Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Harrogate

Twenty-four dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Harrogate, spread across five areas from Harrogate town centre out to Thirsk, Northallerton, Easingwold and Boroughbridge. Every one is licensed by North Yorkshire Council, the unitary authority that has covered animal boarding across the whole page since 1 April 2023. A licence is not a promise about any one stay, so the questions worth asking are about vaccinations, insurance and breed rules as much as the licence itself.

Vaccinations

Every boarder, kennels and day care here sets its own vaccination policy, so ask what it requires and how long before the stay it needs to see proof, rather than assuming one rule covers the whole page. Just For Dogs Day Care in Northallerton says plainly on its own site to ask about vaccination requirements, including kennel cough cover, before a dog's first visit — a reasonable question to put to any of the other twenty-three as well, since practice varies from business to business.

Licences

All twenty-four hold a current North Yorkshire Council licence, but the council's own website publishes no searchable register, only application guidance, so this directory reads licences from animal-licensing.uk, a county-wide third-party mirror rather than a page the council runs itself. Because of that, no star rating is shown for any business on this page, even though the mirror does carry one. Six businesses publish their own licence number on their own site — Sutton Grange Boarding Kennels, Brackenfarg Kennels, Moor View Kennels & Cattery, Romanby Kennels, Low Shires Boarding Kennels and The Easingwold Waggy Dog Walker — and those numbers are shown here; the other eighteen show a licence type only. See our council licences guide for why the register works this way here and not everywhere on this site.

Breed policies and insurance

A boarder, kennels or day care is entitled to ask about a dog's breed and set its own conditions, including for an XL Bully, so ask directly rather than assuming either way. None of the twenty-four businesses recorded here state an insurance position on their own site beyond their licence entry, so ask to see evidence of cover if it matters to your decision; Roskosh has no way to check an insurance policy independently.

Questions to ask before you book

• Which authority licensed you, and can I see the certificate or licence number?
• What vaccinations do you need before the stay, and how far in advance?
• Do you have a policy on kennel cough cover?
• Do you have any breed policies I should know about, including for an XL Bully?
• Do you say you hold public liability insurance, and can I see evidence of it?
• Will my dog share a room, run or exercise area with other dogs, and how often?
• What happens if my dog needs a vet while staying with you, and who decides that?

What a licence actually covers

Wherever it is checked, a North Yorkshire Council licence covers premises or home standards, record-keeping and how many dogs a business may keep at once; several of the kennels here, including Harlow Kennels & Cattery and Mucky Paws Boarding Kennels, are licensed for a specific maximum number of dogs and cats together, not an open-ended figure. A licence does not fix a price, promise a particular kennel or room, or guarantee a certain group size, so ask those separately once the licence itself checks out.