Micro-chipping

In the news recently there was an item regarding the compulsory micro-chipping of all dogs in England. The government are hoping it will help cut the growing number of strays.  Every dog owner will need to comply with this by 6th April 2016 and anyone that doesn’t could face fines of up to £500. At …

Breaks and Fractures

At Cherrydown Vets one of the reasons pets are bought in to us is because of breaks or fractures to their bones.  It could be because of a car accident, a high fall, fighting, over exuberance or something more serious like bone cancer. There are two types of fractures, open and closed. An open fracture …

The Siberian Husky

 The Siberian Husky (also known as the Arctic Husky) is a beautiful looking dog and they have lovely piercing eyes.  Huskies are thought to originate from Eastern Siberia where they were used to pull sleds over long distances by the Chukchi. They were exported to Alaska during the Nome Gold Rush and later spread into …

A close call at Christmas

One of the joys of having a dog is their playfulness. When they are happy and bounding around it cannot fail to put a smile on your face. However there are rare occasions where their exuberance can result with an injury. Just before Christmas we had had an incident where a dog was bought in …

Labradoodles

What a great name that is! As most people know Labradoodles were created by crossing a Labrador retriever and a standard poodle. However, not a lot of people know they were originally bred to be used as guide dogs for people who are allergic to fur.  The idea was to combine the low shedding coat …

Seasonal Canine Illness

There has been some media coverage about this recently with reports in the Canvey Island Echo, on Countryfile and on the news. As of 26th October 2012 we have not seen any cases at Cherrydown but it is something dog owners need to be aware of, but not to panic about. We advise dog owners to …

Chocolate and dogs don’t mix

Everyone loves a treat. And more often than not, a treat will include chocolate in some form or another. Chocolate is a luxury that we discover as children and we continue to enjoy throughout our lives. And as any dog owner will attest, man’s best friend loves a treat too. Whether it is a reward …