A first stay at a Stockport boarder or day care
Whether your dog is booked into Aussie Dog Care's garden in the Reddish & Marple area, Clare Kennels in Whaley Bridge, or one of Stockport's other twelve boarders and day cares, a first stay is worth treating as its own step.
Ask for a trial first
Aussie Dog Care states on its own site that it offers a trial day and night before a full boarding stay, and Doggo Daycare Centre, in New Mills, requires every new dog to go through an assessment before it can join its day care. None of Stockport's other twelve businesses state a trial policy on their own site, but it is common practice across this kind of business, so ask even where nothing is written down.
What to pack
Take your dog's usual food for the length of the stay, any medication with clear written instructions, a bed or item that smells of home, and a lead and collar with an up-to-date tag. Mount View Kennels and Cattery Ltd, near Glossop, asks that dogs and cats bring their vaccination cards with them at drop-off, so check what paperwork each business wants before the day.
Handover on the day
Give whoever is taking your dog a clear account of feeding times, any health issues and how your dog behaves around other dogs, since this is the point where a boarder or kennels can adjust its plan for your dog specifically. Shannon K9 Control, run by a former police dog handler, only takes one dog at a time for day care or boarding rather than running a group kennel, so a fuller handover conversation is worth having if your dog has specific needs.
Booking, payment and collection
Ask how a business takes bookings and payment before you turn up expecting to pay by card: Mount View Kennels and Cattery Ltd takes bookings by phone only and says it cannot accept them through its online form or by email, and Clare Kennels, in Whaley Bridge, takes payment by cash or cheque only, with drop-off and collection daily between 9am and noon. Neither policy is unusual for this kind of business, but it is worth knowing in advance rather than finding out on the day.
Meeting a home boarder first
Seven of Stockport's fourteen businesses board dogs in their own home rather than a kennel block, so only their area and town are shown on this site; the address itself is given once you book. Cheadle Pet Care, in the Cheadle & Gatley area, has closed its books to new dog home-boarding clients as of this check, though it is still taking cat and small-animal visits, so ask about a waiting list if you would like to use it for a dog in future.