Home boarding or kennels in Colchester?
Overnight boarding in Colchester comes in two different shapes: a home boarder, who takes your dog into their own house alongside their family, or a purpose-built kennels, where dogs stay in individual runs on a dedicated site. Thirteen of the town's twenty-three listed businesses are home boarders; six hold a boarding kennels licence (two of those, Animal Magic Kennels & Cattery and Mutley's Hotel and Day Care Centre, also run day care).
Home boarding
A home boarder's premises is their own house, so your dog lives alongside them and any other boarded dogs for the length of the stay, usually in far smaller numbers than a kennels would take at once. Colchester's thirteen home boarders are spread across the town: 5 Star Pet Services, Simply Pawfect and Maisies Mates in Colchester centre; All Seasons Dog Walking & Pet Services, Hoopers Hounds and Walkies, Talkies and Cuddles in Lexden; Kickstart My Bark and The Dog Hut in Stanway; Bone Sweet Bone and We Love Pets Colchester in Highwoods; It's All About The Dogs in West Mersea; The Woof Wagon near Rowhedge; and Bones & Belly Rubs in the Wivenhoe area. As with any home boarder, only the area and town are shown on the listing; the street address is given once you book. Ask how many other dogs will be in the house during your dates, and whether they are all from one family or several — Maisies Mates and The Dog Hut are each licensed for up to six dogs at a time, and Kickstart My Bark for up to three.
Boarding kennels
Purpose-built kennels usually take more dogs at once, each in its own run, on a site built for the job rather than a family home. Amy's Pet Retreat near Boxted publishes a price of £25 per dog per night and offers set collection and drop-off windows; Blackbrook Kennels near Dedham prices boarding at £20.75 a day for a small dog and £24.65 for a large one; Hilltop Boarding Kennels and Cattery and Brightlingsea Boarding Kennels and Cattery, both near Wivenhoe, also run a cattery alongside the dog kennels; and Animal Magic Kennels & Cattery and Mutley's Hotel and Day Care Centre combine kennels with a day care licence.
Which suits your dog
A nervous dog, or one used to a lot of one-to-one attention, may settle better in a home boarder's house than in a kennel block, while a dog that is happy in a group, or an owner who wants a fixed, staffed site with set hours, may prefer purpose-built kennels. Ask either type of business how it introduces a new dog to its routine, and see our first stay guide for what a trial visit usually covers.