How to choose dog boarding or day care in Chester
Eleven dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Chester, spread across three separate licensing councils: seven fall under Cheshire West and Chester Council, covering the city itself, Tattenhall, Handbridge, Lache and the Neston side of the Wirral border, and four fall under Flintshire County Council, over the Welsh border around Mold and Holywell. Three are home boarders, six offer day care and six hold, or state they hold, a boarding kennels licence, with some businesses combining more than one. What matters most when choosing depends on which of the three you need.
Home boarding, day care or kennels
Three businesses board dogs in the boarder's own home rather than a kennel block: Digs for Dogs (Chester) in the Chester city centre area, Waggy-tails in Mold & Buckley, and Aunty Vikki's Pet Services Ltd in Flint & Holywell. A home boarder usually takes far fewer dogs at a time than a kennels, and the address is given once you book rather than published on the listing. Six businesses run day care: All Creatures (Doggie Day Care) in the city and Oakfield Farm Boarding Kennels at Tattenhall (the only listing in the Hoole & Boughton area), Canine Capers of Chester in Handbridge & Lache, Ty Gwyn Pets and Waggy-tails near Mold, and Wynnestay Kennels & Cattery near Neston. Six hold, or state they hold, a boarding kennels licence: Oakfield Farm, Ty Gwyn Pets, Calcot Kennels and Cattery, Wynnestay, Glenbrittle Kennels and Warren Wood Kennels and Cattery; four of these — Ty Gwyn Pets, Calcot, Wynnestay and Warren Wood — also take cats.
Which council licenses which area
Cheshire West and Chester Council covers seven of the eleven businesses here: Digs for Dogs, All Creatures, Oakfield Farm, Canine Capers of Chester, Wynnestay, Glenbrittle Kennels and Warren Wood Kennels and Cattery. The council's own online licence register could not be reached for this listing round — it sits behind a self-service portal that blocks automated access — so none of these seven carry a confirmed licence number or star rating here: each states its own licence claim on its own site, and none of them can currently be checked against the register directly. Ask to see the current licence certificate when you call. The other four — Ty Gwyn Pets, Waggy-tails, Calcot Kennels and Cattery and Aunty Vikki's Pet Services Ltd — sit over the border and are licensed by Flintshire County Council, which publishes a working online register. Three of the four are confirmed directly against it, with a licence number and expiry date shown on the listing; Wales has no star-rating scheme for boarding licences, unlike England, so no star appears for any Flintshire business here. Waggy-tails' own licence claim could not be confidently matched to a specific register entry near its address, so ask to see its current licence directly.
Questions worth asking
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?
- Can I see your current council licence, and ask about your most recent inspection?
- How many other dogs, and from how many households, will be there during my dates?
- How is medication given during a stay, and is there an extra charge for it?
None of the businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule beyond what appears on their own site, so ask rather than assume an answer either way. See our Chester prices guide for what the four businesses that publish a price charge, and ask everyone else for a quote against your dates.