A first stay at a Horsham boarder or day care
Whether your dog is booked into Club K9's six-acre day-care site near Rusper, one of Horsham's boarding kennels, or a home boarder in Billingshurst or Southwater, a first stay tends to go better with a shorter visit first, so both sides can see how the dog settles before a longer booking.
Before you book: ask about a trial
Cottage Farm Dog Training & Boarding, a home boarder in Billingshurst, requires a mandatory 24-hour trial stay before any booking of more than three nights, along with a non-refundable 50% deposit. Sussex Home Dog Boarding, near Southwater, asks prospective clients to call and arrange a visit before booking at all, and only takes dogs it judges will get on well with others already staying. Harry's Hounds, near Billingshurst, offers a meet-and-greet appointment before booking. Where a business does not publish a trial policy, it is still worth asking whether one can be arranged.
What to pack
Take your dog's usual food for the length of the stay, any medication with clear written instructions, a bed or item that smells of home, and a lead and collar with an up-to-date tag. Little Rowfold, a day care in Billingshurst, employs staff with an Ofqual Level 3 qualification, so it is worth asking any business how its team is trained to handle a dog's particular routine or anxieties.
Handover on the day
Give the person taking your dog a clear account of feeding times, any health issues and how it behaves around other dogs, since this is the point at which a boarder can adjust its plan for your dog specifically. Horsham Pet Care, a home boarder covering a four-mile radius of Horsham, closes for set holiday periods each year rather than taking bookings year-round, so check its current dates before you plan a handover around a particular week.
Hours and collection
Opening hours vary by business: Club K9 runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm; Daily Dog Digs, near Rusper, runs Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6.30pm; and Little Rowfold opens Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm, and Saturday, 9am to 4pm. Ask what happens if you are early or late for collection, and whether a bank holiday changes the price, since none of these details are guaranteed to be the same from one business to the next.
Meeting a home boarder first
Ten of Horsham's fifteen listed businesses board dogs in their own home rather than a kennels or day-care premises, so their address is only given once you book, not published on this page. Use a meet-and-greet or trial visit to see where your dog would actually stay, ask how many other dogs might be there at the same time, and find out what a typical day in the house looks like, rather than relying on a description alone.