Dogs

Dogs at Brunton

Properties where dogs can join you:

Brunton House (16 people, 2 dogs, large garden not completely fenced)

Stable Cottage (6 people, 2 dogs, with enclosed garden)

Brunton Granary (8 people, 2 dogs, with balcony, no enclosed garden but plenty of free space outside)

Brunton Lake (4 people, 1 dog, with enclosed gravel garden)

Long Byre (2 people, 1 dog, with enclosed patio)

Garden Cottage (2 people, 2 dogs, with enclosed garden)

We are happy for well-behaved dogs, by prior arrangement, to stay in our properties listed above.  In Brunton House dogs can be kept in the large, warm uncarpeted rooms at the bottom of the back stairs (see back door, boot room and drying room on the floor plan), and the kitchen, but we ask that they are not allowed in carpeted rooms and on furniture.

In the cottages and Brunton Granary dogs have full access to any uncarpeted living areas, but not to any carpeted rooms – ie cottage bedrooms, and downstairs in the games room or upstairs to the bedrooms of the Granary.

Dogs must not be allowed on furniture, in carpeted rooms or left alone in your property or in the garden.

We take a security deposit in our dog-friendly properties Brunton House (£500), Brunton Granary (£200), Stable Cottage, Brunton Lake, Long Byre and Garden Cottage(£75) which is fully refundable subject to the property being vacated in the same clean and tidy, and damage free condition as it was on your arrival.  Dog owners are expected to clean the property inside and outside to ensure no trace of dog remains on departure.  We reserve the right to withhold the security deposit if evidence is found of dogs in restricted areas, hair is found on carpets or furniture, and dog waste left in gardens or on mown grass adjacent to properties. Deposits are taken by debit/credit card pre-authorisation on the day of your arrival.

Party Leaders/Principle booking guests are responsible for ensuring dogs do not access restricted areas, carpeted rooms or climb on any items of furniture.

There are great walks all over the estate. Please ensure that dogs are kept under close control or on leads and remove dog poo from tracks into the long grass. Please see leaflet ‘Taking Your Dog to the Coast‘ (also in our information files) for excellent advice regarding dog walking in Northumberland, including advice on livestock and ground-nesting birds on beaches.

We are a working farm with livestock and machinery. Therefore, dogs must not be allowed to roam unsupervised and must be kept under close control at all times. We hope farm workers and gamekeepers moving around in the early hours of the morning/late at night will not disturb your dogs.

Additional dogs may be allowed, again with our prior permission.

We have added a 🐾 to dog-friendly eating-out and activities on our information pages.  Please note that dog access may be limited to certain areas in some attractions, so we recommend calling ahead to double check.

There are several dog-sitting and boarding services in the area if you need these during your stay.  We recommend contacting them well in advance as they are likely to book up very quickly.

RF Petcare – 07807 566162

Barking Mad Northumberland – 01665 575981 / northumberland@barkingmad.uk.com

Coastal Canines Pet Sitting – 07934 084027

The Doggy Day Care Centre Alnwick – 01665 517738 / alnwick@thedoggydaycarecentre.com

Brunton Livestock

Anyone walking dogs should try to avoid taking them through groups of cattle – alter your route if possible.  If there is no option but to pass close to cattle with a dog, please NEVER have the dog on a lead.  Dogs are very rarely hurt by cattle if they are able to run freely and are given the opportunity to escape.  However, if human and dog are connected by a lead, then cattle can run down the human handler in their attempt to get at the dog.  This is potentially an extremely dangerous situation and can be minimised by removing leads in the vicinity of cattle.

Please be aware that individual cattle can be prone to aggression at certain times – for example bulls if bulling cows are in the area, cows shortly after calving, all cattle in windy conditions or if recently spooked.  Individual cattle that pose a risk to humans through assault generally give some warning by their behaviour (eg pawing the ground, snorting and head shaking).  Avoid entering a field if you have concerns.

Should you find yourself on a road or a track and see cattle being moved towards you, you will be both safer and make the job of the farm workers easier if you can move yourself well out of their path, ideally to the far side of an adjacent hedge, gate, fence or wall.

Lambing generally takes place during the months of March and April.  During this time we ask that dogs, however well behaved, are kept on a lead at all times in the vicinity of sheep and lambs.  This is a very stressful time of year for farmers and sheep alike, and your help in leaving ewes undisturbed before and after they give birth is essential and really appreciated.  By law, farmers are entitled to destroy a dog that injures or worries their animals.

Should your dog foul an area of obvious mown grass, we would be grateful if you could clear up after them by ‘bagging and binning’.  Since your dog is going to be in a livestock area, please consider worming them before coming to Brunton.

There are many public footpaths and bridleways across Brunton.  Dogs must be kept under close control and should not be allowed to roam across the wider areas of the fields and woods.  Brunton is a working farm and sometimes heavy working machinery is being used.  Please do not approach, or let your dog approach, working machines or equipment if you can avoid it.  If you cannot, then please make absolutely sure that the operator has seen you and understands your intentions before approaching.