Rosie recently visited the surgery due to a fast growing lump on her toe. After initial treatment for the lump no improvement was seen and the decision was made to amputate the toe and send the lump off for testing. Rosie has had a long recovery which has needed substational care with dressing changes every few days on her foot due to excellent care from her owners, Rosie is nearly back to her normal self and is managing fine on her 3 toes. Dogs are digitigrade animals, meani

Scout first visited the surgery some weeks ago. Scout being a very excitable puppy had managed to fracture his trochanter tip femur. Scout was put on strict cage rest and follow up x-rays showed the fracture had started to repair. The growth plates in a dog are areas of cartilage that develop at the end of the long bones of the legs. Over time, they calcify developing into denser matter as your puppy gets older and works their muscles more. As your puppies grow , how and whe

❄️Take care when walking your pets on snow and ice. Rock salt which is used to grit the roads during icy conditions can be toxic to some animals, Ingestion can result in a high blood sodium concentration which can cause thirst, vomiting and lethargy, and in severe cases there is a risk of convulsions and kidney damage. Prolonged contact during long walks can lead to chemical burns, dryness, and painful cracking of the pads. Always wash paws as soon as you get home to prevent

Millie visited the surgery for some further investigations and tests which included having her blood pressure monitored and a urinalysis, taking the blood pressure reading off a cat is very challenging but Millie was the purfect patient. Measuring blood pressure usually takes only a few minutes, and involves placing an inflatable cuff around a leg or the tail (much the same as the cuff used on the arm in humans). It is completely pain-free. A urine sample is collect using spe

❄️Small pets winter guide.❄️ Meet Burt a skinny pig, Skinny pigs can not be found in the wild. “skinnies” don't have any fur, except on their noises and a little on their feet, they must be kept indoors in a warm environment. Due to the fact they don't have fur which naturally keeps them warm when the weather is cold, skinnies are prone to catching cold or even hypothermia very easily. If your rabbits, guinea pigs or ferrets live outside, you can make their winter a bit more

Jaz came to visit us at Adlington due to a very swollen ear. The ear had filled with blood causing an aural hematoma. An aural hematoma is a clot of blood that collects between the skin and the cartilage of a pet’s ear flap. It’s typically caused by overly aggressive ear scratching or head shaking that results from an ear infection. Dogs and cats can both suffer ear hematomas, though dogs (particularly those prone to skin allergies and ear infections) are more prone to them.

Bernie the Bernese Mountain dog visited us with a Hot spot on his leg. A hot spot is officially known as Moist Dermatitis, hot spots are found anywhere on the body and can increase in size very quickly. Your dog will experience them as itchy and sometimes painful patches and will often try to soothe hot spots with scratching, licking or biting. Treatment for a hot spot is to : Clip and clean – clipping the fur around your dog’s hot spot will allow air to reach it and speed up

As we head into Autumn and the nights draw darker we need to be conscious of the dangers around for our pets. * Conkers - While serious cases of poisoning are rare, ingestion can cause marked gastro-intestinal signs such as drooling, retching, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. The conker’s case and conkers themselves can also cause intestinal blockages. *Oaks and acorns - The toxic ingredient is thought to be tannic acid, which can cause damage to the liver and kidneys

A favourite past time for pets is chasing bees and wasps in the garden, Peanut got a little more than he bargained for when the bee decided to chase his and sting his paw. If your pet is stung and starts to have difficulty breathing or showing signs of an allergic reaction like swelling, fitting, excessive drooling call us immediately. We can administer an injectable steroid or anti histamine medication to provide immediate relief (usually within about 30 minutes) and reduce

Most of us will welcome the Storms and thunder but for some of our pets it can be very traumatic. A pet with noise phobia will pick up associated signals, such as rain indicating thunder or even a change in barometric pressure and become fearful long before they hear the sound they are frightened of. Some dogs have responses which are quite difficult to cope with, such as pulling all the contents of a cupboard out and clambering inside, hiding under the bed, running from room

Fudge visited the surgery due to a few collapsing episode and becoming lethargic over the course of the day. During the consultation the owner mentioned that fudge could of ingested some plants in the garden, after further investigation it was determined that Fudge had eaten some Canadian Poppies. Canadian poppies or any poppies are often not found on the poisons list for cats. All parts of poppies can be harmful to cats if ingested. The amount of alkaloids or opioids can var

Today we saw Lexi who visited us for a Laparoscopic Spay. There are two types of laparoscopic spays a Ovariectomy where only the ovaries are removed or a ovariohysterectomy where the ovaries and womb are removed. By removing the womb, any chance of womb cancer is eliminated. The most important piece of equipment in a laparoscopic spay is the LigaSure machine. The LigaSure is a vessel sealing device. With this device, you simply clamp it on the vessel, squeeze a button, wait a

This week we saw Hugo who came to us for a castrate, whilst being examined we noticed a hernia and were able to carry out the hernia repair surgery at the time for castration. Canine hernias are relatively common. Similar to humans, a hernia is a condition where the contents of a dog’s abdomen pushes through a tear or hole in the muscle wall or fatty tissue. Over 90 percent of canine hernia cases are due to genetics. Hernias can also develop from trauma or injury. Dogs with h

Mitzie an adventurous puppy has got into some mischief eating berries on a walk and was treated by our Standish branch. Rowan berries, however, are dangerous because they contain a specific toxin. They can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and excessive salivation, and affected dogs can show significant signs of disease. Access to rowan berries should therefore be prevented. Other dangerous berries that dogs may find and eat if they aren't watched closely include deadly nightshade, w

If you are thinking of breeding your own pet it's important to make sure you are fully aware of the complications, costs and work involved. It's no small task having a litter of puppies or kittens and involves a considerably large amount of work. We always advice clients to make sure they plan and save for the worst and hopefully they have a smooth pregnancy and delivery. The main cause of veterinary surgeons preforming emergency caesareans is dystocia of the pup: Dystocia

Sadly today we have seen a case of heat stroke please be cautious in the sun. Make sure to walk your dogs in the evening or early morning to prevent heat stroke. If the pavement is to hot to touch its too hot for your pets paws. DO NOT WALK YOUR DOGS IN BETWEEN 11am -7PM Make sure your rabbit hutches are in the shade, a damp towel can be used to keep the hutch cool. Signs of heatstroke in dogs include: Panting, which increases as heatstroke progresses. Drooling, salivating. A

Meet Bailey who visited us with a sore leg he had damage to her cruciate and had a surgical procedure called a TPLO One of the most common injuries to the knee of dogs is tearing of the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL). This ligament is similar to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in humans. There are actually two cruciate ligaments inside the knee: the cranial cruciate ligament and caudal cruciate ligament. They are called cruciate because they cross over each other insid

The object was identified with an X-ray in the small intestine causing a partial obstruction, Zoe was taken to theater where it was surgically removed. Foreign objects swallowed by animals can cause a partial or complete intestinal obstruction and are one of the most common indications for intestinal surgery. If a foreign body becomes lodged over a period of time then there may be serious complications. Clinical signs of obstruction include dehydration, vomiting, anorexia, we

Meet Leila she came to us as she had started to pass lots of small wees. An ultrasound was preformed and the veterinary surgeon was able to see large stones present taking up almost the entire bladder. Leila was booked in the following day for a cystotomy. A cystotomy is the most indicated treatment of bladder problems including removal of bladder stones,The cystotomy is performed through an incision on the dog’s abdomen which is located towards the rear of the abdomen. Once

Apollo visited our Tyldesley branch for a rare procedure called a Laparoscopic assisted Abdominal Cryptorchid castrate. The testes develop near the kidneys within the abdomen and normally descend into the scrotum by two months of age. In certain dogs, it may occur later, but rarely after six months of age. Cryptorchidism may be presumed to be present if the testicles aren’t palpated in the scrotum after two to four months of age. In most cases of cryptorchidism, the testicle