Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Milton Keynes

Twenty-one dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Milton Keynes. Home boarding, boarding kennels and day care are all licensed activities in England, and fifteen of the twenty-one listings here carry a matched council licence panel with a licence number, expiry date and star rating from Milton Keynes City Council's own public register. The other six — four in villages under Buckinghamshire Council, one under South Northamptonshire Council, and one that could not be matched to a Milton Keynes City Council register row — carry no panel, even though each states its own licence on its own site. See our council licences guide for which of these six sits where and why.

Questions about the licence itself

• Can I see your current licence certificate, including the licence number and expiry date?
• If your listing shows a council star rating, what does that score mean and when was it last inspected?
• If your listing shows no star rating here, can you show me your certificate directly?

Vaccinations and health

Ask what vaccinations a business requires before a stay begins and how long beforehand it needs proof: Dog Wiggles Sitters in Bletchley, for example, sets a minimum age of six months and asks for dogs to be neutered and microchipped before a trial visit, a reminder that paperwork and conditions vary business to business rather than following one fixed rule. Ask, too, what a business's policy is on kennel cough, since practice differs even among licensed operators.

Breed rules, insurance and group size

A boarding or day-care business can set its own conditions on breed, including for a dog with a valid XL Bully exemption certificate: Dogz Boardz in Stony Stratford, for instance, states it does not currently take large breeds, so ask directly what any business's policy is rather than assuming your dog will be accepted. Ask, too, whether a business holds public liability insurance and can show evidence of it; this directory cannot verify insurance, and none of the twenty-one Milton Keynes listings state a position on it. Sixteen of the twenty-one are home boarders, so also ask how many other dogs will be in the house during your dates and whether they are all from one household.

Cats on site

Three of the twenty-one businesses listed, Village Pets at Rookery Farm, Hunters Lodge Country Boarding Kennels & Cattery and Villiers Farm Boarding Kennels & Cattery, board cats as well as dogs. If that matters to you, ask whether dogs and cats are kept in fully separate areas, and how the business manages the two together on site.

What happens if things go wrong

Ask what happens if your dog needs a vet while in a business's care, who decides and who pays, and what its cancellation or early-collection policy is. Ask, too, how the business prefers to keep in touch during a longer stay, whether by phone, text or a booking app. None of this is something this directory can answer for you.