How to choose dog boarding or day care in Mansfield and Ashfield

Eight dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Mansfield and Ashfield, spread across three council areas: Mansfield District Council, Ashfield District Council, and the more rural Newark and Sherwood district around Ollerton, Edwinstowe, Rainworth and Blidworth, where the council publishes no licensing register online. Five of the eight are home boarders, two run purpose-built boarding kennels, and one runs day care only. Coverage is uneven: five of the eight sit in Sutton-in-Ashfield and Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Mansfield itself has one (Mansfield Canine Centre), and Mansfield Woodhouse & Forest Town has no published listing at all this round, so if you live there look first at the Mansfield and Sutton-in-Ashfield listings a short drive away. What matters most when choosing depends on which of these you need.

Home boarding, day care or kennels

Five businesses board dogs in the boarder's own home rather than a kennel block: Dalton K9 Academy and Prodigy K9, both run by trainers in the Sutton-in-Ashfield and Kirkby-in-Ashfield area and offering dog training alongside boarding; We Love Pets Mansfield, the local franchise of the national network, also in Sutton-in-Ashfield and Kirkby-in-Ashfield; K9 Playtime in Rainworth and Blidworth; and Country Woofs, also in the Ollerton and Edwinstowe area. 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. Mansfield Canine Centre, on Hermitage Lane in Mansfield, runs day care only. Coxmoor House Kennels & Cattery, near Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and Kingstand Lodge Kennels & Cattery, near Budby, run purpose-built boarding kennels; both also take cats alongside dogs.

What the council licence means, and where it's missing

A licence is a legal requirement in England for dog boarding, home boarding and day care, not an optional extra. Mansfield District Council publishes its own PDF register, and on it Mansfield Canine Centre carries the council's top score, 5 stars. Ashfield District Council's licences for Dalton K9 Academy, Prodigy K9, We Love Pets Mansfield and Coxmoor House Kennels & Cattery are recorded only through a third-party mirror of its register rather than a page the council runs itself, so no star rating is shown here for any of these four; the licence number and expiry date are still shown where the register gives them. Newark and Sherwood District Council, which covers Ollerton, Edwinstowe, Rainworth and Blidworth, publishes no licensing register online at all, so Kingstand Lodge Kennels & Cattery and K9 Playtime carry no licence block here even though both state on their own sites that they are licensed. Country Woofs states it is licensed by Bassetlaw District Council instead, a different authority whose register was not checked this round. For all three, ask to see current proof of licensing directly, since this directory cannot confirm it from a public register.

Questions worth asking about vaccinations, breed rules and insurance

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 is medication given during a stay, and is there an extra charge for it?
• What happens if my dog needs a vet while it is in your care?

None of the eight 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.

Two areas are thin

Rainworth and Blidworth has only one listed business, K9 Playtime, and Ollerton and Edwinstowe has two, Kingstand Lodge Kennels & Cattery and Country Woofs. This reflects Newark and Sherwood District Council publishing no public register to check against, not a shortcut in how this list was put together. If you are in either area, it is worth calling the council directly and asking for its current list of licensed boarders as well.

Prices

Two of the eight businesses listed publish a price; see our Mansfield and Ashfield prices guide for the published figures and what they cover. Whichever type of boarding or day care you choose, ask what a second dog from the same household costs, whether bank holidays are charged at a higher rate, and whether collection is included or priced separately.