OUR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

No! We offer the exact opposite to large commercial dog kennels. We offer luxury dog home boarding for your little ones. There are no out-buildings, cages or kennels here. All dogs share our home with us and become part of our family for their entire holiday. We offer your little ones what they are used to at home - lots of love, kindness, 1:1 attention, free-roaming, sleep where they choose, all in a calm, peaceful lovely family home environment. Like we say, the exact opposite to large commercial dog kennels.

As soon as you know your holiday dates, it's best to check that we have availability. We have a limited number of places and we get fully booked up super fast. A lot of our clients book multiple week-long blocks, up to a year in advance. ALL new clients must go through our registration process and new guest dogs must have a trial overnight. There are no exceptions to this. So please factor this in when making your enquiry. For this reason, we do not take last-minute bookings from new clients.

No, we can't. We only accept small dog breeds and toy dog breeds. We fully appreciate that there are dogs who are small for their breed. Maybe even smaller than dogs we feature on our website. But we have drawn the line on the breeds we can and cannot accept for very good reason.

We specialise in small dog breeds and toy dog breeds only. No medium or big dogs! As a guide, we accept any dog equivalent in size or smaller than a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, as long as they are friendly. We cannot accept any dog breeds listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act, or dogs who are extremely boisterous, anti-social, destructive, excessively vocal, aggressive, or not fully house-trained. Here is the list of the breeds we do and do not accept.

We need to strictly adhere to drop offs between 4-5pm and pick ups by 10am on the final day. We run a very busy daily schedule for our guest and resident dogs - breakfasts, medication, walks, training, nap time, enrichment and playtime, cleaning, client communications, new client enquiries, multiple check-ins and check-outs. We are also respectful and considerate neighbours. So to avoid anti-social noise from multiple dogs barking at the arrival of visitors, we are strict with times. Our own family time and downtime is also crucial so no, we cannot accommodate your 1am pick up request. We'll be asleep. Clients arriving even 15 minutes late to their arranged appointment time may find that we are already out on walks and not able to wait around for them. Our current guest dogs are our priority and it is unfair to throw out their daily routine or miss a walk because someone is late.

We accept doggy guests strictly between 4pm - 5pm. If you drop off at this time, it gives your dog time to settle in with us, have a play, have their dinner, maybe go for a little walk, before bedtime. Doggy guests need to be collected strictly by 10am the next/final day. We need to strictly adhere to these times as we run a tight busy schedule for our guest and resident dogs of breakfasts, medication, walks, showering dogs, playtimes, cleaning, multiple check outs and check ins. Clients arriving late may find that we are already out on walks. We are also respectful and considerate towards our neighbours and need to balance our own private family time. Please factor in our check in and check out times when planning your holiday as you may need to book in extra nights either side of your holiday dates.

No, we cannot accept a female dog who is either in season or due to come into season during the home boarding stay. So we only accept spayed female dogs. We only accept male dogs who have been neutered, no entire males.

Yes of course! We believe it's very important for you to meet us face to face, get to know us, see our luxury dog home boarding set up and feel happy that you know your precious little one will be safe and loved while you are away. We always have a trial overnight stay before the main dog home boarding, to make sure everyone is happy (charged at the overnight rate). We find that after the successful trial overnight stay, your little dog will be excited to come for the main dog home boarding as they are familiar with the house and us.

No. The trial overnight is crucial for a successful main boarding stay. We get to know your little one and they us. We carry out a thorough assessment to see if they are suitable for our luxury home boarding. We do not accept any bookings without there having been a trial overnight beforehand. There are no exceptions to this.

We're looking at how friendly your little dog is, how well they get on with our resident dogs, Missy and Winnie, to make sure they are house-trained, to make sure they are not aggressive, anti-social, destructive or suffer from separation anxiety. We are also getting to know their preferences for sleeping, playing, eating and going for walks. Every dog is different. Some don't like the rain, others love to play non stop! We are looking for how well your dog will fit into our family home and make sure everyone is happy. If we assess your little one as not being suitable for our home boarding, please don't be offended. We are thorough in our professional assessments as it's important we achieve the right fit on both sides and everyone is happy. An unsuccessful trial overnight with us will usually mean that we believe a different pet care solution would better suit your little one. We believe in honesty and transparency with clients. Our no.1 priority is that dogs are happy and settled with us.

No, we have a minimum three night stay policy. Anything less than three nights we've found to be too disruptive to the current guest dogs and our resident dogs. Our services have been designed specifically for holiday luxury dog home boarding. We are not casual pet-sitting for an occasional single night.

We have guest dogs stay anywhere from long weekends to several-week-long stays. There is no maximum length of stay. We have a minimum stay of three nights.

Yes we can accommodate this, for those little doggies who feel safer sleeping in a cosy den. We are 100% kennel-free, free-roaming and your little dogs can sleep where they choose in the house. We do understand though that some dogs prefer their normal routine of sleeping in a unlocked crate at night. That's fine too. We tailor our care to your dog's preferences.

No, we are unable to accept dogs who have been titre tested.

No, we have limited places for up to a maximum of 4 guest dogs. This is as per our dog home boarding license issued by Cheshire East Council and is non-negotiable.

We're focused on giving the best bespoke care to small friendly groups, so everyone gets lots of love and individual attention. We only have a maximum of six small breed dogs at one time, with two Dog Nannies caring for them. We have an excellent ratio of maximum 3 dogs : 1 Dog Nanny. Your little one will benefit from consistently being with the same primary Dog Nanny for their entire holiday.

Yes, we are fully insured with a reputable specialist pet services insurance company. Clients are welcome to view our insurance documents when visiting us. ​

Yes, we are fully licensed for dog home boarding with Cheshire East Council. Clients are welcome to view our Dog Home Boarding License on request when visiting us.

Yes we are fully qualified in Canine First Aid, and Level 3 Ofqual Dog Behaviour Training Diplomas. We have over 30 years of dog handling and dog training experience with lots of different breeds and personalities.

This entirely depends on your dog! We tailor our care to your dog's needs. Whether elderly or very fit, we take them for appropriate-length walks. We usually take them out at least once a day, and we vary our routes to keep things interesting. We go for a good mix of local, urban walks through the village, and to local parks and countryside. We also find that dog guests love our doggy adventures so we regularly go further afield to National Trust parks, big country parks and beaches. We also make sure they get plenty of exercise in the secure garden, playing with toys, playing fun games with us, having supervised interaction with the other small dogs and having plenty of sniffing time. Then they can choose where to settle for some important calm, down time.

You are very welcome to keep in touch while you are away. We will send you regular updates via Whatsapp, with photos and videos of your little dog having a great time, so that you can feel reassured that they are absolutely fine and settled. We have over 30 years of experience with dogs, so we'll manage any issues that arise through discussion with you. As 24-hour Dog Nannies, your dogs are never left alone. We do our absolute best to make sure they love their doggy holiday, giving you peace of mind so that you can enjoy your well-deserved holiday!

You'll need to bring your little dog's bed, blanket, toys, grooming brush, coat, collar, enough food for the duration of the stay, treats, poo bags and any medication they'll need while they are with us. Having their familiar smell on their bed/blanket is a great source of comfort for your dog and helps to settle them into their second home quicker. Likewise, we keep your dog on their usual dog food to avoid upset tummies. ​

Before your dog stays with us, we ask you to fill out our online Client Registration Form. This is where you can tell us everything you think we need to know about your dog's preferences. There is also a section where you give your permission for us to take your dog to the vet's in an emergency. We ask for proof that your dog is fully up to date with their flea and worming treatments. Cheshire East also require us to have a copy of your dog's up to date vaccination records, so we ask you for that too. It is important that you disclose any behavioural or medical issues that may affect our provision of care as per our terms and conditions.

Yes we require that all dogs have an up to date kennel cough vaccination before their stay with us. This needs to be done at least 4 weeks before their stay.

A 50% non-refundable deposit may be required to secure your booking. We ask that full balance payment be made at least one month before the boarding date and within 24hrs of receiving our invoice to secure your dog's place.

We only accept bank transfer.

Yes, they are always gratefully received and much appreciated. Although optional and discretionary.

If you cancel your booking within four weeks prior to your boarding date, your full deposit and balance payment is due/non-refundable. If you book within one month of the boarding date, the full amount is due immediately to secure the booking. If you wish to collect your dog earlier than the agreed collection date, we cannot offer any refund.

No we don't offer any discounts for long stays, early/advance booking, multiple bookings, multiple dogs from the same household or any other situation. Each doggy guest receives the highest level of bespoke professional Dog Nanny care for 24hrs a day. We are fully booked months in advance, at the full price, and hold a waiting/cancellation list for our busiest periods. To be fair to existing clients and new clients alike, we keep our pricing transparent and the same for everyone. ​