Animal Welfare

• Individual spacious and heated apartments.
  
• Excellent food.
  
• A sudden change of diet can cause upset stomachs, and choice of food is determined by this. Normally dogs get their main meal early in the morning, and a biscuit snack at bed time. Puppies, invalids and old dogs requiring special care can be fed more frequently.
  
• Any diet can be given by special request and we would be only too pleased to ensure your pet is fed to your preferred  dietary  requirements where specialist diets need to be catered for, however, we would need you to supply the food for the duration of the stay.  Please contact us to let us know what your pets require.
  
• In order to ensure the good health of all our guests all dogs are required to have their regular annual booster injections against the usual 'killer' diseases (distemper, hard pad, leptospirosis and parvovirus diseases). and additionally all dogs are to to be vaccinated with Intrac for kennel cough.
  
• Inoculation against 'kennel cough' is also strongly recommended. 'Kennel cough' covers a large spectrum of coughing diseases, and so far, no single vaccine is effective against all these. However, inoculation gives protection against the majority. While 'kennel cough', properly treated, does not generally result in permanent damage, its avoidance is important for a number of reasons. It can be distressing to dogs, and it is extremely infectious so that if a dog incubating it is admitted, it is almost certain to infect all uninoculated dogs. 

  Medication in the form of antibiotics (to prevent secondary infection) should then be given, and the extra care in nursing sick dogs imposes a burden on the staff, especially at busy times. Also, should a dog pick up 'kennel cough' prior to admission, few kennels of repute will accept it unless they have exceptional isolation facilities, and holiday plans can then be irretrievably upset. 

  The size of the grounds and kennel area at Lochdene is such that we are able to offer these isolation facilities for a  limited number of dogs should your pet be unfortunate enough to contract the illness.

  (Please note that evidence of vaccinations will be required to be produced at time of registration - we apologise for any inconvenience but we are sure you will agree that the health of our guests is of the paramount importance.)

Dogs are brushed daily at least sufficiently to maintain the condition in which they were admitted.

Additional services that we can provide for your pets whilst in our care include:

•  Coiffure Services.
              
• Access to excellent veterinary services.