Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Crawley
Eleven dog day cares, boarding kennels and home boarders are listed for Crawley, and every one of them needs a licence to operate in England, whether it runs from a fixed kennels, a day-care site or a home boarder's own house. A licence is a legal requirement, checked and renewed by the relevant council, not optional signage a business chooses to display. This guide sets out what is worth asking about the licence, vaccinations and the stay itself, rather than assuming any of it.
Check the licence, and which council issued it
Seven of Crawley's eleven listings are confirmed against a council register mirror: The Doghouse, Cherry Tree Kennels & Cattery, Happy Dayz Dogs, We Love Pets Haywards Heath, The Dogfather, Go Barking and Peppa's Pooch Playhouse, all licensed by Mid Sussex District Council. The remaining four — Sit and Stay Sussex (Nicky's Pet Minding), Bulldog Holidays, Vanity Fur West Hoathly and Bonnie's House — could not be matched to either council's register mirror in this research pass; Bulldog Holidays and Bonnie's House each state a licence number on their own site that was not independently confirmed. Whichever business you are considering, ask which council licensed it, for its licence number, and to see the certificate itself, rather than taking a website's word for it.
Vaccinations and kennel cough
Ask the business what vaccinations it requires before a stay or a day, and how long in advance it needs proof. Requirements and timing vary between operators, so there is no single schedule to quote here, and this directory does not set or check one. Ask separately about its policy on kennel cough, since that also varies from one boarder or day care to the next, and no business listed for Crawley publishes a stated policy online.
Group size and what's on offer
Cherry Tree Kennels & Cattery is licensed for up to 104 dogs, including 24 day-care spaces, plus 20 cats, on a ten-acre site near Balcombe — the largest capacity listed here by some way. Bulldog Holidays, by contrast, is a small specialist site for bulldogs only, with its gates locked at 4pm unless out-of-hours collection is booked. A home boarder such as Sit and Stay Sussex, Vanity Fur West Hoathly, Bonnie's House, We Love Pets Haywards Heath, Go Barking or Peppa's Pooch Playhouse takes far fewer dogs at a time than a kennels, in their own home rather than a purpose-built block; Vanity Fur West Hoathly's own site states boarded dogs stay alongside the owners' two dogs. Sit and Stay Sussex currently says it cannot take on any more dogs for the foreseeable future, so ask about a waiting list before assuming space is available.
Medication, breed policies and a vet emergency
- 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 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 Crawley's eleven listed businesses publish a vaccination schedule or a stated insurance position, so put these questions directly to whichever business you are considering. See our council licences guide for the licence detail behind each business.