Most dog boarders do the everyday work; only some take on the specialist jobs. Each page below counts the dog boarders who list that service themselves, by town, from the 114 listings on this site.
Day care is a booked day, not a night: the dog goes in after breakfast, spends the day in a supervised group or in somebody's home, and comes back at teatime. It is what most people want for a dog that would otherwise be on its own through a working day. In England day care is a licensed activity in its own right, so ask to see the licence as well as the room. The towns below are the ones where a business says it offers day care.
Overnight boarding is the dog staying the night: one night for a wedding, or a fortnight in August. Some places charge by the night and some by the twenty-four hours, so ask how the first and last day are counted before you compare two prices. Ask as well what the price covers, whether medication is given, and whether two dogs from the same house share a room or pay twice. The towns below are the ones where a business says it boards dogs overnight.
Home boarding is your dog living in somebody else's house instead of a kennel block: their sofa, their garden, their routine, and usually only one household's dogs at a time. It is a licensed activity of its own in England, Wales and Scotland, and the licence is issued to a person at an address. We list home boarders by area and town only; the address is theirs to give you when you book. The towns below are the ones where a business says it offers home boarding.
A boarding kennel is purpose-built accommodation away from anyone's living room: an individual kennel with a bed and a run, set feeding and exercise times and staff on the site. Kennels take more dogs at once than a home boarder, so there is more often a space left in the school holidays, and they suit a dog that would rather have its own room than a strange family. Ask to see where your dog will sleep. The towns below are the ones where a business says it runs boarding kennels.
A puppy is not a small dog: it sleeps more, needs the garden far more often and cannot hold its own in a big group all day. Places that take puppies run shorter days, smaller groups and proper rest time, and several offer drop-in visits at your house instead until the puppy is old enough to go out. Every one of them will ask what vaccinations they require first. The towns below are the ones where a business says it takes puppies.
Some day cares and boarders come and fetch the dog and bring it home again in their own van, on a set round through the town. It is what makes day care work at all if you leave for work before the gate opens, and it saves the drive out to a kennel in the countryside twice in a day. Rounds run by postcode and there is often a small charge each way. The towns below are the ones where a business says it collects and drops off.
Plenty of kennels and day cares will bath, brush, clip nails or do a full groom while the dog is with them, so it comes home clean after a fortnight away rather than smelling of the run. It is normally booked with the stay rather than decided on the day, and priced on its own. Ask who does it and where: some have a groomer on the site, others drive the dog out to one. The towns below are the ones where a business says it offers grooming.
Most home boarders and day cares walk dogs as their other job, so the person who has your dog in August is often the one who walks it on a Tuesday in February. Walks are sold solo or in a small group, usually an hour, from your house with a key you have handed over. Ask how many dogs go out together, where they go and whether they come back off the lead. The towns below are the ones where a business says it walks dogs.
A business appears on a service page when its own listing names that service. Plenty of dog boarders offer more than they publish, so ring and ask if your town looks thin.
Tell us what you offer and it shows up on these pages at the next rebuild. Listing is free.