Vet Practice Services
Our friendly vet practice offers the following services to pet owners…
Keyhole surgery
(Laparoscopic surgery)
The best method for spaying your pet
We offer laparoscopy, otherwise known as keyhole surgery, when performing spays – and we’re the only practice on the Isle of Man to do so.
Why have we invested in this? Put simply, it’s the future. It’s less invasive, causes less pain and trauma, and has much faster recovery rates.
In a standard spay – the neutering of female animals to prevent them from reproducing – some movement and manipulation of tissue is inevitable. This unfortunately will cause pain in your pet, as well as trips back to us in practice to make sure that the wound is healing. Full recovery may take up to 10 days.
In keyhole surgery, a camera is inserted to allow a much more accurate surgery. This means there is less trauma to internal organs and a much lower risk of complications, as well as smaller entry wounds.
Due to this, your pet will only require one check-up with us two days after the surgery, by which time they are often back to normal.
Laparoscopic spays are equally as effective as traditional methods and we expect the same clinical benefits, including in preventing pyometra, a serious infection of the womb. But they are greatly superior in terms of the experience and recovery of your pet.
It is a more expensive procedure due to the cost of the equipment and the training required. But we are committed to providing our clients with the best options, and in constantly reinvesting to improve our system.
Want to find out more about laparoscopic spays? Watch this video!
Complete, worry-free preventative healthcare for your pet
Your Healthy Pet Care Plan membership provides the most comprehensive and cost-effective way to give your pet everything they need to stay healthy including unlimited consultations!
Read about all the benefits that your pet will receive when they become a member of the Healthy Pet Care Plan.
Pet dental care with a difference
It may surprise you to learn that the vast majority of cats and dogs will develop some form of dental disease by the age of just three.
Vets and cat owners have become increasingly aware of this problem. So, frequent scaling and polishing under anaesthesia are helping us to battle against bad breath and poor pet dental hygiene. These dental treatments help to preserve your pet’s teeth and prevent significant future discomfort and poor health.
If your pet requires pet dental treatment, then our vets will assess and clean the whole mouth so that they revert to a clean state as soon as possible.
Save 10% on dental scale and polish
Acupuncture for Pets
Acupuncture uses fine needles placed in your pets pressure points to help ease pain and other symptoms of illness.
This is the perfect drug-free complementary therapy for pet owners who prefer to try alternative methods of pain relief for their pets.
Ciara Tinkler (practice owner and head vet) is a member of the Association of British Veterinary Acupuncture, so is extensively trained to deliver this versatile therapy to any Strand Vets clients that require an alternative approach.
Read more about acupuncture and how it works for pets here:
Find out how acupuncture could benefit your pet
01624 825424
Cat and Rabbit Friendly
Cats and rabbits have instincts and attributes that are unique to their species; these can make them feel especially vulnerable outside of their usual territory. Our dedicated team provide a calm healing environment for your pet and have all undertaken additional training to ensure these important protocols are maintained during your pets stay with us.
Cats
We are immensely proud to be accredited as a Bronze award cat-friendly clinic. This means that our feline friends can expect high standards of care when they visit and stay with us.
We offer cat-only clinics on Wednesday afternoons so that your cat will not be intimidated by dogs. We are trained to handle your cat in a way that does everything to minimise stress to them. We can recognise stress and anxiety and will take action to reduce it. We also have designated cat advocates who continuously assess and improve our protocols.
Rabbits
Rabbits make lovely hobby pets and have specific medical requirements which is why we are pleased to offer a full complement of rabbit veterinary care.
We have been awarded the RNVA silver award as a ‘Rabbit Friendly Vet’, and as a result, we take care in how we handle your rabbit, how we house them and what advice we give to you as well as which medications and procedures we will choose for them.
Hospitalisation
Nobody likes to be away from their pets, especially when they’re unwell. We understand that this and make a special effort to ensure our wards are like a home from home.
The nurses at Strand Vets will care for your pet as if they were their own, making every effort to provide for their medical needs and emotional well being too. In our pet hospital wards, your best friend will always feel comfortable with clean, soft bedding, regular checks, nutritious food, plenty of one-to-one grooming and all the mental stimulation they require.
In-house Laboratory
At Strand Vets we have our own in house laboratory where we can process blood, urine and faecal samples quickly as well as using our microscope for ear and skin samples. This means we often have results the same day allowing us to make decisions quickly which is essential when your pet is poorly. There are still some tests that need to be done off island which always takes longer, but all the main essentials can be done right here.
Nurse Clinics
Our nurse team are the backbone of our practice, ensuring your pets receives the love and care they need during all their routine appointments.
Apart from their amazing friendliness, their wealth of experience and veterinary knowledge will give you the confidence to know your pets are always in the best hands.
Nurse clinics at Strand vets cover all these routine procedures (and more!):
- Microchipping
- Second vaccinations within a primary course
- Administering medications
- Anal gland emptying
- Nail clipping
- Dressing changes
- Blood sampling at the request of a vet
- Blood pressure monitoring
- Dietary, neutering and parasite advice
- Diabetes clinics
- Pet Physiotherapy
- Puppy Parties
- Weight Clinics
Members of the Healthy Pet Care Plan get unlimited nurse clinics at no extra cost!
01624 825424
Find out more about the Healthy Pet Care plan by clicking below:Puppy Parties
We recognised that careful early exposure to positive experiences will help a puppy grow to be a well socialised, well-adjusted adult dog.
Puppy parties provide you and your new puppy with a fun-stimulating experience as well as learning valuable information, advice to encourage careful interaction and puppy playtime.
Your puppy will have fun and feel more comfortable during vet appointments. You’ll have an invaluable opportunity to quiz the nurses on everything you need to know about puppy care.
Find out more about our Puppy Parties
01624 825424
Ultrasound
We often use ultrasound to help us work out what is causing problems for your pet. Ultrasound uses ultrasonic sound waves to create images of body structures based on the echoes reflected from the tissues. It is most helpful in evaluating inner organs and can give us lots of essential information to help us make the best treatment plan for your pet.
Xrays
Dental x-ray
Crucial for your pet’s oral health
Our dental x-ray equipment is crucial in our treatment of oral conditions, giving us a clear picture of the mouth which is not possible otherwise.
Without an x-ray, you are often guessing at what is wrong with a pet when they come in for a dental procedure. Even the best guess is not able to tell if the roots of a tooth are healthy.
Following a complicated extraction, we always perform a quick x-ray, as there is a high risk of fractures occurring in the jaw. Without this, fractures could be missed, leaving the pet in pain.
Unfortunately, we are currently one of only two practices on the island with access to this equipment, despite it being a fairly basic piece of kit in the UK.
Of course equipment such as this doesn’t come cheap. But we are committed to investing to make sure we have the best equipment available, to provide the highest level of care possible to our pets.
We believe that this investment is essential, and forms part of our commitment both to the health of our patients, and to the improvement of infrastructure on the Isle of Man.
You can read a bit more about our approach and how we work with Dentistry in a recent blog that we did here: https://www.strandvets.com/top-notch-dental-care-for-nyssa/