Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Gloucester

Nineteen dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Gloucester, licensed across two authorities: Gloucester City Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council. Seventeen of the nineteen carry a licence found on one of those two registers; Henley Bank Kennels and Sunnyside Boarding Kennels & Cattery could not be matched to either during our research. Whichever business you call, the same questions are worth asking before you book.

Ask to see the licence itself

Boarding kennels, home boarding and day care are all licensed activities in England, so a business should be able to show a current licence certificate on request, not just describe itself as "licensed." For the seventeen Gloucester businesses on a council register, the licence reference and star rating on their listing came from that register directly, checked in September 2026. For Henley Bank Kennels and Sunnyside Boarding Kennels & Cattery, ask to see the certificate itself, since neither could be confirmed against a public register, even though Henley Bank is a long-established site built in 1999 and confirmed by a council planning record. One further business, Special Friends Retreat for Dogs, had a council-recorded licence expiry date of June 2026 at the time of checking, so ask specifically whether it has since been renewed.

Vaccinations and kennel cough

Requirements genuinely vary between businesses and are not fixed by law, so ask what vaccinations a business requires and how long before your dog's stay it needs to see proof, rather than assuming a standard timetable applies everywhere. Kennel cough policy also differs from one business to the next; ask directly what theirs is.

Breed policies and insurance

A business may ask about breed restrictions, including whether a dog is an exempted XL Bully with a valid certificate. Where a business's own site states it holds insurance — Regorlien & K9 Walkabouts is one that does, alongside stating it belongs to a pet-sitting membership body — that is the business's own claim rather than something this directory has checked, so ask for current evidence if it matters to you. It is also worth asking whether a business is currently taking new bookings at all: one Tewkesbury-licensed business here was flagged during research as possibly having paused new boarding bookings, so a quick phone call before you plan around any single business is worthwhile.

Questions worth asking before you book

• Can I see your current council licence, and does it cover the number of dogs I'm booking for?
• What vaccinations do you require, and how long before the stay do you need to see proof?
• What is your policy on kennel cough?
• Do you have any breed restrictions or conditions, including for an exempted XL Bully?
• Do you hold insurance, and can you show evidence of current cover?
• How is medication given during a stay, and is there an extra charge for it?
• What happens if my dog needs a vet while in your care?

See our council licences guide for how Gloucester's two registers differ.