We’d like to once again thank all of our fantastic clients for the patience and understanding that we’ve been given during these difficult times. In light of the low incidence of COVID-19 in the ACT, we feel we can safely allow a regulated number of pet-parents back in to the clinic for consultations as of the 2nd of June. As it always has been, the safety of our staff, clients and patients remains our top priority.
For the health and safety of staff and clients, if you have a cough, fever or cold symptoms, please call to reschedule your visit.
You Will Need:
You will require access to a mobile phone and a credit/debit card for payment (we prefer non-cash payments at time of consultation). We ask that all cats and rabbits arrive in a pet carrier. All dogs must be on lead.
The New Consultation Process:
When you arrive at the clinic for consultation or admission, please remain in your vehicle and call us on 62302223 to notify us of arrival. If you are picking up food or medications, please call us when you arrive and we’ll bring them out to your vehicle.
We’ll text you once the coast is clear and the vet is ready to see you, to reduce contact in the waiting room.
We will only allow one owner per appointment to enter the building, due to space restrictions.
If you are bringing a dog, we’ll record a weight on the scales before proceeding into consultation.
Most of the time, you will be invited to sit in the chair provided and maintain a safe distance whilst the consultation is in process.
At the end of the consultation, there will be a brief pause at the reception desk to settle your account (PayWave is our preferred method) and book any rechecks required, before vacating so that the next client can come in.
This will all be subject to adjustments as we find the best balance of convenience and caution.
If you would still prefer to have a contactless consultation, we can accommodate that as well.If you have any concerns or questions, please call us on 62302223.
While some isolated humans may be looking forward to the time when they are leaving the home to work and socialise, there are concerns that this could see a rise in separation anxiety amongst the millions of dogs who’ve grown accustomed to their owners’ constant companionship during lockdown.
Whist our feline friends may also suffer from separation distress, it if far less common. In fact, many kitties would welcome more time to themselves as soon as possible!
Dogs experiencing so much more quality time with their families, can become over-dependent on their humans and this can lead to separation distress when mums and dads suddenly return to work and the children go back to school.
Dogs thrive on routine. They feel calmest when life offers consistency and predictability, as we all do, so times of abrupt change can be stressful.
The sudden loss of their doting humans could result in stress-induced behaviours in an attempt to find their owners or deal with anxiety. These include:
Barking, howling, or whining when you leave
Scratching or chewing at entrances and exits (doors/windows) when alone
Destructive behaviour that only happens when alone
Over-grooming or other self-harm or obsessive behaviours
A change in appetite
It is worth collecting video of your pet when they are home alone and pay attention to what they are ‘telling’ you through their body language. Are they coping calmly and munching through a treat whilst resting in their comfy safe place? Or are you seeing distressed behaviours?
Beware the dogs that suffer in silence with more subtle signs of anxiety like panting, pacing, salivating, trembling when alone. Some dogs are so anxious that they don’t eat or drink until their owner returns.
Separation anxiety isn’t just psychologically damaging for the pet. Some dogs attempt to dig and chew through doors or windows, resulting in self-injury, such as broken teeth and damaged paws. Some howl continuously in distress, disturbing all those in earshot.
Separation anxiety in dogs already accounts for a high proportion of pets referred for behaviour consultations, even prior to the current upheavals in routine.
So what can we do now to reduce the risk of our dogs suffering distress when we go back to spending more time away from home?
Allow your pet to have some alone time. You have your space and allow them to have theirs. This should not be a punishing time out. Make this a fun experience where the dog is in another part of the home on a comfortable bed, chewing on a Kong, dental chew or other slow-to-consume tasty treat. Tether the treat to the bed if necessary.
Interactive food release toys can take the place of the food bowl to provide hours of entertainment.
As yummy as they may be, we can’t recommend bones. Vets are often faced with broken teeth, blocked bowels or sad vomiting pooches following access to bones.
Practice training your dog to perform out-of-sight “stays” within the house. Begin a gradual process of using small absences that start to teach the dog that absences are safe.
Abandoning one’s fur babies for even short periods could prove a tall order for the millions who are relying on and even purchasing dogs to keep themselves sane during lockdown. Especially when pets offer such a joyful greeting after any absence. However, it is important to help them through this upheaval and prepare them for staying at home alone in the future.
Above all, provide consistent and predictable routines that you can continue once you return to leaving them at home more. For example, think about your morning and evening routines. How can these remain constant when you go back to working away from home? To minimise change, keep the really good stuff – like exercising with your dog, playing with them and feeding them – to the same schedule that you will manage when you’re back at work. Make the middle part of the day less interactive as that will be the case when you’re not around.
Dog-appeasing pheromone (DAP) and nutraceuticals like Zylkene can help avoid separation anxiety. However, if your dog is already showing signs of separation distress, call us for a discussion and potentially a behaviour consultation to help you manage their anxiety and help them enjoy the peaceful life they deserve.
Firstly, we’d like to thank all of our fantastic clients for the patience and understanding that we’ve been given during these difficult times. From contactless consultations, 2-3 week waiting periods for non urgent appointments and some delays in response times to customer service enquiries. We have continued to be blown away at the good will, patience and kindness of our community in the face of these challenges.
As the restrictions in the ACT begin to relax, we understand that our clients are eager for protocols to return to normal. We too are looking forward to this! As it always has been, the safety of our staff, clients and patients remains our top priority.
We have begun creating a plan that will enable us to stage the relaxation of practice policies without sacrificing the health and safety of our clients or our staff. The first stage involves combining our working teams to ensure that we have sufficient workforce to provide best care to our patients.
Soon we will begin working on the second stage to allow one client per animal in the the consultation room – so long as there are no public health hiccups. Clients will still be required to wait in their cars until we call them and their animal in for their consultation. The waiting room will remain out of action as we cannot provide adequate social distancing in this area. And there will be plenty of hand-sanitiser!
Right now, our contactless consultations, food and medication collection protocols will continue until further notice.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us on 6230 2223.
In this rapidly changing COVID-19 time, Hall Vet Surgery has decided to radically change the way we do consultations and admissions so that we can minimise any possible transmission of the virus.
You Will Need:
You will require access to a mobile phone and a credit/debit card for payment (we are no longer accepting cash). We ask that all cats and rabbits arrive in a pet carrier. All dogs must be on lead.
The Contactless Consultation Process:
In short, when you arrive at the clinic for consultation or admission, please remain in your vehicle and call us on 62302223 to notify us of arrival. When safe to do so, reception will direct you and your pet to the designated drop off zone where we will conduct a hand over. Your pet will be brought into the clinic with us and you will return to your vehicle where you will await a call from the vet to begin your consultation. During the consultation you will still be able to tell us your concerns and ask us questions, and we’ll still be able to give your pet a physical examination, explain diagnoses and treatment options.
We’ll be sad not to see people’s smiling faces in our consultation rooms, but we are very serious about maintaining health and safety for you and for our staff, so that we can maintain the well-being of your pet.
Stay safe and look out for each other. Hall Vet Surgery (02) 6230 2223
Due to changes in our workflow, we have suspended on-line booking whilst we transition to new routines. Once things have settled, we should be able to recommence. To book for an appointment, please phone us on (02) 62302223 or email reception@hallvet.com.au .
Hall Vet Surgery will remain open for as long as possible to ensure we can care for your furry family members. As always, maintaining the health and safety of our staff, our clients and our patients is our highest priority.
It is yet to be confirmed whether we are considered an essential service, however we will continue to service our community until we are advised otherwise or it is no longer considered safe to do so.
In order to ensure we can continue to help you, we have increased our precautionary measures in the hospital;
If you are arriving for an appointment we ask that you please stay in your vehicle and phone us on 62302223 to notify us of your arrival. DO NOT enter the clinic until a staff member has advised you to enter. We will be minimising the number or people in the waiting room at any given time to ensure we are executing appropriate social distancing in the practice.
We ask that you please limit the number of people attending your appointment to only those that are required to be present, to limit traffic through the practice.
We ask that you pay with card where possible to avoid unnecessary risk associated with handling cash.
If you are experiencing any cold/flu like symptoms please advise us over the phone before booking an appointment. We will still find an appropriate way to help you.
We have lots of ideas in the pipeline, such as contactless consultations, phone consultations and home delivery for essential items such as food and medication. If you are in self isolation or are just looking to decrease your risk/exposure but don’t want to do so at the expense of your pet’s health, please contact us. We will do our best to find a solution for you.
We will continue to adapt with the situation and update advice as we receive it. If we need to make changes to your upcoming appointment, we will contact you directly. Please notify us if you need to update your contact details.
We’d like to thank you all for your cooperation on this. It is a difficult time for all but rest assured we will be doing everything in our power to remain available to assist you and your pets.
Stay safe and look out for each other. Kind regards, from all of us at Hall Vet Surgery.
We have received multiple enquiries recently around the current COVID-19 pandemic and whether companion animals have any relation to it’s spread. The OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) has released the following information on it’s website; “The current spread of COVID-19 is a result of human to human transmission. To date, there is no evidence that companion animals can spread the disease.”
At Hall Vet Surgery the health and safety of our patients, their owners and our staff is our top priority. We want to ensure accessing health care for your animals remains as safe as possible for everyone involved. In the surgery we have ensured that there are hand sanitation stations throughout the clinic for your use, and have ramped up our own hygiene protocols.
We are currently brainstorming alternative solutions for members of our community who may be unwell, in self isolation or are considered high risk, ensuring they are still able to access essential items for their pets such as food and medication. If you fall into this category please contact us via phone on 6230 2223 for more information.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and follow the guidelines of the Australian Veterinary Association & The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.
For more information you can contact us on 6230 2223 or at reception@hallvet.com.au
