How to choose dog boarding or day care in Cheltenham

Twenty-six dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Cheltenham and the north Cotswolds, an area spanning three different councils: Cheltenham Borough Council (the town centre and Cheltenham west), Tewkesbury Borough Council (the Bishops Cleeve and Woodmancote corner of Prestbury and Bishops Cleeve), and Cotswold District Council (Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden and Moreton-in-Marsh). Twenty of the twenty-six are home boarders, working from their own house rather than a kennel block; the remaining six run day care, boarding kennels or both from a dedicated site. What matters most when choosing depends on which of these you need, and on which council covers the business.

Home boarding, day care or kennels

Home boarders make up the largest group by far: twenty of the twenty-six businesses here, spread from Smudgers Mutts, Walk 'n' Stay, On Howliday Home Dog Boarding, We Love Pets Cheltenham, Kerry's K9s, Hurcombe Hounds and Picture Pawfect in Cheltenham centre, through Bright Eyes Dog Care, Canine Country Club Cotswolds, Whoswalkingme and Find The Lead in Cheltenham west, Watson Pet Care, Odi's Oldies, Paws4ward Dog Care, Our Dog Walkers and S&J Dog Walking around Prestbury and Bishops Cleeve, to Hounds and Hunters and Barney's Buddies in Charlton Kings and Leckhampton, and The Cotswold Pet Companion in Bourton-on-the-Water. A home boarder usually takes far fewer dogs at a time than a kennel or day care site, so ask how many other dogs will be in the house during your dates, and whether they are all from one family or several. The six site-based businesses are The Dog Day Care Club, Shorty and Co and Bolts Buddies (day care only), Cheltenham Animal Shelter (boarding kennels, cattery and day creche combined), and, in the north Cotswolds, Longhills Farm Boarding Kennels & Cattery and Passion Grooms.

Three councils, three different registers

Cheltenham Borough Council runs a live public register listing licence reference, capacity and star rating for every current home boarding and day-care licence in its area; twenty of this town's businesses are licensed by it, and their licence blocks come straight from that register. Tewkesbury Borough Council, which covers the Bishops Cleeve and Woodmancote side of Prestbury and Bishops Cleeve, publishes its own register in the same way; three businesses here — Whoswalkingme, Paws4ward Dog Care and Our Dog Walkers — are licensed by it. Cotswold District Council, which covers Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden and Moreton-in-Marsh, publishes no searchable, address-bearing register of its own: only an opt-in contact list with no dog boarding or day-care business from this town on it. The three businesses in that part of the coverage area — The Cotswold Pet Companion, Longhills Farm Boarding Kennels & Cattery and Passion Grooms — could not be checked against a council register, so none carries a licence block here; two of the three say on their own site that they are licensed, but that is the business's own claim, not a confirmed register entry, so ask to see the licence itself and, where possible, check with the council directly.

The north Cotswolds villages are thin

Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden, and Moreton-in-Marsh each have only one listed business — The Cotswold Pet Companion, Longhills Farm Boarding Kennels & Cattery, and Passion Grooms respectively. This is a genuinely low-supply area rather than a gap in this research: the north Cotswolds are far less densely populated than Cheltenham itself, and searches turned up little beyond national franchises with no separate local premises and marketplace sitters with no trading business behind them. If you are in one of these villages, it is worth calling further afield in Cheltenham or asking Cotswold District Council directly whether a newer licence holder has since been added.

Questions worth asking

• 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 during my dates, and from how many households?
• 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 website, so these are worth asking directly rather than assuming an answer either way. See our Cheltenham prices guide for what the two businesses that publish a price actually charge.