to do so 24/7. 

 

Emergency home visits are available 24/7 (2 vets are on duty to provide this service and in the unlikely event they cannot get out to see you GWR will contact us so we can make provision for a visit).

 

Most Veterinary Hospitals do not have a vet on site after hours and they provide sleeping quarters for a nurse overnight who gets up to check patients as needed, very much the same as at our hospital except some of our staff drive 10 minutes to the surgery.  Our patients requiring critical care are referred to the night owls service if needed, where they can receive constant veterinary observation and care.

 

We believe there is no better emergency service within Swindon and the surrounding area.

 

This could be serious and the dog should be examined by a vet soon.  A discharge after birth is not unusual but in fact expected and a brown colour can be normal.  The discharge can continue for a few weeks usually reducing in quantity.  Unfortunately the discharge can also be a sign of something serious like a retained dead puppy, a retained afterbirth or an infection.  The blood in her urine may be contamination from the discharge as she urinates.  The puppies definitely need checking if she has lost 3 in 24hrs.  Fading puppy syndrome could be a cause and may be a result of herpes virus infection.  The pups need to be drinking milk.  Is she producing milk? 

 

We would always recommend that a bitch is checked after giving birth.  We prefer to come out and visit the bitch and pups rather than stress them by moving them to the surgery.  An injection of oxytocin given the day after birth can help expel any afterbirths. 

Our veterinary nurses are either qualified or are training, as we are a veterinary nurse training practice.  Our nurses and trainees are registered with the Royal Veterinary College.  You can trust your pets will be looked after by caring qualified staff when you attend our practice.

 

You might be suprised how often unqualified staff are used as nurses.  Many nurses working in the UK have no formal training yet wear a nurse uniform, monitor patients under anaesthetic, care for animals in hospitals and offer advice with no formal training or qualifications.  This is completely legal as long as they are not referred to as veterinary nurses and they do not administer drugs and injections.  They are very difficult to tell apart. There are approximately 7000 veterinary nurses and 15000 veterinary surgeons currently working in the UK.  The numbers speak for themselves.  Its expensive to train a veterinary nurse and always more expensive to employ qualified than unqualified staff. 

Passive smoking has been show to be harmful in humans and in animals this is no different. There is a strong link between environmental smoke and common respiratory diseases, including allergic rhinitis (causing sneezing), and bronchitis/asthma (causing coughing in cats). One fact not often recognised is that after a while smoke sinks to form a layer of particles that gets thicker towards the floor, and this is where our pets spend most of their time. There are serious concerns about cancer. One study found that malignant lymphoma was more than twice as common in cats that lived with a smoker. There may be a greater risk of cancer of the mouth and tongue, because of oral exposure to carcinogens after cats groom themselves. I have seen a case a few years ago where a cat developed lung cancer (which is relatively uncommon) and it had been living with a client who was a chain smoker.  I hope this helps convince your wife it's worth the pain of giving up.

It is likely that the discolouration you are seeing around the mouth is saliva staining. It is caused when porphyrins (pigments) in saliva oxidise when exposed to air and it causes a bronzing of the coat colour. Unfortunately, there is very little you can do to remove it, and it's difficult to prevent as the saliva is always present.  It may also be worthwhile to check that your Westie's teeth are in good condition as teeth problems can cause excessive drooling. I hope this helps.

You are correct and we do recommend that you apply the Profender every 3 months unless your cat is a regular hunter when you may need to apply it more regulary.  If your cat is an indoor cat you may find that you don't need to apply it as often as he will not be getting worms from hunting.  The worming treatment (whether it be tablet form or spot on) clears the worm burden that is present at the time and will then build up again. 

We would not recommend using a spray as there is no scientific proof they work. Unfortunately dogs do tend to greet each other in this way generally, even when they have been neutered. There are a few theories which could help your problem - it could be that your dogs anal glands are full and this would cause an attraction to other dogs, you can get this checked in a consultation with a vet, or it may be that the dogs that seem attracted to your dog are entire males in which case their testosterone may make them show an interest.

There is an injection that can be given.  It needs to be given twice, 24 hours apart.  It can be used up to 45 days after mating but I must recommend its done in the first week or two, as any later than this can cause an actual abortion which is upsetting and something we would try avoid.   In 5% of dogs it can have a partial effect and they may remain pregnant to term.

There are a number of things that can be a problem.  You need to take your rabbit to a vet as soon as possible, don't delay.  Dental disease is a common cause but almost anything can cause them to stop eating and defecating.  You need to make sure his diet is correct.  Have a look at our fact sheets on the website for information on feeding.  As soon as you can take him to the vet!

With regards to your hamster, it is quite possible that he is just grooming. General insects (flies etc) should not be the cause for his itching, do you know what insect it was).
If your hamster is very itchy and has hair thinning or loss then it is possible for them to get some mites that we can treat. If it is more than this then we would need to examine the hamster to see whether there were any further clinical signs to see.