30 Whitehall Road,
Terenure ,
Dublin 12,
Tel: (01) 4555362
Website: http://www.southdublinvets.ie/
Services
- Consultations
- Vaccinations
- Worming and flea control
- Computerised records
- Nutrition Advice along with quality Dog, cat and rabbit food
Diagnostics
- In house Laboratory
- Full external laboratory offering a range of diagnostic tests
- Digital Xrays
- Ultrasound with Emma Tobin, a specialist Veterinary Radiologist
- Endoscopy
- ECG recording and interpretation
- Blood pressure measurement
Q. What are the main services you provide in your Dublin veterinary clinics?
A. Here at South Dublin Vets we are dedicated to providing high standards of professional veterinary care to all small animal pets. We have two fully equipped surgeries in Terenure and Dundrum with modern facilities which include xrays, endoscopy, surgical suite, dental services and and in house laboratory. Our aim is to provide quality compassionate care for your pet.
Q. Do you offer a vet call-out service for the Dublin area?
A. We do do home visits. However many animals that we visit at home need further care at the surgery so we often collect them at your home and bring them back to the surgery. We would ask that if you would like a home visit to contact either surgery and we can arrange a suitable time.
Q. Pet insurance has become really popular in the last few years, should everyone have their pets insured?
A. We do recommend taking out pet insurance for your pet. You can never predict when your pet may require veterinary attention but at least knowing that the financial side of things is taken care of will help put your mind at ease. There are many different insurance companies providing many different types of policies. We recommend taking out a policy with life cover for your pet. This ensures that if your pet develops a condition that needs life-long treatment the insurance company will not be able to terminate your policy. We also recommend that you read the terms and conditions of your policy carefully.
Q. Does it make a difference to the health of your cat or dog if you feed them scraps or feed them tinned pet food?
A. Diet is an integral part of your pet?s health. Feeding your pet a balanced highly digestible diet will help to keep your pet healthy. The odd scrap here and there will not make too much of a difference but they cannot provide a balanced diet for your pet. Many tinned foods are very poorly digested and contain poor quality ingredients. It is like a fast food meal for your pet. We would recommend a highly digestible, quality dry food as the best nutrition for your pet. In addition one of the most important things to remember is not to overfeed your pet. Weight gain can lead to many health problems later in life most commonly cardiac issues and osteoarthritis.
Q. How does modern medical technology help you diagnose and treat animals more effectively?
A. Just as in the human field veterinary technology is advancing all the time. This gives us additional aids and tests to help diagnose and treat your pet to the best of our ability. Thanks to all the new technology and medicine pets are living longer now than they ever did.
Q. How do you decide whether a puppy or kitten should be neutered?
A. We recommend neutering your kitten or puppy at five months of age. In relation to kittens there are alot of unwanted stray cats in Ireland so neutering your kitten will ensure that they do not add to that. Cats can have two litters a year which could mean up to ten kittens a year. It also means your kitten will not stray as far from home and therefore get into less fights and trouble.
In relation to puppies there are two benefits, medical and behavioural. Neutering can prevent alot of cancers later in life particularly mammary cancer in the female and testicular in the male. Female dogs can also get life-threatening womb infections if they are not neutered.
In terms of behaviour neutering reduces the hyperactivity of your pet and also reduces the amount of straying that they will do. This will in turn greatly reduce their chance of being hit by a car or getting into fights with other dogs.
Neutering does not change a pet's personality. They remain the same character but are a little more placid. They do have a tendency to put on weight a little faster but this can be managed with a good diet and exercise.
Q. Do people try to diagnose their own pets using Google?
A. People use the internet to find out a range of information about their pet. There is alot of very good information about pet health on the internet and if we are treating pets for certain diseases we encourage the owners to read up about it on the internet. We have an extensive library on our website www.southdublinvets.ie with articles written by leading experts in their field. Some people will try and check their pet?s symptoms on the net but if they are worried they will bring them in to us for a check up.
Q. What makes you different from your competition?
A. We care about all our patients as if they were our own. All the staff are pet owners and know how worrying it can be to have a sick pet. Coupled with that we have a range of modern diagnostic equipment and we have a range of expertise on hand amongst the staff to best treat our pets.
Q. What gives you the greatest satisfaction in this job?
A.
For us the greatest satisfaction we can have is taking in a very sick animal and then a few days or weeks later watching that animal going home in good health and full of the joys of spring!
Q. What are your top ten tips for a healthy pet?
A.
1 Ensure your pet is vaccinated and get an annual health assessment.
2 Feed the right quality food.
3 Neuter at five months
4 Have your pet microchipped.
5 Pet health insurance.
6 Dental care is vital.
7 Prevent fleas and worms.
8 Train your pet well.
9 Exercise for life.
10 Have fun!