Tilly’s Tails Home Dog Boarding

23/03/2025

20/03/2025

No doggies until the weekend, so a relaxing breakfast in the garden this morning. Celebrating the first day of spring at Tilly’s Tails…..

11/03/2025

A few extras for the doggies at ALDIs

22/02/2025

Photoshoot in our home of our latest boarder. How gorgeous is he?

19/02/2025

Doggy Exercise

Let’s talk about the exercise your dogs get when they stay with us at Tilly’s Tails. In order to comply with our 4* rating and to meet higher standards for licensing from our local council, we agree to take our dogs for two walks each day for a minimum of 20 minutes each walk. In reality, at Tilly’s Tails our walks are usually at least 50 minutes each walk.

No ten minute walks round the block for us! Your dogs will always have the chance to stop, scent and sniff to their hearts galore. This kind of walk is extremely good for dogs.

Did you know that…..

A sniff walk, also known as a scent walk or sniffari, is a leisurely walk that lets your dog explore their environment by following their nose. Sniff walks can be mentally stimulating and stress-relieving for dogs.

Benefits
* Mental stimulation: Sniff walks engage a dog's most prominent sense, their sense of smell. �
* Stress relief: Sniffing can lower a dog's pulse rate and release dopamine, a mood-boosting chemical. �
* Exploration: Sniff walks allow dogs to explore new places and learn about their surroundings. �
* Socialization: Sniff walks can help dogs learn to be more relaxed and less anxious.

We are fortunate enough to have countryside walks straight on our doorstep. We can go down little country lanes, footpaths and fields. These are ideal for dogs who like quiet walks or reactive dogs as they are highly unlikely to meet other dogs.

As well as our countryside walks, we enjoy taking your dogs to new and exciting places so that they can explore different areas and environments that give them plenty of opportunities to seek out new sights, sounds and smells. They get to see wildlife, can paddle in the sea and streams, walk and play on sand, shingle, dry grasslands, wild flower meadows and also get to have time out and treats in coffee shops.

These trips can last anywhere between 1 1/2 - 3 hours and include treks to:

- Local nature reserves like Dungeness, Rye Harbour and Samphire Hoe.
- Beaches along our beautiful coastline at Dymchurch, Sandgate and Folkestone, including the coastal park.
- Local canal paths in Hythe and Seabrook
- Hamstreet woods
- Kearnsey Parks

Many of the dogs we look after, enjoy stopping at coffee shops just as much as we do and our favourite places are, Truffle Pig, Ivy’s Kitchen, Unit 1, all after long walks along the canal or beach in Hythe. Hamilton’s Airfield Tearoom in Bilsington is also much liked along with Hamstreet and Tenterden garden centres and Rye Nature Reserve Visitor Centre.

If your dog comes out in the car for one of our adventure trips, our transportation policy is always adhered to and can be viewed on request. As well as safe temperature and ventilation requirements, dogs are safely secured next to one of us in the car in the rear seats or in the rear of the car in a crate or behind a dog guard, whatever your dog prefers. Transportation includes drinks and toilet stops if necessary and plenty of water is always carried on walks. Dogs always wear coats if necessary, an ID tag with contact details for Tilly’s Tails and are kept on leads, short or flexi, unless you agree for us to let them off lead. Water is always carried on walks and there is a canine first aid kit in the car.

Our walks are carefully planned to cater for the individual needs of each dog with specific attention paid to health, age and energy levels. This is all discussed with the owners at a free meet and greet.

Dogs are never taken out in extreme temperatures or severely high winds. Dogs who are unable to go on walks due to medical reasons will always receive extra enrichment and love and cuddles for mental stimulation, stress relief and socialisation.

17/02/2025

A day at Tilly’s Tails

Ever wondered what your doggies get up to during their stay?

Well when you first leave, we spend time quietly settling them in for a while, whether they are regulars or new dogs. After that, we generally take them straight out for a lovely walk.

Our doggies get two walks a day. This has helped us to gain our prestigious 4 star rating which meets the higher standards for licensing. These walks are tailored to the needs of your dog and provide excellent opportunities for mental and physical development. If you are more interested in the walks we provide, please look out for another post in the next few days which will tell you more about them.

Dogs also spend time in our securely fenced garden with the opportunity to laze about, run around or sniff out many new, different and exciting smells.

During the day, we ensure that your doggies have at least two playtime sessions (3 for later stays). These enable your dogs to interact with us and have fun and mental stimulation. We use soft toys, squeaky toys, balls and tuggy toys to play fetch, seek and find, and tug of war. Some doggies just enjoy turning out our toy boxes and carrying toys about in their mouths. Of course, your dogs may also bring their own special toys here to play with.

We also like to provide the opportunity for mental stimulation so we have a lot of puzzle feeders and snuffle mats for your dogs to try. These are puzzle toys with hidden treats and dogs often enjoy trying to solve them to get the food! We have a large variety of these, all of different levels, so ideal for any dog.

At Tilly’s Tails, we know how equally important it is for your dog to rest throughout the day , to chill out and recharge. We love spending time with your doggies just snuggling up on the sofa together with throws and cushions. Sometimes we even get to watch romcoms! We also provide dog beds and blankets for those who prefer them and of course, if your dog likes its own space, it is free to go into another room where it will be undisturbed but we can still keep a watchful eye.

Your dogs will receive regular welfare checks throughout the day. These monitor their general health, toileting, feeding, drinking and behaviour. This is recorded and filed with their records. Dogs are also physically checked during their stay and this includes checks on their ears, paws, pads, teeth, eyes and body. This can be done during gentle grooming, stroking or whilst they are sitting with us.

We cater for all types of food including: complete dry or wet, freshly cooked food, raw and a mixture of any. We are used to fussy feeders and think nothing of hand feeding!

If your dog is staying overnight, you may be concerned about where they will sleep. Every dog we have had stay so far, has slept with us. They either sleep on our bed or on the floor on a bed but still in our room. We are more than happy to wake up with a doggie on the bed ready to greet us!

One more thing. When your dog stays with us, it will never be left alone, ever. We spend every moment of our time with your beautiful dogs and send you regular updates with photos and videos. Our home is their home whilst they are here and we endeavour to give them a wonderful stay.

We hope you’ve enjoyed finding out what service we provide at Tilly’s Tails. As always, please feel free to message me with any questions you may have
Pennie 😊🐾

14/02/2025

What we get up to behind the scenes! (Well at least some of it 😊)

As council licensed and responsible home boarders, we have to comply to stringent policies and procedures. You are always welcome to view these when you visit. This means that during your doggie’s stay and between changeovers, we make sure to follow strict storage, cleaning and disinfecting routines.

It’s really important to us that we keep your dogs as safe as we can from disease and poor health.

Amongst our many jobs we make sure to carry out, the cleaning/washing/disinfecting of:

-Kitchen surfaces and all floors
-Food and water bowls, weighing scales, food forks/knives/spoons, food and drink non slip mats and other feeding equipment
-Throws, cushion covers and towels
-Dog beds, blankets, toys and puzzle feeders
-Dog jumpers and coats

We ensure correct and safe storage of your dog’s food, whether it is dry, wet, fresh or raw.

We carry out cleaning and disinfecting of outdoor areas.

We make daily checks of all equipment used for dogs indoors and outside and ensure the provision of regular changes of fresh drinking water in multiple areas.

We hope that you can see that when your doggies spend time with us, as well as giving them a wonderful stay in a home from home environment, we make sure to keep them safe happy and healthy.

Love from us all at Tilly’s Tails x

07/02/2025

26/01/2025

Always so lovely to receive a good review but to get two for the same pup is wonderful. Thank you!