Pet Care

We provide a wide range of services for your pets. Vets from the practice are available for emergencies 24hrs a day, so should your pet become unwell, you can expect to see one of the usual team, and not a vet from another clinic.

We are inspected by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (the “RCVS”) at least every four years to ensure that the highest standards of veterinary care, equipment and infection control are maintained. We have achieved Tier 2 status in both pets & livestock. This is a voluntary scheme that not all vets are signed up to.

If you have a telephone or email query, we will do our best to respond to you as soon as we can, but please allow 1-2 working days. If your query is urgent, please book an appointment.

Vaccinations for cats, dogs and rabbits

We can vaccinate puppies starting from 6 weeks of age & then a 2nd injection is given 2-4 weeks after the 1st injection, but puppies must be 10 weeks of age or over for the 2nd injection. The usual protocol is 1st injection at 8 weeks old & 2nd injection at 12 weeks old. The onset of immunity is 3 weeks after the 2nd injection, so it would then be safe to take your puppy out. We also offer a 3-part injection course, where 3 of the 4 diseases would be given at the 2nd appointment and the lepto part would be given at the 3rd appointment. This allows puppies to go out & socialise earlier than with a 2-injection course, other than water courses/anywhere where rats would be.

The injections are given in the back of the neck under the skin. We vaccinate puppies/dogs against 4 infectious diseases:

  • Distemper (hardpad)
  • Hepatitis (adenovirus)
  • Parvovirus
  • Leptospirosis ( 4 strains). Please note that the L2 (2 strain) vaccine is no longer produced in the UK.

Boosters are given every year after this initial course. At 1 year of age, your dog will be given a full booster protecting against all diseases again to ensure they are immune. At age 2 & 3 years, they will be given a leptospirosis booster. At age 4 years then every 3rd year thereafter, a full booster is given.

Kennel Cough:

We can also vaccinate dogs against Kennel Cough (Bordetella bronchiseptica & para-influenza), but this is a separate optional vaccine which involves a small volume of liquid vaccine being squirted into the nose. This is given once (no need for a 2nd dose) & gives protection against kennel cough for 1 year. Annual boosters are therefore necessary. Puppies can be vaccinated from 3 weeks of age. The onset of immunity is 3 days for Bordetella and 3 weeks for para-influenza. We can give this vaccine at the same time as the standard booster injection.

Rabies & taking your pet abroad:

This vaccine is only given to pets who will be travelling abroad. We can vaccinate dogs from 12 weeks of age. One injection is required, which must be given at least 2 weeks apart from any other vaccination, then boosters are needed every 3 years. The injection is given in the back of the neck.

From 1st January 2021, you will require an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) to take your dog, cat or ferret abroad. This must be issued within 10 days of your travel date out of the UK and it is valid for up to 5 pets & up to 4 months of travel. We will only issue Animal Health Certificates to our clients. We have 4 vets qualified to issue AHCs.

Information regarding taking your pet abroad:- https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad

For travelling with your dog or cat to Australia from Nov 2024, you will need an OV66 certified vet. 2 of our vets have this certification.

Leishmania:

This vaccine is no longer available in the UK. Sandflies carry the parasite Leishmania infantum & when they bite, they transfer this parasite into the dog’s blood. It is also a disease that humans can get from animals (a zoonosis). There is a very long incubation period; the time from an infected bite to showing signs of disease can be up to 7 years! If you take your dog abroad where sandflies are endemic (eg most of Southern Europe), keep them in from dusk to dawn as these are the times that the sandflies are most active.

We send booster reminders, either by email or text message.  If you don’t have email or a mobile phone number, we can send your reminder by post. Please let us know your up-to-date contact details and inform us of any changes. Ring us on 01308 456771 or email reception@bredyvets.co.uk 

Standard vaccinations:

We vaccinate cats & kittens from 8-9 weeks of age & then a 2nd injection is given 3-4 weeks after the 1st injection. The injections are given in the back of the neck. We vaccinate cats & kittens against the following 4 diseases:-

  • Herpes virus (cat flu)
  • Calicivirus (cat flu)
  • Panleucopaenia (enteritis) Virus
  • Feline Leukaemia Virus

The vaccine we use has a 3 year licence for protection against Panleucopaenia virus & Feline Leukaemia virus, so after the age of 1 year, your cat will only need these boosters every 3 years. We still give Herpes & Calicivirus boosters every year.

Rabies and travel abroad:

This vaccine is only given to pets who will be travelling abroad. We can vaccinate cats from 12 weeks of age. One injection is required, which must be given at least 2 weeks apart from any other vaccination, then boosters are needed every 3 years. The injection is given in the back of the neck.

From 1st January 2021, you will require an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) to take your dog, cat or ferret abroad. This must be issued within 10 days of your travel date out of the UK and it is valid for up to 5 pets & up to 4 months of travel. We will only issue Animal Health Certificates to our clients. We have 4 vets qualified to issue AHCs.

Information regarding travelling with your pet: https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad

For travelling with your dog or cat to Australia from Nov 2024, you will need an OV66 certified vet. 2 of our vets have this certification.

We send booster reminders, either by email or text message.  If you don’t have email or a mobile phone number, we can send your reminder by post. Please let us know your up-to-date contact details and inform us of any changes. Ring us on 01308 456771 or email reception@bredyvets.co.uk 

We now vaccinate rabbits against the following 3 diseases:-

  • Myxomatosis
  • Viral Haemorrhagic Disease type 1 (VHD-1)
  • Viral Haemorrhagic Disease type 2 (VHD-2)

We offer this triple rabbit vaccination, which is 1 injection once a year and protects against all 3 of the above diseases.

We are now aware (Spring 2025) of a new virulent form of viral haemorrhagic disease currently not present in the UK but has been seen in countries in the EU. There is a new vaccine which protects against this new strain of disease, which will soon be available. The recommendation is to give rabbits the above triple vaccination annually and this new vaccine annually.

We send booster reminders, either by email or text message.  If you don’t have email or a mobile phone number, we can send your reminder by post. Please let us know your up-to-date contact details and inform us of any changes. Ring us on 01308 456771 or email reception@bredyvets.co.uk 

Just some of our other services:

  • Vet consultations for cats, dogs, rabbits, rodents, birds, reptiles.

  • Vaccinations for dogs, cats, rabbits and ferrets.

  • Spaying & castration (neutering) of dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets and rodents.

  • Surgeries for a wide variety of conditions – lump removals, exploratory surgeries, biopsies, thyroid gland removal, fracture repair, cruciate repair (TTA & lateral suture methods), eye surgeries, & many more.

  • Nurse clinics – these include clinics post surgery, nail clipping, elderly pet health checks, diet and feeding advice, free weight clinics, dental care and dry eye monitoring.

  • Microchipping – the gold standard for identifying and optimising your prospects of a rapid return should you lose your pet. From 10/6/2024, it will be law to microchip all cats.

  • Puppy parties- an opportunity to socialise your puppy and get advice on all aspects of care and training.

  • Dental treatment: dental Xrays, descaling & polishing teeth, extractions.

  • Laboratory facilities including blood and urine testing at the practice and access to specialist testing at external labs.

  • Faecal worm egg counts on our in-house machine, same day results (for both pets and farm animals)

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  • Blood transfusions.

  • Chemotherapy.

  • Pet travel services, rabies vaccinations, Animal Health Certificates, export of pets.

  • Preventative health care – vaccinations and parasite control.

  • Ultrasound scanning, for pregnancy as well as when a pet is unwell

  • Hospitalisation in separate dog & cat wards.

  • Isolation ward.

  • X-rays (digital).

  • Endoscopy (rigid)

  • Prompt referral to specialist consultants where appropriate.

  • ECGs (electrical tracings of the heart).

  • Acupuncture.

  • Home visits.

Our appointments

During office hours Monday to Friday (8.30am – 6pm) and Saturday (9am – 1pm), our receptionists are available to make appointments for consultations, during the mornings, afternoons & evenings, which help to reduce waiting times and allow client/ pet/vet continuity. You can also book appointments for your pet on our website.

Our appointments are 15 minutes long, giving you & your pet quality time with the vet. If you would like to see a specific veterinary surgeon, please tell us and wherever possible we will book you in with that vet.

In the case of an emergency, a receptionist or nurse will admit the animal for immediate treatment with a vet. We aim to provide the standard of care that we would wish for our own pets.

Important Information:

Repeat prescriptions

In accordance with current legal and Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ advice, it is required that all animals on long-term medication should be examined at least every six months; this allows us to:

  • Monitor any changes in the conditions we are treating,
  • Ensure the effectiveness of the medication & check the patient’s weight,
  • Check for new developments, which may make the medication inappropriate or indicate a dosage review,
  • Monitor for any possible side-effects.

Please give us 24 hours’ notice if you require a repeat prescription. Reception is very busy at peak times and given a bit of warning we can prepare & dispense medications so that they are ready for you to collect and you are not kept waiting.

In advance of surgery

Routine surgeries for dogs & cats usually require them to have no food from midnight the previous evening, arriving at the surgery at 8.30-9am on the day (an admission appointment will be made for you with one of our Vet Nurses). Food is not withheld from rabbits pre-anaesthesia. Surgery is usually performed in the morning and your pet will be ready to collect between 3-5pm. A discharge appointment time will be arranged with the nurse when your pet is admitted & you will be asked to sign a consent form. An estimate of cost will be provided before the day of surgery. Advice on aftercare is given at the time of discharge by a vet nurse.