WE all worry about our pets visiting the vets, and hate to think of them being naughty or distressed when attending the veterinary surgery.

However, the true reality is that many dogs do build up a fear of the vets and this can manifest in many ways, including aggression, vocalisation, salivation and inappropriate toileting.

For this reason staff at Jonathan Wood Vets carry out a number of measures to make your pets visit to the surgery as less traumatic as possible, this includes the use of calming pheromones, encouraging a familiar item from home to be left with them, puppy school to make positive associations from a young age, and their new "cowardly to courageous" clinic.

Head veterinary nurse Shelly Jefferies, explains why their "cowardly to courageous" clinics are proving a huge success: “We setup the free clinics about six months ago, as we were noticing a lot of dogs were quite nervous, and sometimes aggressive when attending the surgery.

"This is obviously distressing for the dog, the owner and also for us as we don’t like to see an animal afraid of us and it can sometimes make treatment difficult.

"The clinics are based around gaining the trust of the dog with one staff member to start with, often beginning in the car.

"The weekly sessions work calmly and steadily on progressing the dog’s confidence within the veterinary environment. So far, the feedback we have had from clients has been positive.”

If you would like any more information about the clinic, please telephone 01363 772319 and ask to speak to one of the nursing team.