Dog Rules

All About Dogs at The Grove Cottages

Dear Dog owner.

We are very glad you are considering visiting us with your pet - and just so there are no miss-understandings here are the ground rules.

And a list of the cottages and which ones may be better suited for your pets requirements.

Dogs Are Welcome to a maximum of 2 in a cottage and in some circumstances 3 in Gun Cottage.

First of all please understand that we are very happy to welcome guests with dogs and we will do everything we can to ensure that this opportunity remains open to you.

But a lot is up to you as a dog owner to help us to make everything run trouble free and be an enjoyable experiance for everybody.

Why:

Because we know that guests with dogs are going to enjoy themselves here because the area is so dog friendly; with so many pretty footpaths, lots of dog-friendly pubs and so little livestock in the fields around for your pet to get into trouble with.

But not on the Furniture or in Bedrooms:

We have to be sensible about the next guests who may be allergic to animals and about the general wear and tear of the furniture - so we feel it is completely reasonable of us to ask that your pet is not allowed into the bedrooms or on any of the furniture.

Why not bring a Dog Travel Cage & Bed:

We ask that you take care to ensure that your pet does not sleep on the furniture but what should we do about the antique silk carpets and my collections of kilims, I don't want to deprive guests of them but I would rather they did not become dog beds.

It is always a great relief to us when guests bring those handy travel cages with them, their pets seem to settle down much better and nobody has to worry about a sneaky sleepover on the sofa.

Here is a link to the travel cages - many of our guests who regularly take their pets on holiday with them have one…

http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk" http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk

http://www.dogcage.net" http://www.dogcage.net

http://www.ideas-4-pets.com" http://www.ideas-4-pets.com

http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk" http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk

These are not only a safer way to travel with your pet but give it a feeling of added security to them when sleeping in a strange place - prices range from £25 up.

Dogs Alone:

It is quite understandable that if you leave your dog in the cottage alone it will howl and fret - this would be unfair to other guests or neighbours, so please take your pet with you and don't leave it alone. Most damage to doors, paintwork and sofas happens when dogs are left on their own.

The Gardens:

With so many pet guests visiting our cottages it is essential that pee-ing stations are not established in the gardens - so please do not allow your dog to pee in the gardens which are anyway for guests to enjoy.

Also pee scourches, or if its a femail, can kill the grass.

Obviously we do not want dogs to foul or damage the gardens at all.

We all try very hard to keep the cottage gardens as pretty for our guests as possible and they all have herbs growing in them which everybody is free to use and sometimes even vegatable areas for you to pick from - so please help us with this.

Control:

Of course we would just love to let your pet run around unhindered but you will have to take into account that this is probably not possible because of the cottage you are staying in and the garden not being dog proof or it being used by other guests with their pets and the house pets like cats, flightless ducks, bantams and wildlife.

Which Cottage is best for my dog ?

Here are the specific Cottage gardens and how much freedom they can offer your pet

The Pump house

This has its own meadow as a garden and a river, so this is perfect for those who want total freedom for their pet, but please use a doggie bag otherwise the meadow won't be fun to play in.

Please be aware that The Pilgrims Way runs through the other end of this meadow and your pet should not harass any walkers or their pets.

The next field often has Horses and live stock in it, so please bear this in mind as well.

The walks straight from this cottage are in every direction and are the prettiest in Suffolk.

Cissy's Cottage

This cottage is on a main road it has a large back yard and a garden sitting area but because of the road it would be unwise to let your dog roam But the yard leads into the Nature Reserve.

So this is ideal for taking your dog to and using as your own garden with your pet running wild.

Cobbs Cottage

This has a big garden for your dog to run about in but please use a doggie bag and remember that the hedge is far from dog proof and there will be horse riders, walkers and cats from the neighbour's cottages to protect. There are also a lot of deer wandering around.

The lane is a tiny single track by-lane and you can go walking straight from the cottage.

The Grove Farm:

Snow Cottage

Rose Cottage

The Bakery

Dons barn

Gun cottage

Orchard Cottage

The above cottages make up the old Grove Farm and they all share the Orchard Cottage Gardens and a herb patio and a big Orchard with a car parking area.

There are 2 Pond's and 2 house cats, a house dog and numerous bantams and flightless ducks as well as 200,000 bees and lots of wild-life to take into account (the deer sleep in the garden) as well as guests pets and guests (even an occasional child) - so roaming dogs can get into more trouble than can be imagined.

The cottages are all designed to offer each guest a large amount of privacy but the gardens are communal - most guests are out all the time doing things - or in doing things, not so many lounge about in the gardens - so the gardens are invariable quiet with just the ducks enjoying them.

But if there were 6 guest dogs having a little 'roam about' things would be very different… So, at The Grove farm please keep your dog on a lead - the countryside starts just 15 steps away.

We do have a new large guest car park in about an acre of orchard meadow at the back of the barns and we are happy for you to excercise your dogs there - we provide doggie bags - but only if you can manage to keep them from hurtling off to the pleasures of the pond and chicken areas.

Holmwood Cottage

This has a large pretty Cottage garden with a shallow pond, the house is semi-detached and the boarder with the adjacent house is only a flower bed - so roaming dogs will cause problems with the neighbours - the hedge to the road is not dog proof and the road is a main one, so please keep you dog under control here and please do not let it damage or fouls the garden.

Dog walks are straight from the cottage.

Cobblers Cottage

This cottage is in a small picturesque village, the garden is reasonably secure but it is also very much a `show' cottage garden and it has a vegetable area for guests to pick vegetables so it is fine to lounge around with your pet but not to leave it unattended in.

Dog walks are straight from the cottage - you are in countryside after 60 yards.

Cafors

This cottage is also in a small picturesque village, the small garden is completely secure

Dog walks are straight from the cottage.

Conclusion: “A place to have a holiday and be able to take your pet” Not “A place for your pet to go on Holiday and you come along”.

I know very well that the vast majority of pet owners are very aware of their responsibilities and we have hundreds of happy guests here who bring their dogs and return time after time, but as the cottages are so popular with pet owners just one thoughless 'Chancer' can seriously ruin the holiday of others and leave the place a wreck for the next guest.

If you have any questions about this or any helpful suggestions please contact me, I only want everybody to have a great time here.

Mark.