Frequently asked questions and their answers all in one place for you.

What Happens When My Pet Gets Microchipped?

A microchip is a small electronic chip about the size of a grain of rice that provides a way of permanently identifying your pet. The microchip is implanted under the skin over the shoulder area using a needle. To most pets this is similar to receiving its routine vaccinations.As the needle used is slightly larger there is occasionally a small amount of bleeding from the skin - if this happens pressure is applied with dry clean cotton wool. We would advise not to wash the area or wet the coat for at least 24 hours after implanting a microchip. The microchip contains a unique number that is then registered on the national database along with your contact details. If your contact details change you must inform the database as soon as possible.

All pets that are picked up by dog wardens or presented to animal sanctuaries or veterinary practices after being found are routinely scanned for a microchip. Your details will then be retrieved from the database enabling you to be reunited with your pet.

What Happens When My Pet Has Blood Tests?

Your pet may need blood tests at various stages throughout their life for many varied reasons. The sample may be taken from their foreleg or neck, the skin over the area will be clipped and the skin cleaned. A nurse holds the animal while the vet takes the blood and then pressure is applied to the site to minimise bruising and swelling. Sometimes a light dressing is applied. Most general health blood tests are taken after your pet has been fasted for 8 - 12 hours. If your pet is having blood tests to monitor long term medication please check with the clinic about the timing of these tests in relation to their medication.

Lots of our blood tests are performed using the blood machine in the clinic which gives us results very quickly. It measures the levels of electrolytes, proteins and enzymes in your pets blood. This can help us assess many levels of their health. We can assess dehydration and electrlyte abnormalities that may be caused by vomiting or diarrhoea. Changes in protein levels may indicate kidney disease, gut disease, blood loss, dehydration or infection. Alterations of certain enzymes may show kidney or liver disease or muscle damage. Certain patterns of subtle changes may be suggestive of hormonal disease - this will require further blood testing at an external laboratory.

Older animals often have decreases in the level of their kidney and liver function. This may not produce any symptoms at home but may be significant if your pet is to have an anaesthetic as these drugs are metabolised through the liver and kidney. A pre-anaesthetic blood test will show up any problems and allow us to give extra support to your pet. This usually involves your pet receiving intravenous fluids/drip before, during and after the procedure to support kidney and liver function.

What Happens When My Pet Has IV Fluids/Drip?

Your pet may require IV fluids if they become dehydrated after a bout of vomiting or diarrhoea or as a supportive treatment for many conditions. They may intially need blood electrolyte tests to determine the most suitable fluids. They will be admitted for the duration of the fluid therapy. The fluids are usually given through an intravenous catheter placed in a vein, normally in the foreleg. The hair overlying the area is clipped and the skin cleaned. An intravenous catheter is placed in the vein and secured with tape. The fluids are connected and ran through at a carefully calculated rate. This will correct any dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. Fluids also support your pet while they are unable to eat due to illness or after surgery and are an integral part of the management of kidney disease. Fluid therapy may take place over a single day or may be required for quite a number of days.

What Happens When My Pet Has An Anaesthetic?

When your pet is to come in for a procedure involving an anaesthetic they should be fasted from food for 8 - 12 hours and from water for 1 hour before admittance to the practice in the morning. If your pet is particularly young or old or has ongoing medical problems please check the individual instructions for your pet with the vet. Also small pets like rabbits should not be fasted before an anaesthetic.

The animal receives a premedication about 15 - 20 minutes before their procedure - this is an injection of painkiller and mild sedative that reduces the amount of anaesthetic they will need later and helps them to relax which reduces the stress of further treatments. When the premedication has taken effect a small section of hair is clipped on the front leg and the skin cleaned to give access to a vein. The first anaesthetic agent is then given by injection into this vein. A tube is then placed in the animals' throat to allow oxygen to be given and for gas anaesthetic to be administered when the first injection wears off.

From the time of starting the anaesthetic until your pet wakens after the procedure they have a nurse with them constantly monitoring their heart and breathing rate and their response to the anaesthetic. We maintain the anaesthesia with safe anaesthetic gases that can be easily adjusted as required using our modern anaesthetic machines. When the procedure is finished your pet is kept on oxygen until they start to waken from the anaesthetic. They are then placed in a warm, well-bedded kennel and the tube removed from their throat.

Some pets' experience a mild cough for a few days after an anaesthetic but this normally resolves without requiring any treatment. Although your pet may be awake within a short time of the procedure ending they still need to be monitored and need to be kept warm and quiet so they do not normally go home for a few hours. They may still be tired the rest of that day and should be kept warm and quiet and only fed a light diet when they go home.

What Happens When My Pet Has An X-Ray?

X-rays are taken and developed in the clinic. Due to the regulations controlling the use of x-ray machines all animals must be sedated to allow us to take x-rays without exposing our staff to unnecessary radiation. Sedation also allows us to obtain better quality images, especially if the animal is distressed or in pain.

Most x-rays are taken using only mild sedation that is given to your pet in the form of an intramuscular injection. They are left in a quiet place to relax while the x-ray machine is prepared. They are placed on the x-ray table and the x-ray(s) taken. After checking the films the pet is placed back in their kennel and the sedation is allowed to wear off over a few hours, or in some cases can be reversed to allow the animal to go home sooner.

X-rays are most commonly used to investigate problems with bones and joints. They can also give us information on the size and shape of the heart and patterns in the lungs that can tell us about heart and lung disease. Abdominal x-rays can look at the size and shape of abdominal organs, they can show masses or fluid that should not be present, highlight bladder stones or foreign bodies that may have been eaten.X-rays are not suitable for all types of investigations - your vet will advise you on what is best for your pets' individual case.

What Happens When My Pet Has An Ultrasound?

Ultrasound examinations are most commonly used for pregnancy diagnosis, examination of abdominal organs (liver, spleen, stomach, kidneys, bladder and prostate) and the heart. It can also be used to enable accurate small biopsy samples to be taken with a needle and in some cases this may help avoid more invasive surgery. The skin overlying the area to be examined has to be clipped and ultrasound jelly applied. The ultrasound machine uses sound waves passing through the tissues to produce pictures of internal organs. This is completely painless so most ultrasounds are performed without sedation. However if your pet is having biopsies taken or if they become distressed with the clipping or restraint they may require light sedation. Ultrasound is not suitable for all types of investigations - your vet will advise you on what is best for your pets individual case.

What Happens When My Pet Has A Dental?

Dental procedures in pets are all performed under general anaesthesia. The anaesthesia is required to enable full co-operation with the procedure and also to protect the pets airways from inhaling water spray used during the cleaning process, (see previous section on general anaesthesia). The ultrasonic scaling machine effectively cleans all the tartar and plaque from the pets teeth and the polishing head then smooths out minute irregularities on the tooth surface to help prevent plaque adhering to the tooth surface again. The plaque and tartar in your pets mouth is formed from bacteria and the movement of this around the mouth can increase the risk of developing an infection. We protect all pets with an antibiotic injection before the dental and a short course of tablets that they take for a few days after the procedure.

If your pet requires any extractions these will be carried out at this time. Extractions can be required for many reasons - pyorrhoea (infection around the tooth base/root), gum recession, broken teeth due to trauma, teeth worn down due to chewing stones, and resorptive lesions (like dental caries in human teeth). These teeth will have been causing your pet pain, even if they have not been showing signs of this at home. Some extractions required stitches in the gums - these do not normall need to be removed as they dissolve with time.

What Happens When My Pet Has An ECG?

An ECG is used to measure the electrical activity of the heart. We use ECGs as part of our investigation into heart conditions. Most ECG exams are carried out with the pet awake and in a relaxed state. Occasionally they are also measured after exercise. The pet may need to have some hair clipped from its four limbs - just behind the elbows and just in front of the knees. This reduces interference with the probes and produces a more accurate reading. The probes are attached to the skin and the machine then measures the ECG trace.

The ECG may be normal or may show alteration in the rate or rhythm of the heart. More rarely other problems with electrical conduction in the heart can be detected and this is very important because there may be few other symptoms to show these problems. The vet will discuss the results with you after examining the ECG trace. Most pets that have an ECG will also require chest x-rays to examine the heart and lungs for other problems that may not show up on an ECG trace.