Ian McConnell Veterinary Practice
Local, Independent, Value for money, Common sense approach to pet care
Local, Independent, Value for money, Common sense approach to pet care
At Ian McConnell Vets we pride ourselves on offering a lot more than your usual general veterinary practice. From vaccinations to advanced surgical procedures, x-rays and other complementary services. Take a look at the information below to find out more.
Ian McConnell Veterinary Practice are pleased to announce the launch of Pet Health Plans. These exciting new plans are designed to spread the costs of your pets preventive health care by the way of monthly direct debits at a discount of the normal ‘pay as you go’ price. The price includes all your pets vaccinations, worming and flea and tick treatment for a 12 month period plus a whole host of other included services and other discounted offers. They are not a replacement for pet insurance but focus on preventative medicine so complement pet insurance. If you would like to know more about these exciting new health plans for your beloved pet please phone or call in at the practice and our staff will be more than happy to explain in more details how these work.
A minimum annual health check is recommended for dogs, cats and rabbits, along with vaccinations for major disease prevention. More frequent checks may be recommended for young or older pets or for those on medication. For more details on vaccinations, contact our veterinary team.
A major role in preventative healthcare is to keep your pet free from external and internal parasites. These include fleas, ticks, mites and worms of various types. We can individually tailor a parasite prevention program for your pet, using appropriate prescription products, that will be easy to follow and administer by yourself. For more details on parasite, contact our veterinary or nursing team.
We perform a vast array of surgical procedures including neutering, orthopaedics, dental work, lump removals and eye and ear surgery to name but a few. We also undertake medical investigations including radiography (including dental), ultrasound scans and endoscopy. We also undertake chemotherapy for certain types of cancer in dogs, to save you travelling vast distances to specialist centres. We are now performing keyhole surgery for bitch spays to make it much less painful and allow a quicker recovery. Please contact the surgery or see our separate section on this for more information.
The practice offers a full dispensing service to registered clients and the surgery is open all day to collect medications. We would ask that 24 hours notice be given before collection so that the medication can be made up and checked. Some veterinary products (marked POM-V) cannot be dispensed unless the animal has been seen by a vet recently. We are also able to offer prescriptions for products to be dispensed elsewhere (there is a charge for this service) and registered clients can order repeat medications via our online form.
The practice has several veterinary surgeon staff who are licenced “Official Veterinarians” and are able to advise on all aspects of the PETS Travel Scheme and exportation of pets. We can advise on a full range of checks and tests needed. Although not a legal requirement, we strongly recommend that all pets are treated for ticks before going abroad.
The practice has always offered home visits for clients that would prefer for their pets to be seen at home. In most instances the vet will be accompanied by one of our nurse in case an ‘extra pair of hands’ is required.
Although home visits may appear less stressful for the pet, the home is the one place where they feel safe, so an injection at home or an examination may actually be more stressful in the long term. We are also very restricted in the drugs we are able to carry due to medicines regulations as vaccines must be kept refrigerated and certain drugs must be under lock and key. So we are very limited as what we can do on a home visit.
Having said that, often end of life care of our beloved pets is one area where home visits may be beneficial.
If you would like a home visit, please contact our reception at the earliest opportunity so arrangements can be made.
We have been successfully running these for many years. We now host these in our large indoor arena in the upstairs area of our Mossley practice. They run for 4 weeks and are held in the evening from 6.15-7.15PM. We cover basic training and socialisation. We have a maximum of 6 puppies per group and puppies can attend after their first vaccination up to the age of 15 weeks.
The practice offers acupuncture as a complementary therapy to our usual conventional medicine. Jill Atkin BVMS, MRCVS is a member of the British Veterinary Acupuncturists and has been successfully treating cases in our surgery for many years. Many common problems such as arthritis, chronic back pain disc problems etc can be treated using this method. Please contact us for more information.
Ian McConnell BSc (Hons) BVM&S MRCVS heads our behavioural clinics with support from the nursing team. We aim to provide support and treatment of behavioural issues that your pet may be showing but we also provide a whole host of other related services such as pre-purchase advice of puppies and kittens, education programmes for schools and workplaces, dangerous dogs, basic training, aggression, separation problems, inappropriate toileting/spraying, fears and phobias, coprophagia (eating faeces), compulsive disorders (excessive licking, tail chasing etc). Behaviour problems are a significant welfare issue for the pet and can be extremely stressful for the owner.
Our fees are based on the amount of time spent on the individual case much the same as any other medical problem. As a veterinary surgeon is dealing with your case, it may also be possible to claim against your pet insurance policy if this provides for behavioural issues as many policies do now.
For further information or to book an appointment for this service please contact our veterinary team.
The practice recommends that all animals should be insured through a reputable insurance company. For insured clients, the normal procedure is to settle any bills directly with the practice in the first instance and, at the end of treatment (or at regular intervals if an ongoing condition) to provide a claim form with the policyholder details fully completed, to allow us to provide essential clinical history and treatment costs to the insurance company.
The online community where vets, pets and owners come together. Lots of useful information available but we always recommend to see one of our vets if you have concerns about your pet.
