Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Colchester

Twenty-three dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Colchester, and every one of them needs a licence to operate in England, whether it is a home boarder, a day care or a set of kennels. A licence is not a badge a business chooses to display: it is a legal requirement, checked and renewed by the local council. This guide sets out what is worth asking about the licence, your dog's health and the stay itself, rather than assuming any of it.

Check the licence, and which council issued it

Twenty of the twenty-three businesses here are licensed by Colchester City Council, which has adopted the animal-licensing.uk platform as its own public register; the other three — Hilltop Boarding Kennels and Cattery, Brightlingsea Boarding Kennels and Cattery, and Bones & Belly Rubs — sit in villages within the CO7 postcode district that are administered by Tendring District Council instead, which publishes its register as a set of PDF tables by licence type. Ask any business which council licensed it, and for its licence number, then look the licence up yourself on the relevant register rather than taking a website's word for it. See our Colchester council licences guide for what each register does and doesn't show.

Vaccinations and kennel cough

Ask the business what vaccinations it requires before a stay, and how long in advance it needs to see proof. Requirements and timing vary from one boarder or kennels to the next, so there is no single schedule to quote here, and this directory does not set or check one. Ask separately what the business's policy is on kennel cough, since that also varies between operators and is worth knowing before you book rather than after.

Group size

A home boarder and a day care can be very different sizes of setting. Among the Colchester businesses that publish a number, Kickstart My Bark is licensed to board up to three dogs at a time in Stanway, Maisies Mates and The Dog Hut are each licensed for up to six, and Muttley & Mabel's day care licence on Severalls Business Park covers up to twenty-five dogs at once. Ask how many other dogs, and from how many other households, will be there during your dates.

Medication, breed policies and what happens if your dog needs a vet

• Ask how medication is given during a stay, and whether there is an extra charge for it.
• Ask whether the business has any breed policies or conditions, including for an XL Bully with a valid exemption certificate.
• Ask what happens if your dog needs a vet while it is in the business's care, and who decides and pays.
• Ask whether the business holds public liability insurance, and ask to see evidence rather than take a website's claim on trust.

None of the Colchester businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule or a stated insurance position beyond their licence, so these are all questions to put directly to the business, not answers this directory can give on its behalf.