Nurse Clinics

We treat your pet as if it were our own

Our nurses run regular clinics at each of our branches. Nurses are highly trained professionals, who are often better placed than vets to provide advice and practical help with preventative healthcare, minor procedures and management of chronic diseases. They attend lots of courses and lectures to make sure they are up to date with new products and information.

  • Arthritis Clinics
  • Blood Pressure Monitoring
  • Dental Care & Checks
  • Grooming
  • Nail Clipping
  • Post-operative Checks
  • Puppy & Kitten Clinics
  • Weight Clinics

Arthritis Clinics

Arthritis can have a real impact on the quality of life of your pet and we often hear the misconceptions that “he’s just getting older” or “there’s not much you can do for that anyway”. While it’s true that we can’t reverse the cartilage damage caused by arthritis, there is plenty we can do to reduce the impact this has on your pet’s mobility and happiness.

As well as anti-inflammatories and pain relief provided by a vet, our nurses can advise you on lifestyle changes, diets, supplements, physio, acupuncture, hydrotherapy and more to improve the life of a pet with arthritis.

See our advice pages for more information or get in touch to book a clinic with our nurse.

Blood Pressure Monitoring

Raised blood pressure (hypertension) is something we see often, particularly in older cats. If your pet is at risk of abnormally high blood pressure, they will need repeated checks. Ideally these checks should be done with your pet as relaxed as possible.

This can often be difficult during Vet consult times, which are often quite busy and hectic. Booking your blood pressure check with a nurse means it can be at a convenient time for you and your pet, when the clinic is quieter and the nurse can take as much time as needed to get a relaxed reading.

Dental Care & Checks

If you are worried that your pet has developed smelly breath, why not book in for a nurse dental check? If caught early enough, they can recommend preventative measures to try to avoid the need for a full dental under general anaesthetic. The nurse will go through various different options with you to decide what is right for you and your pet.

For puppies that have just got their adult teeth, the nurse can show you how to start cleaning them so your puppy gets used to it and hopefully will never need any veterinary dental treatment.

Grooming

Some older or overweight animals have difficulty grooming themselves and if they do not tolerate brushing at home, matts can quickly develop becoming itchy and uncomfortable. While we are not professional groomers, we can remove matted fur from problem areas or even do a whole-body clip if required.

If your animal is particularly nervous or a little bit too naughty, we can groom them under light sedation (supervised by a vet) to minimise stress.

Nail Clipping

Our nurses offer nail clips to dogs, cats, rabbits or small furries (hamsters etc). It is important to keep nails at a reasonable length so they do not grow into the pad or cause injury through scratches.

We also offer clinics where we can teach you how to do nail clips at home in case you aren’t fully confident.

Post-operative Checks

After an operation or dental we always like to see our patients back so our nurses can give them a thorough check over to ensure they are recovering well.

They will check the wound and assess pain levels to see if any further treatment is needed. They can also remove stitches or staples if required. After a dental they will check your pet’s mouth to make sure the gums are healthy. They will also discuss ongoing dental care to avoid future dental procedures being necessary.

Puppy & Kitten Clinics

Getting a new puppy or kitten can be very daunting; there is lots of information available from breeders, other dog owners, trainers and “Dr Google”, which often give conflicting advice! We’ve put together loads of helpful info for puppy and kitten owners in our Advice section.

We hope you’ll find this useful, but there’s nothing like talking it through with a nurse to help you be the best owner you can for the new addition to your family.

Our nurses will cover flea and worming treatment, neutering, diet, behaviour and socialisation advice, as well as answering any questions you have.

Weight Clinics

Nearly 6 million pets in Britain are obese or overweight. While it might seem that carrying a bit of extra weight isn’t that bad, in fact it can cause or exacerbate many health problems such as arthritis, diabetes and respiratory disease.

In the veterinary profession, we now recognise that weight guidelines for breeds are not always accurate, so it is always best for our nurses to see an animal to carry out a Body Condition Score, which is a much more individual and accurate way to determine if your pet is a healthy weight. The nurse will also take a detailed account of your pet’s diet, lifestyle and any medical conditions. They can then tailor a plan to each individual, aiming for healthy, steady, consistent weight loss.

At the other end of the spectrum, some animals struggle to maintain a healthy weight due to high activity levels or medical conditions. Our nurses can also help formulate a plan for these animals to try to keep their weight up at a healthy level.