How to choose dog boarding or day care in Norwich

Thirteen dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Norwich, spread across three licensing council areas: Norwich City Council covers the city centre postcodes, Broadland District Council covers Sprowston, Old Catton, Taverham, Drayton and the Hellesdon fringes, and South Norfolk Council covers Costessey and Wymondham. Nine are home boarders, seven offer day care in some form, and one, Lime Liegh Boarding Kennels & Cattery, runs traditional boarding kennels. Several businesses offer more than one type, so these figures overlap.

Home boarding, day care or kennels

Nine businesses board dogs in the boarder's own home rather than a kennel block: Petpals Norwich and We Love Pets Norwich, both franchises covering the city centre and a wide ring of suburbs; Buffy's Buddies in Costessey; Viv & Chris @ Feathers and Norfolk Home Boarding for Dogs in Hellesdon; K9 Keepers in Wymondham; Barking Mad Norwich, which matches dogs with a network of vetted host families rather than boarding them itself; Sallys Dogs R Us in Costessey, which also runs day care and grooming; and Irene's K9 Care in Thorpe St Andrew. A home boarder usually takes far fewer dogs at a time than a kennel, so ask how many other dogs will be in the house during your dates, and whether they are all from one family or several. Poocheria Pet Care Services, DOGJOGS and Arthur's Doggo Daycare run day care from a home rather than boarding overnight. Lime Liegh Boarding Kennels & Cattery, in Wymondham, is the only business here running purpose-built boarding kennels rather than a home-based service, and also takes cats and offers on-site hydrotherapy.

Golden Triangle & Eaton and Sprowston have no dedicated business of their own in this list; both areas are covered only by the two multi-area franchises, Petpals and We Love Pets.

Why there is no council licence panel on these listings

Every business offering dog boarding, home boarding or day care in England needs a licence from its local council; this is a legal requirement, not an optional extra. Where a council publishes its licence register online, this directory shows the licence details and any star rating directly from it. Norwich City Council, Broadland District Council and South Norfolk Council do not publish an online register for animal activity licences: Norwich City Council's own pages describe the licensing process but link to no register or search tool, and Broadland and South Norfolk's shared licensing service says a copy of the public register is available only by emailing the council directly. Because none of the three registers can be checked, no licence panel appears on any Norwich listing here, even where a business names its own licence number or star rating on its own site. Several of the businesses above do quote a licence number themselves, for what it is worth, but treat a business's own claim about its licence or star rating as something to verify by asking, not as something this directory has confirmed.

Questions worth asking about licensing, 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.

• Can I see your current council licence, or the licence number and the council that issued it?
• 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 will be in the house or kennel at the same time as mine, and from how many different households?

None of the businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule or a stated insurance position beyond what appears on their own site, so ask rather than assume an answer either way.

Prices and extras

Four of the thirteen businesses listed publish a price; see our Norwich 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.