Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Mansfield and Ashfield

Eight dog day cares, boarding kennels and home boarders are listed for Mansfield and Ashfield, and every one operates under a licensing regime that covers dog boarding, home boarding and day care as licensed activities in England. Five of the eight have a licence confirmed against a council register or its mirror: Mansfield Canine Centre, Dalton K9 Academy, Prodigy K9, We Love Pets Mansfield and Coxmoor House Kennels & Cattery. The other three — Kingstand Lodge Kennels & Cattery, K9 Playtime and Country Woofs — each state on their own site that they hold a licence, but none could be matched to a register this directory could check, because the council covering their area either publishes no public register or was not checked this round. A licence claim on a business's own site is not the same as an independently confirmed one, so ask to see the current certificate directly if this matters to your choice.

Vaccinations and kennel cough

None of the eight businesses listed for Mansfield and Ashfield states a vaccination policy or a kennel-cough requirement on its own site, as found this round. That does not mean none of them ask about it: practice varies from business to business and this directory does not set a schedule of its own, so ask each one directly what it needs to see, and how long before your dog's stay, before you book.

Breed policies and assessment

No business here states a breed policy or a new-dog assessment process on its own site either. 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 with a valid exemption certificate, so ask directly rather than assume either way. Dalton K9 Academy and Prodigy K9 both centre their business on dog training, so a first conversation with either is also a natural point to raise any behaviour concerns about your dog.

Insurance

No business listed for Mansfield and Ashfield states on its own site that it holds public liability insurance. This was not found published anywhere this directory could check, which is not evidence either way, so ask to see current proof of cover if it matters to your decision.

Three councils, one directory page

Mansfield and Ashfield's eight businesses answer to three different councils: Mansfield District Council, which licenses Mansfield Canine Centre and publishes its own PDF register with a star rating; Ashfield District Council, which licenses the four Sutton-in-Ashfield and Kirkby-in-Ashfield businesses through a third-party mirror rather than its own page, so no star rating is shown for any of them; and Newark and Sherwood District Council, which covers Rainworth and Blidworth and part of the Ollerton and Edwinstowe area and publishes no public register at all. See our council licences guide for the detail behind each of these.

Questions worth asking 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 hold public liability insurance, and can I see evidence of it?
• How many other dogs, and from how many households, will be there during my dates?

A licence, wherever it is confirmed, covers premises or home standards, record-keeping and how many dogs a business may keep at once; it does not fix a price or guarantee how your own dog will settle in, so these are still worth asking about separately.