Services

This is the initial meeting with your vet and can be a routine check up provided for an annual vaccination, or an examination to find out what is wrong with your pet. Treatment will be provided in the consult room, or the patient can be admitted for further diagnostics and treatment.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

With our qualified and experienced veterinary nurses and pet health counsellors, they can discuss and advise with you how to care for your pet at various stages of his or her development.

Puppy and Kitten Health Check

Get a basic health check for your new arrival and learn how to care for them. Included in the advice clinic are topics such as diet, flea and worm treatment, microchipping, toilet training, bathing and grooming

Adolescent Health Checks

This is a basic health check for your youngster and advice about oral care, neutering, dietary requirements etc., to ensure he or she is growing and developing into a happy healthy pet.

Dental Advice Clinic

Oral hygiene checks can be carried out by our nursing staff. We will advise you how to keep those teeth pearly white, and if your pet has smelly breath or finding it difficult to eat, we can tell you what the problem is.

Flea treatment and Worming advice

Not all pets need the same treatment for worms, as sometimes their environment governs which worm treatment is best suited to their needs. Flea treatment, as well as mite, tick or lice treatment is also an area covered by our highly trained staff to advise on the best products for your pet.

Weight Watchers

Have your pet weighed and if weight loss is needed, a tailor made nutritional plan can be draughted by us, which includes a diet plan, selecting the right food for your pet and regular weigh-ins to keep him or her on the right track

Nail Clipping and Anal Gland expressing

Both procedures can be carried out by our nursing staff

Bandage Changing

Application and care of wound dressings and splints and management of casts

Wound checks and suture removal

Two to three day post operative wound checking is an essential part of ensuring that wounds are healing properly. Suture removal is carried out approximately ten days after the operation.

Behavioural Advice

How to manage that spraying cat, or the dog that hates the car, or introducing your pet to a new baby and more issues that may be problematic

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Puppies

Vaccinations should start at six weeks and this is followed by a booster shot 2-4 weeks after the first one. This should be repeated annually. The vaccinations are essential in the protection of Parvovirus, Leptospirosis (which causes Wheal’s disease in humans), Distemper, parainfluenza and some forms of viral hepatitis.

If the annual vaccine is not repeated within 15 months from the previous year, then the course will have to start again.

Kennel Cough must be given to all dogs that have to stay in a boarding kennel; however, we are seeing more and more cases of Kennel cough in multi-dog households, so the advice is to vaccinate for Kennel Cough whether your pet is going into a boarding kennel or not.

Kittens

The vaccination course starts for kittens at 9 weeks of age, with a booster shot 3-4 weeks later. This vaccination covers Cat Flu, feline panleucopenia, and rhinotracheitis caused by a virus called Calicivirus.

We also recommend that all cats be vaccinated for the viral form of Feline Leukaemia. This sometimes is a cost factor that owners are not prepared for, as they haven’t heard of this disease, and it does add to the cost of the vaccinations. The price has reduced in recent years as there is now a three year vaccine for this disease costing a small bit more than what the annual shot used to cost.

Don’t worry: if you forget about your vaccine we will send you a reminder!

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

There are several parasites that can affect your pets health, the most common being roundworms and tapeworms. This treatment is vital, especially where there are children, as, even though it is rare, roundworm larvae can affect young children.

We can advise you as to the best products and the best plan for your pet. All of these treatments are available over the counter or as part of a consultation with the vet. They are given in tablet form or as a spot-on.

We recommend that treatment starts as young as 2 weeks and that treatment continues throughout life, usually four times a year for worming and for the flea treatment, it’s usually once a month or once every 3 months depending on the product.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Microchipping is now law and is a simple an effective means of ensuring that should your pet go missing or be stolen, then, once your details are registered and stored on a database, he or she can be identified by a hand-held microchip scanner and reunited with you, the owner.

The scanner shows the unique number on the microchip and a copy of this number is shown on your pet’s vaccination certificate.

The microchip is the size of a grain of rice and is inserted by a syringe under the skin between the shoulders. This can be done at any age but is usually done anytime from 6 weeks onwards.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Dental care is crucial to your pet’s long term health. By five years of age, up to 80% of pets have significant dental disease. This leads to a build up of tarter, bad breath and tooth decay. Sore mouths mean your pet can’t eat properly, may drool from the side of the mouth, or may have bad breath. It is debilitating for your pet, and can cause low grade generalised infections which might affect the heart and kidneys.

Preventative dental cleaning and polishing is the best way to maintain a pet’s oral health.

At Vet Care, we offer a range of products, such as toothpaste, Dental superstix, Royal Canine Dental Food, etc. and advice on how to maintain your pet’s dental health.

When necessary, we provide complete dental care, with our ultrasonic cleaning and polishing, as well as oral surgery including extractions where needed and a dental x-ray.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

The pet travel scheme means that you can take your pet on holidays or emigrate without quarantine restrictions. In order to qualify for this scheme, a few simple steps must be take:

1: Microchipping must be done

2: Apply for a passport, which can be provided at Vet Care

3: Rabies Vaccine must be given. No blood test to check the rabies immunity status is required for entry into European countries. Please check the Dept of Agriculture,Food and Fisheries website for details of requirements in non-European countries. Please also check the website of the country of entry’s corresponding department of Agriculture

4: Health check prior to travel

5: A worm and tick treatment must be given before returning back to Ireland

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Our shop stocks everything you need to pamper your pooch or reward your cat. We stock a range of treats, leads, collars and harnesses. We are always at hand to help and advise, for example to fit a harness correctly.

It is point of sales advice that ensures our customers are properly informed.

Royal Canin and Hills compliment our range of dog and cat foods, including Burns, Beta. Grain-Free foods are also available.

We are always happy to recommend a food to suit your dog or cats individual requirements and help with working out feeding amounts.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Vet Care has a complete IDEXX in house laboratory in each branch, that allows us to perform pre-surgical, wellness and emergency blood work that is too critical and urgent to wait for an off-site laboratory service.

Our testing capabilities include Complete Blood Counts (red blood cell, white blood cell and platelet counts), full Biochemistry (liver, kidney, pancreatic enzymes and parameters such as glucose levels, Total proteins, Calcium, cholesterol, bilirubin levels etc.), electrolytes, blood coagulation tests and Thyroid function tests.

We are delighted to now be able to offer our clients SDMA blood testing in-house. This test can identify early kidney disease.

We also test in-house for Feline Leukaemia virus and Feline auto-immune deficiency virus (“Cat aids”).

More complex endocrine (hormone) tests are referred to a leading national laboratory, which also does our cytology and histology testing (skin samples, tumour biopsies, fine needle aspirates etc).

Blood Screening

• If your pet is over 2 years old, routine blood screening is advisable yearly.
• This screen serves as an early indicator of organ compromise and some diseases, identifying diseases at the earliest stage possible, when they are most treatable.
• As your pet gets older, some diseases can go unnoticed in their early stages for example: Kidney Disease, Liver Disease, Diabetes and Cancer, to name a few. By having an annual blood screen, from a young age, we can monitor and detect any changes to your pet’s health early.
• It will also provide us with a marker for future reference if needed and establish a baseline picture of what represents good health for your individual pet.
• A simple blood test is carried out by your vet during a consultation and our in-house laboratory facilitates an accurate screen with results available on the same day.
• A full haematology profile or complete blood count provides important information about the types and numbers of blood cells in your pet’s blood, for example, red blood cells / white blood cells and platelets. These act as an indicator of anaemia, infection, chronic inflammation and clotting disorders among other things.
• A full biochemistry profile is important for evaluating organ function, for example, liver and kidney. It will also measure blood glucose levels. Any abnormalities will help direct us to any further diagnostic tests that may be necessary.
• Early detection can help in disease treatment.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Our in-house laboratory includes such services as skin scrapes, which can identify mange mites, fungal infections etc. microscopically, faecal parasite testing, ringworm culture testing.

Urinalysis involves identifying crystals or small stones in the urine, refractometer testing to measure the specific gravity, and also identifying protein, glucose, blood and leucocyte levels, which may be present in kidney infection or early kidney failure.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Neuterings are routine operations for males and females which we recommend doing if you are not planning to breed from your pet.

In males both testicles are surgically removed. This procedure will help reduce and eliminate his risk for prostate and testicular cancer respectively.It also reduces undesirable and embarrassing behaviour such as roaming, fighting, mounting, and spraying.

Please contact us if you need more information on this, or if you are struggling to make this decision we can discuss your concerns.

In females the uterus and ovaries are surgically removed.

By doing this procedure you will prevent bacterial infections of the urinary tract, and the genital tract, the latter infection called a pyometra, the cure for which is removal of the uterus and can be a life threatening condition. You are also significantly lowering the risk of mammary tumours developing.

Your pet will not come in to heat, (which occurs for 3 weeks every 6 months in dogs and every 3 weeks for a few days from February to October in cats) therefore avoiding the mess that often accompanies the heat cycle in dogs, and the pacing and crying that happens with female cats.

Neutering cats will also help reduce the continuous overpopulation that exist in this country, it will stop entire males “camping” nearby, and makes cats less aggressive.

A full general anaesthetic is required to do this, and your pet is admitted fasting in the morning and goes home in the evening with pain medication and a collar to prevent licking.

We recommend this be done from 6 months of age.

Recommended Ages For Neutering

Dogs

Small & Medium Breeds ( up to 25kg ) between 5-6 months old, before thier first season, Large Breeds ( 25kg-50kg ) between 9-12 months old, after their first season and Giant Breeds (50kg+) 1 year old, after their first heat season.

Cats

Neutering can be done from 3 months, we only recommend this if there is a significant risk of unwanted litters (ie) feral (wild) / stray cats that may reproduce. Otherwise we would advise to neuter cats between 5-6 months old.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Close post operative care ensuring proper heart and respiratory function and body temperature maintenance is essential immediately following any surgical procedure. Our nursing staff ensure this is attended to, allowing recovery to be smooth and comfortable.

When awake it is important that your pet is kept in a warm, quiet and clean environment.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Your pet will be required to fast prior to anaesthesia, in so far as is possible. Food should be withheld from 9pm the night prior to the elective procedure. It is important to make water available to your pet.

Prior to admission of your pet, you will be asked to read and sign a form of consent which gives us permission to anaesthetise your pet and carry out any procedures necessary.

Upon admission, a thorough clinical examination will be carried out on your pet and an intravenous catheter is placed in your pet’s forelimb. This provides immediate venous access and serves as a route of administration for the general anaesthetic.

Pre-anaesthetic sedatives are used prior to general anaesthesia to reduce the amount of anaesthetic used.

We use modern anaesthetic machines and the safest available intravenous and gas anaesthetics.

We tailor the type of anaesthetics we use to the individual patient. For example, if your pet is compromised due to illness or injury and an anaesthetic is necessary, we have a variety of anaesthetic combinations we can use to ensure your pet has a safe anaesthetic and reduce any potential risk.

We have fully qualified and highly trained nursing staff dedicated to anaesthesia and theatre work. Your pet is always monitored closely prior to, during and after anaesthesia until the patient is fully recovered. In addition, we have blood pressure, oxygen level and ECG monitors to inform us of your pet’s anaesthetic performance during surgery.

In addition, we can also offer a pre-anaesthetic blood test. This is carried out prior to the administration of any anaesthetic agents and will give an indication of liver and kidney function.

As we cannot eliminate the possibility of pre-existing medical conditions complicating or compromising your pet’s health during anaesthesia, we highly recommend this blood test to detect any problems which may not be evident on a routine physical examination.

We have a state of the art in-house laboratory and can obtain an accurate blood result within 20-30 minutes.

The result of this blood test gives us invaluable information which may lead us to either adjust the dose or type of anaesthetic used. It may, in rare circumstances, lead us to delay the procedure until after further diagnostic tests are carried out.

We do recommend every pet to have an annual blood screen done from the age of two years old. This serves as an early indicator of organ compromise and some diseases. Also it will give us a marker for future reference if needed. This blood test is available to all patients and if not done annually, is highly recommended for cats and dogs over the age of 7 years.

It is important to be aware that there is a risk with every anaesthetic, as is the case in human medicine. However, our vets and nurses are highly skilled and trained and keep up to date with advances in anaesthesia by completing continuing educational training throughout the year.

Anaesthesia Information for you to Download & Print

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

We perform many types of soft tissue surgeries at our hospitals. Soft tissue surgeries are those not associated with bone. These surgeries can provide many benefits to pets.

Probably the most common type of surgery performed on pets is the removal of tumours, or lumps. Once removed they can be sent away for testing, and most are, fortunately, found to be benign. Other surgeries often performed apart from neuterings are spleen removals or splenectomies (due to a tumour on the spleen), foreign body removal from the stomach (gastrotomy) and the intestine (enterotomy), bladder stone removal (cystotomy), stomach torsion correction and prevention, anastomoses of intestine (joining the two ends of a torn intestinal loop), diaphragmatic hernia repair, and many more, too many to list here.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

All branches of Vet Care have digital radiology viewers, allowing closer viewing of the area of interest, easy access to archived X-rays and easier storage.

X-rays provide a view inside the pet’s body and it is an essential diagnostic tool that helps your vet detect and prevent illnesses. We can view the abdominal organs, the heart and lungs, and visualise bones, allowing us to detect fractures and arthritic problems.

Most pets will require a sedation to perform an x-ray, as it is very hard to get them to lie still.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Ultrasound is now an essential diagnostic tool at Vet Care. Like x-raying it is completely non-invasive but unlike x-raying, it is completely harmless. We use a referral standard ultrasound scanner, an Esaote My Lab 7. The My Lab 7 provides high class performance with excellent resolution and real diagnostic value. Productivity in real time means better diagnosis in less time.

Abdominal organs such as the liver, spleen, kidneys, bladder, pancreas, adrenal glands, stomach and intestines can all be viewed for abnormalities such as tumours; the uterus or womb can be viewed for pregnancy, and the heart can be examined for heart diseases such as Mitral valve disease, dilated cardiac myopathies, congenital defects etc.

Ultrasound guided techniques such as removing unwanted fluid from around the heart (Pericardial effusion), or from the inside of the ribcage (Pleural effusion), or from the abdomen( ascites) can also be performed.
Viewing the bladder can reveal bladder stones or crystals and obtaining a urine sample from the bladder of a cat or a dog can be difficult and time consuming but is a simple procedure, using a very fine needle guided into the bladder via ultrasound.

More often than not sedation is not required, however with difficult patients, especially when there is a painful abdomen, sedation is necessary. In addition, ultrasound guided organ biopsies can be performed under sedation or general anaesthetic.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

If your pet is displaying any signs of joint pain or stiffness, an x-ray and blood work are necessary to diagnose the issue. However, if an x-ray and blood work provide insufficient information to diagnose, an arthroscopy may be necessary.

An arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure that allows for thorough investigation and treatment of the joints in the shoulder, elbow, and knee. This procedure can be accomplished with a few tiny incisions, as opposed to traditional open-joint surgeries that require larger incisions.

If your pet is in need of joint pain relief, please phone us to inquire today!

For our heart patients, an ECG will be necessary especially where your pet’s heart beat is irregular. It is a simple and quick procedure, and an important diagnostic tool allowing the diagnosis and treatment to proceed quickly, so as to get your pet’s heart beating and functioning normally again.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Blood pressure in dogs is a difficult problem to diagnose, like in humans. Sustained high blood pressure can lead to organ damage, such as strokes, blindness, kidney failure.

At Vet Care, we measure blood pressure using up to date blood pressure minitors, which involves locating an artery in your pet’s foot, and taking the pressure measurement from there. It can occasionally be time consuming and takes much longer than in human but ultimately rewarding, as your pet’s health will improve once treatment is started.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.

Here at Vet Care we are delighted to announce that we are one of the first clinics in Ireland to be able to offer a new, exclusive, drug free, surgery free solution to musculo-skeletal disorders. K Laser is a Laser Therapy with clinically proven and published data in veterinary and human journals.

It works by delivering Class IV specific red and near infrared wavelengths of laser light to introduce a therapeutic effect within the body.

Laser Therapy can be used for short term problems like a muscle strain / wound healing or long term problems such as arthritis and spondylosis. K Laser uses cutting edge 21st century veterinary medicine and works by increasing circulation, reducing swelling, leading to a reduction in pain and therefore enhancing tissue repair.

K Laser is being used for the following:

• Wound healing
• Osteoarthritis
• Pain management
• Chronic wounds ( eg ) Lick Granulomas
• Chronic conditions ( eg ) Otitis / Stomatitis / Gingivitis

Depending on the condition, the treatment plan will vary accordingly. Most sites will require 3-8 minutes per treatment. Length and frequency may vary.

PRICING

• Minor Wound Healing: per session @ €10
• Chronic Wounds / Conditions: per session @ €20
• 1 Treatment Area: per session @ €20 or 6 sessions @ €120
• 2 Treatment Areas: per session @ €25 or 6 sessions @ €150
• 3 Treatment Areas: per session @ €30 or 6 sessions @ €180
• 4-6 Treatment Areas: per session @ €45 or 6 sessions @ €270

Once payment at start of 6 treatment course is received, 1st top-up treatment will be complimentary.

If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today.