Edinburgh dog daycare centre may have to turn clients with noisy pups away after complaints from neighbours

An Edinburgh dog creche may be forced to turn away clients due to noise complaints from neighbours.

Several residents have complained to the Council about the noise of dogs barking coming from Citidogs Creche, which recently relocated from Colinton to a site on Swanston Farm. Staff at the dog daycare claim they have been shouted at by neighbours, while clients have been harassed in the parking lot over the sound levels.

The nearest housing to the daycare is 300 metres away, across the Edinburgh City Bypass, in the Caiyside area. Citidogs staff have been doing regular decibel checks in the area, however, they claim the sound-measuring devices are picking up “absolutely nothing”.

Despite this, Sarah McLean, the Director of Citidogs Creche, says that they are taking noise complaints very seriously. She said: “If there is a noise issue, we’ll do everything we possibly can to resolve it”.

The boss is sympathetic to the concerns of residents, and added: “I do understand that a dog daycare centre in the area is not the most appealing prospect to neighbours. But while the idea of it may be awful, the reality is very different.”

Ms McLean has urged those who live nearby to “see the bigger picture”, as she feels the business provides an important service to the community. Staff at Citidogs care for the pups of people living across Edinburgh – many of whom are key workers. Throughout Covid, the creche operated at a loss for months in order to help clients who were nurses, police officers and teachers.

The business was forced to find alternative premises earlier this year after their lease expired. Ms McLean said: “We were left in the position that if we didn’t relocate, we would be closing down. There would be 400 odd clients let down and 28 employees left without jobs”.

She is hopeful that residents will realise that the daycare is “no bother”, however, she is concerned that she may have to take serious action if the noise continues to upset neighbours.

On Monday, Citidog Creche clients were contacted by email, warning them that dogs who are “noisy by nature” may be turned away from the daycare in the future, if the complaints continue. It read: “While we don’t want to have to start asking any of our much loved regulars to find alternative solutions to their owners being out at work, we felt that it was perhaps a good idea to forewarn clients that this may have to become a consideration in the future if this escalates any further.”

Ms McLean says she would be “incredibly sad” if the business was forced to turn away pups. She added: “Some of these dogs have been coming to us for 12 years”

According to Ms McLean, the Council has taken no action on the noise complaints. A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “It wouldn’t be appropriate to comment on individual complaints but we always investigate them and take action if we think it is required.”