How Colchester's council licenses dog boarders
Every one of the twenty-three dog boarders, day cares and kennels listed for Colchester holds a current council licence: it is a legal requirement in England, not something a business can opt out of. Which council issued it, and how much the register shows, depends on where in the town the business sits.
Colchester City Council
Twenty of the twenty-three listed businesses are licensed by Colchester City Council, which covers the town centre and most of the CO1 to CO5 postcode districts. The council has adopted a third-party platform, animal-licensing.uk, as its own public register rather than running a register page of its own; each business has an individual page on that platform giving its licence number, star rating and expiry date, alongside an authority-level list of every licence holder. A council star rating, where one is shown, runs from 1 to 5 and reflects the council's own inspection, tied to how often the licence is reinspected — it is not a customer review, and should be read the way you would a food hygiene rating rather than a Google star.
Tendring District Council
Three businesses — Hilltop Boarding Kennels and Cattery, Brightlingsea Boarding Kennels and Cattery, and Bones & Belly Rubs — sit in villages within the CO7 postcode district (Hilltop in Thorrington and Brightlingsea Kennels in Brightlingsea; Bones & Belly Rubs, a home boarder, is shown by area only) that fall under Tendring District Council rather than Colchester City Council, even though CO7 also covers Wivenhoe, which is a Colchester City Council area. Tendring publishes its register as a set of PDF tables by licence type (kennels, home boarding, day care), each giving a licence number, trading name, expiry date and star rating, but no address.
Star ratings across the twenty-three listings
| Business | Council | Star rating |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Star Pet Services | Colchester City Council | Not shown on the register |
| Simply Pawfect | Colchester City Council | 3 stars |
| Maisies Mates | Colchester City Council | 3 stars |
| All Seasons Dog Walking & Pet Services | Colchester City Council | 5 stars |
| Hoopers Hounds | Colchester City Council | 4 stars |
| Walkies, Talkies and Cuddles | Colchester City Council | 3 stars |
| Colchester Canine Creche | Colchester City Council | 5 stars |
| Kickstart My Bark | Colchester City Council | 3 stars |
| The Dog Hut | Colchester City Council | 5 stars |
| Amy's Pet Retreat | Colchester City Council | 4 stars |
| Animal Magic Kennels & Cattery | Colchester City Council | 4 stars |
| Bone Sweet Bone | Colchester City Council | 5 stars |
| Dogs Play Centre | Colchester City Council | 3 stars |
| Vanderburg | Colchester City Council | 4 stars |
| We Love Pets Colchester | Colchester City Council | 3 stars |
| It's All About The Dogs | Colchester City Council | 5 stars |
| Mutley's Hotel and Day Care Centre | Colchester City Council | 4 stars |
| The Woof Wagon | Colchester City Council | 4 stars |
| Muttley & Mabel | Colchester City Council | 5 stars |
| Blackbrook Kennels | Colchester City Council | 4 stars |
| Hilltop Boarding Kennels and Cattery | Tendring District Council | 3 stars |
| Brightlingsea Boarding Kennels and Cattery | Tendring District Council | 5 stars |
| Bones & Belly Rubs | Tendring District Council | 5 stars |
What the rating does and doesn't tell you
Only one business on the Colchester list, 5 Star Pet Services, has no star rating shown on its register entry — this is a gap in that one listing's source, not a low score, so ask the business directly about its most recent inspection. A high star rating is a sign the council's own inspector found good welfare standards and compliance at the last visit; it says nothing about temperament, price or how your particular dog will settle, which is why it is worth reading alongside, not instead of, the questions in our vaccinations and licences guide.