No. We have learned though our many years of experience of boarding dogs that our service is only suitable for friendly, family pets. We are happy to accommodate puppies as long as they are house and/or cage trained. We are happy to accept all breeds as long as they are obedient, non-destructive, and non-aggressive and have a calm and gentle nature.

We do not accept incontinent dogs, dogs that chew furniture or other household items. If your dog causes any damage to the carer's home whatsoever, any costs must be reimbursed to the carer. We do not accept dogs that pull hard on the lead, or boisterous strong dogs. We do not accept bitches that are expected to be or are in season during the booking.

If you are unsure about your dog's suitability, please call us on 07588 - 100551 and a member of staff will discuss your dog's particular habits with you and tell you if we have anyone suitable.

Yes. Your dog should always have its annual vaccinations to protect it against infections and disease. Your dog should also be wormed and be treated for fleas before being placed in one of our carers homes. It is your responsibility to ensure your pet is free of fleas. If fleas are present, your carer may treat your pet and you will need to reimburse your carer for any expense incurred.

Generally this is not acceptable. Most carers are happy for the dog to sleep in the bedroom but in their own basket or on the floor. However, some carers do tell us that they have had dogs sleeping on their beds, especially the small breeds.

Yes. However, it is company policy that dogs are never allowed off their leads for insurance purposes. Most clients are happy to supply a flexi lead. If an owner insists that they want their dog to be let off the lead then the carer must be in agreement and the owner must email us stating they accept full responsibility and liability for the dog while off the lead, in case the dog should run away, get lost, cause an accident, bite someone or get into a fight with another dog.

All kinds of people: retired, families, single people, young and old - they all have one thing in common: they are dedicated to caring for dogs. When we receive an application, they first have to fit our basic criteria: they should not be away from their home for more than 3 hours in 1 full day, they should have a secure garden and they should not have any pre-school children. If they fit our criteria then we arrange to interview them for suitability to our service. Only once they have passed an interview and their homes have been checked, do they become a Doggy Chum!

Yes. In fact, we insist upon it. Unlike other agencies, we want our clients and carers to meet before the booking starts to ensure that all parties are fully informed and happy. If the client is unhappy about the carer we have selected, we have an opportunity to offer an alternative. We want our clients to go away relaxed and confident and to know the person who will be looking after their much loved pet.

Yes, and in some cases, we would insist upon it. Care for dogs is what we offer, however you cant always guarantee that the dog and carer will enjoy each others company. For a trial night, we charge a flat £25.00 fee regardless of area.

No. We charge by the calendar date and not by the 24 hours. This means that you have your carer available all day on the day that you wish to leave your dog and on the day you wish to collect your dog (particularly early and late times by prior arrangement with the carer). This gives you complete flexibility.

If, after meeting the selected carer you are unhappy and you notify us within three days of the meeting, we will introduce you to another carer. Any feedback about our carers you may wish to gives us is always appreciated and helps us select the right carer in the future.

No. Unlike other agencies, we do not charge a registration fee nor do we insist that we transport your dog to and from our carer's home at a cost. We can arrange a collection and delivery service should it be more convenient for you but there will be a charge for this.

Unlike other agencies, our carers have an emergency number to contact the agency 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. If your dog becomes ill whilst you are away, your carer will call the agency and we will discuss its condition. If we think it is necessary, your dog will be taken to your vets by your carer providing it is local to them. If not it will be taken to a local vet of our choice. The cost of treatment will be required to be paid in advance of the treatment given by the vets. Any costs incurred by the carer will need to be reimbursed to the carer. We will contact you on your emergency number at the first opportunity to discuss what has happened and keep you updated of your dog's progress.

We will send you an invoice for the balance which will require payment within 14 days.

If you cancel your booking with less than two weeks notice, you will lose 100% of your deposit.
If you cancel your booking giving us between two and four weeks notice, you will lose 50% of your deposit.
If you cancel your booking giving us more than four weeks notice, you will receive a full refund less £40 administration fee.

If you collect your dog or dogs on a day later than agreed in the original booking, there will be an additional charge for every calendar day. Please contact the us as soon as you can if this is going to happen, so that we can liaise with the carer and ensure the booking details are all updated and that it is possible.

If you return from your holiday early and decide to collect your dog before the due date - there is no refund of payment.

Your pet will be cared for in our host homes. We do not use any cages or kennels. We invite you to come and see our host homes and feel free to ask any questions that you feel you need answered at the time. We want you to be totally happy with Doggy Chums, so you can go away and enjoy your break.

Dog boarding/sitting is best for calm loving caring dogs. The whole idea is that they stay in a home, and are looked after just as they would be at home. We ask that you give us some instructions so that we can keep them in their routine. This not only helps them, but us too. Your dog will come back happy and relaxed, not quiet and sad.

• Collar & Leash

• Enough food for the duration of the stay

• Treats you might usually give them

• Dog Bed

• A towel (just in case they get wet)

• A copy of the information sheet you filled in

All of the above should be considered for when your dog comes to stay. If you would like to ask about anything that you feel you should bring, please feel free to contact us

We do request that you come and meet our hosts. The reasons for this are for the safety of your dog and other dogs that will stay at the same time. We need to ensure the dogs that stay with us will not present a problem at any point during the stay. We look for things like initial greeting, general behaviour and other different criteria. We also want you to have a look around the house and the area to ensure you are happy with the surroundings and be convinced that your dog will have a good time. If all is agreeable, we will ask you to pay for deposit to ensure you secure your preferred period with us.

Peak times are days such as public holidays. For all public holidays, we charge double for the day. For example, May Day is a public holiday, so if its then, we will charge double the daily fee. For Christmas time, we charge double from 24th December until January 2nd. This is due to this being a period that most people want to have for family purposes but usually we can arrange it due to the higher fee. Doggy Chums are generally extremely busy during April, June, July, August, September, October & late December. If you are booking for these times, we highly recommend you do this as quickly as possible to avoid disappointment

When you come for your viewing, we ask that you come with a view to placing your booking either then, or very soon after. A 50% deposit is necessary to secure your booking and this is non-refundable. Please check our terms and conditions for more information. The balance should be paid on the first day of your dogs stay with us.

When we start the service, we will have previously agreed a time range that we will walk them in. Its important to keep a routine. We try to keep to 1 hour either side of an agreed time.

We will charge you weekly/monthly depending on what is agreed before we start. We will then ask for payment in arrears for the period agreed. For monthly payments, we will agree to 1 weeks trial before proceeding on a month to month basis.

You will need to discuss this with your carer and decide what is best for you both. Please bear in mind, we charge 60p per mile travelled to collect, so it would be financially better for you to drop your dog to the carers home.

• Collar & Leash

• Enough food for the duration of the stay

• Treats you might usually give them

• A towel (just in case they get wet)

• A copy of the emergency information sheet you filled in

All of the above should be considered for when your dog comes to stay. If you would like to ask about anything that you feel you should bring, please feel free to contact us.