Annual health checks

Your pet’s annual vaccination booster is a good opportunity for a once-a year comprehensive health check. It’s surprising the number of potential or existing health problems that are detected during a thorough physical examination – poor teeth and gums, heart murmurs, potentially cancerous lumps, anal gland impactions, diabetes, arthritis. It’s also a good time to discuss a weight control strategy for overweight pets.

Vaccination

Making sure your pet is protected from serious viral diseases is an important responsibility for all pet owners. Puppies and kittens need a course of vaccinations from 6 weeks of age. Read more about vaccinations

Microchipping

Microchipping is the best way to safeguard your pet against loss or theft. This simple procedure is routinely performed at CVH – and it is now a legal requirement for most pets. Read more about microchipping

Intestinal worms

It’s a fact that many puppies and kittens have internal parasites such as roundworms and hookworms when they are born. A frequent worming program for the mother during pregnancy and in the first 6 months of life will prevent serious illness. See worming schedules for puppies, kittens and adult pets, or read more about hydatid tapeworms in adult dogs.

Desexing

Our vets perform desexing operations on any weekday – please ring us on (02) 4832 1977 to make an appointment or to speak with our staff if you have any questions about neutering your pet.

Flea control

Fleas are a fact of life and flea allergy dermatitis is easily the most common cause of itchiness in cats and dogs! Even in cold Crookwell. Read more about fleas

Heartworm

If you travel out of Crookwell to warmer places, find out about heartworm preventative medication. Like tick control, it may be necessary for your dog.

Tick control

At CVH we regularly treat dogs with tick paralysis 5 to 7 days after a trip to known tick areas with their owners – find out more about ticks and their control and the products we stock to protect against ticks and other parasites.

Nutrition

Good nutrition is absolutely vital to your pet’s health. CVH stocks the highest quality, premium foods and prescription diets for dogs and cats. Our staff can guide you through the different products available (we agree, there are a lot to choose from) and work out what’s best for your pet’s age, condition and energy requirements.

Birds and pocket pets

Our vets treat all companion animals. Birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, rodents and ferrets are popular pets and we welcome them all at CVH. Routine services include clinical examinations and general health care, rabbit desexing and vaccination (Calicivirus), beak trimming and general surgery in pet birds and rodents.

Senior pets

Regular health checks for geriatric pets are an important part of our work. Just like us, ageing pets often develop health problems such as arthritis, dental disease, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and incontinence. Diagnosing and tackling these health problems early means we can help prolong your pet’s quality of life. This can include annual in-house blood tests to check the function of kidneys and other vital organs, and finding the most effective and safe medication for pets with arthritis.

Behaviour advice

A well-behaved pet is a pleasure to live with – and the converse applies. Many common behavioural problems can be solved with a consultation, and we stock natural products that assist pets exhibiting anxiety and stress. We also offer Puppy Preschool and Obedience Classes.

Dental disease

Maintaining good dental health is such an important part of keeping your pet happy and healthy. We regularly treat pets with tartar (plaque) build-up, smelly breath, loose teeth and painful inflamed gums. Read more about dental care

Radiology, ultrasound and endoscopy

CVH has dedicated x-ray and ultrasound facilities. As well as routine diagnostic x-rays, we radiograph for the Australian Hip Dysplasia and Elbow Dysplasia schemes.

We have experienced ultrasonographers on staff. Ultrasound is a non-invasive way of diagnosing a wide range of medical conditions, obtaining biopsies without invasive surgery and confirming (or not) pregnancy.

Our endoscope is another useful and less invasive diagnostic and therapeutic tool. It enables us to take biopsies from deep body tissues and remove foreign bodies in nasal and other body cavities without the need for major surgery.

Cancer treatment

Cancer affects pets just as frequently as people. It’s a challenging and emotional time for owners and pets but, as in human medicine, we now have many more options for successful treatment, including chemotherapy. CVH vets manage many cancer patients and we also offer the option of referral to excellent veterinary cancer specialists.

Pathology

Our in-house pathology laboratory enables us to quickly deliver a wide range of tests – blood counts, biochemistry, electrolytes, clotting, faecal and urinalyses can all be tested within minutes. Other tests include; snake identification in suspected snakebite cases, heartworm, pancreatitis, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and parvovirus in dogs. Our in-house pathology is supported by fast external laboratory services.

Anaesthesia

At CVH, we are committed to operating with the most sophisticated equipment and safest anaesthetics, individualised for each pet’s age, weight and condition. All our veterinary nursing staff are trained to carefully monitor each animal using pulse oximeters (heart rate and oxygen tension) and respiratory monitors.

Surgery

The CVH surgical suite is fully equipped for a range of surgeries from routine de-sexing, caesarians, surgical emergencies and day-to-day wound repair to complex soft tissue and orthopaedic operations. Read more about preparing your pet for surgery and post-operative care.

Our vets and nurses are committed to delivering high quality pain relief and all pets routinely receive pre- and post-surgical pain relief medication. Please contact us with any questions about the comfort of your pet during and after surgery.