Dental Disease

  Many dog owners do not realise that dental disease, particularly gum disease, is common in their pets. Surveys show that after the age of three years, about seven out of ten pets have some kind of dental disorder.   If there is a problem and it is left untreated it could cause irreversible damage to …

Bull Mastiffs

The Bull Mastiff is a big, strong, intelligent dog that was originally bred from an English Mastiff and an Old English Bulldog in the 19th Century. Gamekeepers used them on large estates to help keep them free of poachers. Even though Bull Mastiffs are big dogs they are sensitive, loving and can make good family pets …

Dogs and Car Travel

If you own a dog then you may, at some point, have to put him/her in a car. Whether it’s a trip to the vets or a longer journey there are several things to consider when it comes to the safety and comfort of your best friend. Harnesses, Guards and Crates We wear seatbelts and …

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 …

Owning a Rabbit – Part 2

Food and Diet If you believe what you see in a Bugs Bunny cartoon rabbits only eat carrots. This is a complete myth.  A rabbit’s diet is far more complex.  If you broke it down it would look like this: 80% Grass and Hay – Rabbits digestive systems must have grass and/or hay in order to …

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 …

Owning a Rabbit – Part 1

Did you know there are approximately 1.7 million rabbits kept as pets in the UK? This makes them the third most popular pet after cats and dogs. There are many different breeds all varying in size, shape and personality.  It is generally thought owning a rabbit is easy. However, as they need daily attention, have …

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 …