Our day here at Denford Edge can start as early as 6am but never later than 7.30am all year round, good job we’re morning people! The first job of the day is to check all dogs staying with us and wake any up that are deciding to have a lie in (plenty of time for rest later). Morning exercise starts straight away, playtime comes later as it is important for the dogs to stretch their legs and do their ‘business’ after a night’s sleep. Whilst the dogs are being exercised we set to and clean all of the kennels from top to bottom, including replacing water bowls and bedding. You’ll learn throughout this blog that we are a little obsessed with cleanliness!!!
Then its breakfast time! Obviously one of the best times of the day! We provide lots of different foods here and will tailor diets to provide something that is as similar as possible to what you feed at home. More importantly something that’s good for your dog and something they’ll enjoy and once everyone has been fed its then quiet time for half an hour to let their food settle. During that time we’re cleaning (of course!). All exercise areas are cleaned between dogs as well as being thoroughly disinfected 3 times a day. Once the dogs are ready then exercise starts again, this time is playtime!
Playtime includes toys and with owners consent we can socialise dogs from different families under close supervision. It’s important that exercise times and levels are tailored to meet individual dog’s needs as different ages/breeds/personalities need or want a different amount or a different style of exercise.
Dinner time follows and the dogs begin settling down for the evening. All dogs are exercised again before the staff go home, beds are remade, water refreshed, hatches shut and heating is on. Our staff leave at 6pm, the dogs are then checked again before bedtime along with a bedtime biscuit.
I get asked a lot ‘do the dogs not keep you awake?’, simple answer is no! The dogs that stay with us settle into our routine quickly and by the end of a busy day running around are more than happy to see bedtime. It’s all going to happen again tomorrow, so they conserve their energy for more excitement the following day.
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