How to choose dog boarding or day care in Huddersfield
Nine dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Huddersfield, all of them licensed by Kirklees Council. They sit in two of the town's five defined areas: five in Almondbury & Newsome, three in Holmfirth, and one in Lindley & Birkby. Huddersfield town centre and Brighouse & Elland currently have no published listing at all — not because nothing operates there, but because research this round could not confirm a phone number for any business in either area from its own site, its own social page or a call; those two areas are not held back on purpose, only the town's overall publish is going ahead once nine businesses elsewhere cleared the bar. Anyone in or near those two areas should still call Kirklees Council or, for Brighouse and Elland, Calderdale Council, and ask for their current list of licensed boarders directly.
Home boarding or kennels
Eight of the nine businesses listed board dogs in the boarder's own home rather than a kennel block: Relax & Paws in Lindley & Birkby; Crosland Paws, The Dog Den, Chester's House and Gardens, Wavy Tails and Petwatch in Almondbury & Newsome; and Khay's Paws and Walkies & Purrfect Mews Cat Hotel in Holmfirth. A home boarder usually takes far fewer dogs at a time than a kennels, so ask how many other dogs will be in the house during your dates and whether they are all from one family or several. Glambullz Boarding, near Meltham in the Holmfirth area, is the only confirmed boarding kennels here, set on nine acres of moorland, though it also offers a home-boarding-priced option and day boarding alongside the kennels. Two businesses, Petwatch and Walkies & Purrfect Mews Cat Hotel, combine home dog boarding with a licensed cattery on the same site. For day care specifically, Crosland Paws, The Dog Den, Wavy Tails and Khay's Paws all say they offer it alongside boarding.
The Kirklees Council licence
Every business listed here is licensed by Kirklees Council under its Animal Licence Activity Star Rating System, which covers home boarding, day care and boarding kennels as separate categories in England. The star rating runs from 1 to 5 and reflects the council's own inspection, tied to how often the licence is reinspected: it is not a customer review, and should be read the way you would a food hygiene rating rather than a Google star. Among the nine listed, ratings run from 3 stars (Petwatch, Glambullz Boarding) up to 5 stars (Wavy Tails, Khay's Paws, Walkies & Purrfect Mews Cat Hotel), with Crosland Paws, The Dog Den, Chester's House and Gardens and Relax & Paws all at 4 stars. Ask any business for its licence number and check it against the council's own register rather than taking a website's word for it; Brighouse and Elland, on the other side of the town, are licensed instead by Calderdale Council, which keeps a separate register.
Questions worth asking
None of these are things this directory can answer on a business's behalf; they are worth putting to the business directly before you book.
- What vaccinations do you require, and how long before the stay do you need to see proof of them?
- Do you have a policy on kennel cough, and what is it?
- Do you have any breed restrictions or conditions, including for an XL Bully with a valid exemption certificate?
- Are you insured, and can you show evidence of current cover?
- How many other dogs, and from how many households, will be there during my dates?
- 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?
None of the businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule or a stated insurance position beyond what appears on their own licence or website, so ask rather than assume an answer either way. See our Huddersfield prices guide for what the three businesses that publish a price charge, and for what to ask everyone else.