Chantry Vets

Here is Megan in action with Doger who is a very big nervous nelly and has taken a lot of commitment to get him to this stage of tolerating basic care requirements, including grooming and dental hygiene 🥰 #rvn #chantryvets #dentalhygiene #grooming #fearfree

This is Teddy, who has recently been to see us for an arthritis management appointment. As you can see, he has pain in his right hind leg which causes him to limp. We have started him on a detailed pain medication plan, including visiting him once each month at home to provide a monoclonal antibody injection, commonly used to improve arthritis discomfort. We are also assisting him with weight loss to ease the workload on his joints and to ensure he has a more appropriate body condition score to cope with a surgical procedure on his affected leg, which is painful due to a luxating patella. Please wish Teddy luck on his recovery journey and contact us on 01924 362 464 if you have any questions regarding arthritis management for your own pet. #chantryvets #arthritis #arthritisawareness #luxatingpatellarecovery #PetWeightLoss

Senior Surgical Nurse Abi, often takes her energetic spaniel Nell, for walks that involve very simple and effective 'go find' activities which helps with mental stimulation and enrichment of her walks. Using her nose tires her brain so that she is both physically and mentally exercised by the time she gets home. This helps to manage energy levels and create an overall calmer pet when done consistently! #spaniel #spanielsofinstagram #mentalstimulationfordogs #enrichmentfordogs #chantryvets

Good weight dog

What a 👍 weight looks like ⏬ 🐕 Ribs are easy to feel with a flat hand, with minimal fat covering. Waist easily noted, viewed from above. Tummy tuck evident. Abdominal fat pad minimal. #SlimPals

Good weight cat

What a 👍 weight looks like ⏬ 🐈 Well-proportioned. Observe waist behind ribs. Ribs are easy to feel with a flat hand, slight fat covering. Waist easily noted, viewed from above #SlimPals

Overweight Dog

The 🚩’s of an overweight pet 🐕 Ribs are hard to feel with a flat hand, buildup of fat over low back/base of tail. Waist absent. #SlimPals

Overweight Cat

The 🚩’s of an overweight pet 🐈 Ribs hard to feel with a flat hand, fat buildup over lower back/base of tail. Pendulous tummy and loss of waist when viewed from above. #SlimPals

Vinny - Sedation

You may remember that Vinny was coming to see us for his Suprelorin injection recently, to help manage his hormone levels. We did everything possible to ensure he had a Fear Free experience, but he was a little more anxious than previous visits due to construction work outside the practice and some noisier in-patients at the branch. Megan could sense he wasn't as comfortable in the environment as he had previously been, so spent some time settling him whilst awaiting authorisation from a vet to administer a very mild sedative, given via a small injection into one of his muscles. Vinny was very tolerant of this and it made the rest of his experience much less stressful for him. We continued to use gentle approaches and careful handling and ensured numbing creams were applied and pain reduction sprays used on his skin to reduce any discomfort from the larger needle. His sedation was reversed immediately and he was given lots of treats and praise once he was fully recovered 🥰

Underweight Dog

The 🚩’s of an underweight pet ⏬ 🐕 Ribs, lumbar spine and pelvic bones easily visible. Some evidence of other bony prominences. Minimal loss of muscle mass. Some dog breeds such as saluki and some sighthounds may have some features of looking underweight. #SlimPals

Underweight Cat

The 🚩’s of an underweight pet ⏬ 🐈 You can easily see spine; very obvious waist and joints appear boney. #SlimPals

Warm Layers Video

Sometimes our senior pets obviously struggle with arthritis and may not manage on slippery surfaces, such as ice and snow. They may need alternative exercise options in snow and may also need owners to intervene when other dogs get a bit too rough when playing. In this video, Head Nurse Megan is making sure Dodger is put back on his lead after chasing his much older companion Bambi and getting a little rougher with play. The aim of this is to prevent worsening of arthritis by minimising injury risk and preventing further pain and inflammation. Some dogs will not limit themselves either and will rely heavily on you as their owner. They may continue to play because they do not understand the consequences of their actions. Warm layers will help to keep your dogs warm in this weather and prevent painful joints from seizing up. Bambi is modelling a comfortable warm jumper type coat that she wears under her larger waterproof coat. Medical pet shirts used to prevent interference with surgical wounds also double up as very good under layers for cold weather. We now stock shirts that are much easier and more comfortable to put on patients with arthritic joints and do not require removal for toileting. Enquire at your local branch if you would like to look at getting one sized for your pet. https://chantryvets.co.uk/branches

We hope everyone has been enjoying the snow! Head Nurse Megan has been out with her lurchers to provide enrichment when walking longer distances is more difficult. Here she has hidden small treats in snowballs to throw for them to really use their noses to find and enjoy! A small amount of time sniffing can be as tiring as a long walk for dogs and makes up for days when exercise is restricted. Show us what you've been doing with your dogs in the snow!