We don't publish a rule on a dog coming with you when you visit your unit, and our terms don't mention it, so ring us on 0800 2545585 before the day and ask about your site. Two things are settled: a dog can never be left in your unit, because our terms bar storing "any living creatures" (clause 18(b)), and a parked car on a warm day is not a safe place to leave one. Assistance dogs are a different case in law. Dog crates and beds can be stored like other household goods; ask us first about dog food.
What our terms say about dogs
Clause 18 lists what "You must not store (or allow any other person to store)" in a unit, and (b) is "any living creatures". It is a rule about storing, so it settles that a dog can't be kept or left in a unit. It doesn't deal with a dog that stays with you on a visit, and that is the part to ask us about.
Clause 24 covers how you, and anyone you bring, behave on site: "use reasonable care on site and have respect for the Facility and other unit users", and "comply with the reasonable directions of Our employees, agents and contractors" and any site policies we issue. So whatever we tell you about dogs for your site applies to your visits.
If you've no one to leave your dog with
Until you know the answer for your site, plan for a second person to mind the dog outside, in the shade, while you load. That matters most when you're mid-move and the dog is travelling with you because there's no house to leave it in.
Some sites make that easier. At Chipping Norton, Shipston-on-Stour and Warminster we have outdoor containers with drive-up access, so you load straight from the car or van, and, if your site allows the dog on site, whoever is minding it can stay beside the vehicle. If you're choosing a unit and know the dog will often come along, ask about drive-up units when you book.
Can I leave my dog in the car while I load?
On a warm day, no. The RSPCA warns that "When it's 22 degrees Celsius outside, the car could reach an unbearable 47 degrees within an hour", and that parking in the shade or leaving the windows open doesn't make it safe, "even when the weather doesn't feel that warm". Its advice for a hot day is that leaving your dog at home "really is in their best interest", as long as the dog has had a dawn or late evening walk and you're not away for longer than four hours.
So do summer visits early in the day, or without the dog. Access is normally 6am to 10pm (check your site's page). Cheltenham's page shows 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 10am to 4pm at weekends and bank holidays, and also 6am to 10pm, so confirm with the team there before an early visit.
If you use an assistance dog
The law treats assistance dogs differently from pets. The Equality and Human Rights Commission's guide for businesses says "It would be unlawful to refuse access to a disabled person accompanied by an assistance dog except in the most exceptional circumstances", and that the Equality Act 2010 means "amending 'no dogs' and 'no pets' policies to allow access for assistance dogs". The same guide says the law doesn't require the dog to wear a harness or jacket, and that an ID book "is not a legal requirement", and that assistance dogs "can also be owner trained".
So if you use an assistance dog, it comes with you, and you don't need to show a jacket or ID book.
If anything about reaching your unit would help, tell us when you book. Our guide to step-free access sets out which sites have lifts to upper floors.
Storing dog crates, beds, food and grooming kit
Crates, beds, bowls, leads and grooming tools can go in a unit like any other household goods. A dog rescue charity, Paws Help Rescue, says in a review on our Burton-on-Trent page that it relies on "crates, bedding, food, and equipment" kept in storage with us.
Ask us before you bring dog food: one of our guides lists pet food among items not allowed. Clause 18(a) allows food only if it is "securely packed so they are protected from and do not attract vermin", so if we agree, keep it sealed in lidded, rigid boxes rather than the open sack. Our guide to storing food in a storage unit sets out what can go in.
So do sprays. Aerosols can't be stored, whether or not the can shows the flame symbol: our terms bar "compressed gases" (clause 18(c)), and an aerosol is a pressurised can of gas. That includes flea sprays and spray-on grooming products in pressurised cans. Non-aerosol pump sprays and liquids follow the label: flame symbol, no; otherwise ask us first.
For anything else, check our list of prohibited goods.
What to ask us about your site
Ring 0800 2545585 during your site's office hours, which its page lists, before the day of your visit. At Cheltenham, for example, the office is open 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm on Saturday, and is closed on Sunday; those are separate from the storage access hours. If you'll be visiting often with a dog, for example for work, one call covers every visit. Worth asking:
- whether a dog on a lead may come in with you;
- whether two dogs make a difference;
- whether a small dog carried, or in a crate, is treated differently;
- whether your site has drive-up units, where the dog can stay by the open car or van with someone minding it.
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