How to choose dog boarding or day care in Bournemouth

Fourteen dog boarders, day carers and kennels are listed for Bournemouth, spread across six of the page's seven areas: Christchurch, Southbourne, Winton, Kinson, Boscombe and Ferndown. Bournemouth town centre and East Cliff has no dog boarding or day-care business trading there at all, as far as this research could find, so anyone in that immediate area needs to travel to a neighbouring area for either service. Most of the town sits under Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council for licensing; Ferndown and West Moors sit under Dorset Council instead, which changes how you can check a licence there.

Home boarding, day care or kennels

Nine of the fourteen are home boarders, taking dogs into the boarder's own home rather than a kennel block: Walkford Woofs and Bournemouth 4 Paws, and further home boarders in Winton (Bella's House, Fido's Friends, PC Pooches), Kinson (Dog Tails Home Boarding, Rusty's Dog Club & Hotel), Boscombe (Tailored Tails Co) and Ferndown (Dorset Paws & Snores). As home boarders, only their area and town are given here; the address is theirs to give you once you book. Ask how many other dogs will be in the house on your dates, and whether they are all from one family or several. Muttleys Dogs in Christchurch also holds a home-boarding-style licence but in fact runs from dedicated premises rather than a private home, so it sits closer to a day care in how it actually operates. SoBo Hounds and The Dog Creche run day care rather than boarding, and Personal Pet Care runs day care from a mews unit in Winton. Country Kennels Dorset, near West Moors, is the only business here running boarding kennels in the traditional sense, with individual chalets and a newer heated block.

What the council licence means here

Ten of the twelve businesses in the BCP Council area carry a licence confirmed against BCP's own Animal Activity Register, a single PDF listing every licensed premises across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole with a licence number, expiry date and a star rating from 1 to 5. Where a star rating appears on a listing here, it is the council's own inspection score, not a customer review, and it is shown alongside the licence number and expiry date rather than as a general "rating." Two BCP-area businesses, SoBo Hounds and Personal Pet Care, could not be matched to any row on that register by name, so no licence block is shown for either; this does not necessarily mean they are unlicensed, only that the trading name could not be confirmed against the register from public sources, so ask them directly. The two Ferndown businesses, Country Kennels Dorset and Dorset Paws & Snores, each state their own Dorset Council licence number on their own site, but Dorset Council does not publish a downloadable or searchable register the way BCP does — only a per-business online lookup tool — so neither self-stated licence could be independently checked, and no licence block is shown for either. Ask to see the current licence certificate directly if you are booking with either.

Questions worth asking about vaccinations, breed rules and insurance

None of these are things this directory can answer on a business's behalf; they are worth putting to the business directly before you book.

• What vaccinations do you require, and how long before the stay do you need to see proof of them?
• Do you have a policy on kennel cough, and what is it?
• Do you have any breed restrictions or conditions, including for an XL Bully with a valid exemption certificate?
• Are you insured, and can you show evidence of current cover?
• How many other dogs will be there on my dates, and are they from one family or several?
• What happens if my dog needs a vet while in your care?

None of the businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule or a stated insurance position beyond what appears on their own licence or website, so ask rather than assume an answer either way.

Prices and extras

Two of the fourteen businesses listed publish a price; see our Bournemouth prices guide for the published figures and what they cover. Whichever type of boarding or day care you choose, ask what a second dog from the same household costs, whether bank holidays are charged at a higher rate, and whether collection is included or priced separately.