Alexandra C.
Colchester
A loving & safe 'staycation' for small female dogs
Pet care experience
I started pet & house sitting in 2016 through 'Borrow My Doggy', where I ended up looking after one particular dog, Bertie, for the rest of his lifetime until he sadly passed away in 2023 of old age. Over the last 7 years, I've spent many weeks and months pet & house sitting every single year, with my partner Sam, with the most recent being a week of boarding whilst a couple were abroad getting married. We have two small female dogs ourselves and we're experienced and dedicated dog owners. We have a Miniature Poodle called Honey and a rare breed Miniature Mexican Hairless called Olivia (who has qualified for Crufts 2024)! Both of our dogs are small females, weighing around 5kgs, so I would like to open my home to other small female dogs for boarding, where you can rest assured they will feel loved and safe in a home with 2 other dogs of their size and sex. This is very important to me having struggled to find boarders who offer this myself. My two girls are extremely sweet and gentle and love nothing more than snuggling on the sofa together, or with any other dog who wishes to join us! We are a calm adult household with no children and we live in a peaceful house with no main road outside. I have a personal interest in animals and wildlife, volunteering for a local wildlife rescue centre, helping transport sick and injured animals to them. I therefore have some knowledge about animal first aid and I'm extremely knowledgeable about all local vets including emergency/out of hours and how they work. Owning a show dog means I am very passionate about behaviour and training. I'm an overly responsible dog owner, so you can have peace of mind knowing your dog is in safe hands.
Reviews
We are delighted by the way our Berry was taken care by Alex and her partner for a week. Our dog is paralyzed and he needs extra care. Alex was very thorough in gathering all the information that she needs to know. We could see that our dog was very happy in their care and he was sad for couple of days after we brought him home.
Alex and her partner are both so lovely and welcoming! I could not recommend more, Rocco settled so well and came home so relaxed and unphased! Alex kept me up to date sent me pics and communicated with me every step of the way!! Rocco can’t wait for his Christmas stay!
Where do I begin? Our Ted had the most incredible time staying with Alexandra whilst we jetted off to Portugal to get married. We knew instantly that Ted was in safe hands and Alexandra's home is just beautiful - a lovely place for him to spend the week. We received regular updates and Ted was completely spoilt, I'm not entirely sure he wanted to leave?! He loved spending time with Honey and Olivia (Alexandras gorgeous dogs) & they often snuggled up together on the sofa. I honestly couldn't recommend Alexandra enough and it meant that we could completely relax and enjoy our holiday/wedding knowing that our Ted was having a great time. Thank you so much to Alexandra and Sam for taking such incredible care of him - we will be recommending you to all our dog friends!
I would highly recommend these guys! They really went above and beyond to make our dog welcome. We were kept updated with messages and pictures which was lovely and very reassuring to see how happy our dog was with them. Great communication with us and a very happy dog. I will definitely be using them again.
About Alexandra C.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
I live in a beautiful listed converted stable building in Colchester, that we would encourage you to come and visit before confirming your booking. Our house is upside down, with the bedrooms being downstairs and a large open plan living area with huge vaulted ceilings upstairs. We have an unusual set up in that we do not have a private garden.. but instead have communal gardens and private fully enclosed Nature Reserve for residents only. Do not worry, we have never had an issue with this with any dog, as 'toilet time' involves harnesses and leads being put on for a lovely little wander around the communal spaces and enclosed nature reserve. We do this about once every hour with our own dogs but can do this as often as your dog requires, there is no limit. We are also lucky to have a big beautiful playing field about a minutes walk from our house. The gardens on our development require dogs to be on the lead, so you can rest assured that your dog will be safe. When out on walks and days out, we will never take your dog off the lead unless you otherwise specify.. and even then we would only ever do this in very safe areas, as we do for our own little dogs. These are all things we would discuss during the booking process. Before confirming a booking, we will ask for things that the name of your Pet Insurer, the name of your Vet and also an emergency contact, so we have all the required details should be need it. We have a pet-specific first aid kit in our house and car at all times. If you wish for us to board in your own home, we hope our trusted reviews and perhaps a visit to our home to see how we live, will assure you that your home will be well looked after.
Home
Information Alexandra C. would like to know about your pet
We will only be accepting small female dogs, to ensure they fit perfectly into our home with our own two little female dogs. Male dogs may be considered if they are elderly and calm. We will only ever look after 1 clients dogs at a time, we will never accept multiple bookings, so you can rest assured your dog will have our undivided attention. A meeting at our home with your dog will be required prior to the booking.
A typical day
A typical day is all about the dogs. We get up and go straight into the gardens for toilet time. We then return and get ourselves ready, feeding the dogs and getting ready for our main morning walk. We have many different walks we can do each morning, so we try to change it up between field/woodland walks and path walks. Then it's back home for play time and a snooze. The dogs are taken out for toilet breaks numerous times during the day, each time involving a little wander around the communal gardens. Lunch time then calls for a special treat and some enrichment games! More snoozes and cuddles then lead up to dinner time followed by our main evening walk, which is often on the beautiful playing fields opposite our house but can also be other places, such as a local wood or beach. We love to play with the dogs in the evening with their toys and enrichment games and then we all snuggle together on the sofa and watch a film. There is no where in our house that dogs aren't allowed - they have free reign of the sofa or bed and can sleep wherever they like, whatever the owner prefers/wishes. Weekends call for exploring further afield, with both Saturday and Sunday involving fun days out.
Services
Alexandra can host
Alexandra can watch in your home
Availability
I am fortunate enough to not have to work as my partner runs a successful business from our home. I am a full-time dog mum, so your dog will have my undivided attention 24/7! My dogs.. and your dog.. run my schedule! We love adventures and exploring so I like to fill my days with lovely dog walks and making each day as fun as possible for them. Alternatively, if you have an elderly or nervous dog, we are all just as happy to spend the day on the sofa or playing quiet enrichment games. We can adapt to whatever you want and need for your dog. My time is completely flexible so we can discuss what kind of 'staycation' you want your dog to have!
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 |
About Alexandra C.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
I live in a beautiful listed converted stable building in Colchester, that we would encourage you to come and visit before confirming your booking. Our house is upside down, with the bedrooms being downstairs and a large open plan living area with huge vaulted ceilings upstairs. We have an unusual set up in that we do not have a private garden.. but instead have communal gardens and private fully enclosed Nature Reserve for residents only. Do not worry, we have never had an issue with this with any dog, as 'toilet time' involves harnesses and leads being put on for a lovely little wander around the communal spaces and enclosed nature reserve. We do this about once every hour with our own dogs but can do this as often as your dog requires, there is no limit. We are also lucky to have a big beautiful playing field about a minutes walk from our house. The gardens on our development require dogs to be on the lead, so you can rest assured that your dog will be safe. When out on walks and days out, we will never take your dog off the lead unless you otherwise specify.. and even then we would only ever do this in very safe areas, as we do for our own little dogs. These are all things we would discuss during the booking process. Before confirming a booking, we will ask for things that the name of your Pet Insurer, the name of your Vet and also an emergency contact, so we have all the required details should be need it. We have a pet-specific first aid kit in our house and car at all times. If you wish for us to board in your own home, we hope our trusted reviews and perhaps a visit to our home to see how we live, will assure you that your home will be well looked after.
Home
Information Alexandra C. would like to know about your pet
We will only be accepting small female dogs, to ensure they fit perfectly into our home with our own two little female dogs. Male dogs may be considered if they are elderly and calm. We will only ever look after 1 clients dogs at a time, we will never accept multiple bookings, so you can rest assured your dog will have our undivided attention. A meeting at our home with your dog will be required prior to the booking.
A typical day
A typical day is all about the dogs. We get up and go straight into the gardens for toilet time. We then return and get ourselves ready, feeding the dogs and getting ready for our main morning walk. We have many different walks we can do each morning, so we try to change it up between field/woodland walks and path walks. Then it's back home for play time and a snooze. The dogs are taken out for toilet breaks numerous times during the day, each time involving a little wander around the communal gardens. Lunch time then calls for a special treat and some enrichment games! More snoozes and cuddles then lead up to dinner time followed by our main evening walk, which is often on the beautiful playing fields opposite our house but can also be other places, such as a local wood or beach. We love to play with the dogs in the evening with their toys and enrichment games and then we all snuggle together on the sofa and watch a film. There is no where in our house that dogs aren't allowed - they have free reign of the sofa or bed and can sleep wherever they like, whatever the owner prefers/wishes. Weekends call for exploring further afield, with both Saturday and Sunday involving fun days out.
Location
Colchester, United Kingdom
Pets
Alexandra C.
Colchester