Day care or boarding in Bolton?
Day care and overnight boarding solve different problems, and one of Bolton's businesses offers both. Of the thirteen boarders, day cares and kennels listed here, four list day care among their services: Paws & Play Doggy Day Care Ltd, The Dawg House Daycare & Boarding, Pooches Play House and Paws Doggy Day Care Leigh Ltd.
When day care fits
Day care suits a dog that would otherwise be alone through a working day rather than one that needs to stay overnight. Paws & Play Doggy Day Care Ltd, in Bolton centre, and Paws Doggy Day Care Leigh Ltd both run an indoor activity park or paddock alongside day care, and neither is licensed for overnight boarding. Pooches Play House, in Atherton, is also a day-care-only business, publishing a price of £17.50 for a full day and £12.50 for up to six hours.
When overnight boarding fits
Nine businesses here board dogs overnight only, with no day-care service listed: Copperbeech Boarding Kennels & Cattery and Ladyshore Grange Boarding Kennels and Cattery, both kennels that also take cats; Mosstop Dog Boarding and Astley Farm Boarding Kennels, dog-only kennels; Puddles & Cuddles Pet Care, Wendy's Wags, The Dogmother and WOOF! Dog Services, all home boarders; and Scotson Fold Pet Care Centre, a large kennels in Radcliffe.
The one that offers both
The Dawg House Daycare & Boarding, in Horwich, holds two separate Bolton Council licences, one for day care and one for home boarding, and publishes prices for both: £27 for a full day of day care or £47 a night for home boarding with one dog. It is the only business on this page where a dog could move between a day visit and a full overnight stay without changing business.
Ask which one you actually need
If you are not sure whether your dog needs a day or a night away, describe your situation directly: how long the dog will be away from you, whether it has been left with strangers before, and whether it needs medication or has any anxiety around other dogs. A kennels stay and a day at a day-care premises are licensed differently by the council, so this is also a question worth asking as part of checking a business's licence.
Cats and other pets
Two of the kennels here, Copperbeech Boarding Kennels & Cattery and Ladyshore Grange Boarding Kennels and Cattery, also board cats alongside dogs, and Scotson Fold Pet Care Centre boards cats and small animals as well. If you need cover for more than one type of pet at the same time, ask directly whether a business can take both under one booking rather than assuming a dog-only business will.
Where each type sits
Day care here is concentrated in Bolton centre, Horwich & Blackrod and Leigh & Atherton; the borough's overnight boarding, whether kennels or home-based, is spread more widely, including into the Bury and Wigan council areas that this page also covers. See our area-by-area guide for the full breakdown of where Bolton's thirteen listed businesses actually are.