Clare Vet Group's home page
Ballyclare 028 9332 2223
Whiteabbey 028 9036 5573
Carrickfergus 028 9332 9385
Cavehill 028 9071 8134

Nurse Clinics

Services available at our Veterinary Nurse Clinics

Our team of Veterinary Nurses run clinics throughout the day and are trained to undertake many procedures and offer advice and support on all aspects of pet care.

If you wish to see a veterinary nurse, you should make an appointment during surgery hours. Alternatively, if you have any questions or require advice, please contact the surgery and ask to speak to a veterinary nurse.

Nurse clinics cover the following:

  • Weight Management clinic
  • Puppy and Kitten clinic
  • General health clinic
  • Geriatric pet clinic
  • Dental Clinic
  • Pet preventative health clinic
  • Procedures
  • Post operation checks and suture removal
  • Pre-anaesthetic blood test
  • Administering medication
  • Nutritional advice
  • Pre purchase advice
  • Rabbit clinics - dietary advice, care, handling and husbandry of your pet rabbit
  • Small rodent and exotic clinics - advice on diet, care, handling and husbandry of your small pet

Our veterinary nurses regularly attend courses to improve their knowledge and keep up to date with procedures. Some of our qualified veterinary nurses also hold, or are studying towards, additional qualifications.

Please note that as nurses, whilst we are able to give advice, we are not allowed to diagnose medical problems.  So if you think that your pet is ill, you will need to make an appointment to see a Vet.

  • Preventative Health Clinic
  • Procedures
  • Puppy & Kitten Health Clinic
  • Small Furry & Exotic Clinic
  • Weight Management Clinic
  • Well Pet Clinic

Preventative Health Clinic

At our Pet Preventative Health clinic our qualified nurses can give advice on a wide range of topics. 

These include:

  • Vaccination
  • Worming
  • Neutering
  • Insurance
  • Feeding and diet
  • Training
  • Behaviour

Regular health checks are normally carried out by your vet at annual vaccination, but if you feel you would like any advice about the above topics, make an appointment to see one of our nurses.

Procedures

The procedures carried out by our veterinary nurses are charged for but you will not be charged for a consultation fee when you see a veterinary nurse.

  • Nail clipping (Free for Pet Health Plan members)
  • Dressing changes
  • Microchipping
  • Blood samples for routine checks
  • Diabetes monitoring
  • Blood pressure monitoring
  • Tick removal
  • Urine testing
  • Ear cleaning
  • Anal gland emptying
  • Routine injections – such as allergy vaccinations
  • Puppy parties (run by a specialist team of qualified veterinary nurses)

Many procedures carry discounts for members of our Pet Health Plan.

Puppy & Kitten Health Clinic

Your new puppy or kitten is a fantastic asset to any household and to make sure they get the best start in life, we offer a free pre-vaccination health check by our qualified nurses.

At this consultation, the nurse will go through lots of information about your puppy or kitten and what you need to do. 

These clinics take place at Ballyclare & Whiteabbey and are by appointment only.

The topics that the nurse covers are:

  • Vaccinations
  • Worming
  • Fleas
  • Neutering
  • Behaviour
  • Socialisation
  • Feeding and diet
  • Insurance
  • Training

To find out more information about your new puppy see our Puppy Care Guide, or for more information about your kitten see our Kitten Care Guide.

Small Furry & Exotic Clinic

Rodents and exotic pets have specific husbandry and nutritional requirements.  We can give advice on accommodation, and general health care.

  • Nail Clipping
  • Body condition scoring
  • Recommended feeding regime
  • Environmental enrichment advice
  • Exercise requirements
  • Disease and parasite prevention
  • Advice on spotting early signs/symptoms of diseases or illnesses

Weight Management Clinic

In 2015 Clare Veterinary Hospital opened the ROYAL CANIN® Weight Management Clinic. This is a referral service available to dogs and cats that are overweight. By introducing the clinic, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, we hope to increase the profile of the companion animal obesity condition.

We enrol dogs and cats that are referred from the Veterinary Surgeon with or without other concurrent diseases. The service is offered free of charge to those enrolled.

Weight problems are now as common in dogs and cats as it is in people. An estimated 60% of pets in the UK are overweight and whilst this is occasionally related to a medical disorder, it is usually due to overfeeding.

Excess weight can cause many problems including joint and heart conditions, as well as diabetes and urinary complaints because of the extra strain it puts on every part of the body. Obese pets live 2 years less than most pets in good condition.

Overfeeding and under exercise are the two most common reasons for overweight animals.

If you think your pet may be overweight, then please feel free to contact the surgery for a weight clinic.

The initial consultation with the clinic nurse will discuss your pet’s current diet and exercise, your pet will be weighed, measured with a tape measure, be rated a body condition score and have photographs taken. 

The nurse will then work out an appropriate feeding regime and exercise plan and book in a follow up appointment normally 3-4 weeks after.

Well Pet Clinic

At Clare Vet Group we recommend that older pets are seen regularly.

Animals age quicker than humans, so from when your dog is 7 years old and your cat is 10 years old, we would recommend check ups every 4 months.

Even if the health check reveals nothing untoward, the information we gather will help in future, when concerns for your pet’s health are raised.  Knowing what is normal for your pet, will help immensely when investigating any illness.

For pets over 7 years old. We can give advice on diet, look for any changes such as lumps, clean ears and clip nails. If necessary, your pet can be referred to a vet for further checks and tests. These will be chargeable.

As your pet gets older, their diet requirements will have to change and any of our qualified nurses will be happy to give advice in the clinic or on the telephone.

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