Approximately 75% of our pets will need veterinary dental treatment within their lifetime.  This number need not be so high...start dental hygiene early.  We recommend training puppies and kittens to accept tooth brushing as part of their daily routine. Brushing your pets teeth isn’t as difficult as it sounds! The majority enthusiastically accept brushing when introduced to it slowly and as a positive experience. It needs to become as routine as doing your own teeth!  But don’t despair –...

Arthur is a twelve year old yellow Labrador who lives with his family just outside Crediton. In February this year his owners noticed a lump on his right foreleg and took him in to see vet Katie, who decided a biopsy was in order (ther first photo shows the lump after the biopsy had been taken). The results showed that Arthur had a soft tissue sarcoma. Although Arthur is getting on in years, he is in generally good health, he is not overweight and has only a touch of arthritis which is...

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease spread in urine of infected animals such as rats and dogs. Over the past few months there has been a significant increase in reported cases of canine leptospirosis in the South West.

Worryingly several of these cases have occurred in vaccinated dogs. The disease is often contracted from infected water courses causing kidney and liver failure which can be difficult to treat and can result in death. The disease is zoonotic, so may be contracted by...

It is that time of year again when we start to see seasonal allergies flaring up in our pets.  There are many different causes of scratching but allergic dermatitis is by far the most common – the challenge is to try to discover exactly what the allergy is to – not always easy!  Being very itchy can be really debilitating for your pet, and can lead to lots of other skin complaints – especially skin infections due to self trauma.  In cats, over-grooming, and licking bald spots, especially on...