How to choose dog boarding or day care in Plymouth

Twenty-four dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Plymouth, a city whose licensing is split across four different councils depending on which side of the city a business sits: Plymouth City Council for most of the city itself, Cornwall Council for Saltash and the villages just over the Tamar, South Hams District Council for Ivybridge, and West Devon Borough Council for Tavistock. Eighteen of the twenty-four are home boarders, boarding dogs in their own home rather than a kennel block; the other six run boarding kennels, a cattery alongside kennels, or a day care centre from a dedicated site.

Home boarding, day care or kennels

Eighteen home boarders are listed, spread across every area: Central Bark, Man's Best Friend, The Whippet House, Burnsbys Walkies and Beagles and Buddies in St Budeaux and Saltash; Beach Buddies and Cadleigh Tails in Ivybridge; Barking Mad in Tavistock; Little Fluffs, Happy Paws Plymouth and Claire's Pet Care in the Plymouth city centre and Stonehouse area; J9's K9's and Hartley Hounds in Mutley and Peverell; Mister Paws and DW Dog Walkers in Plymstock; Wet Noses & Muddy Paws in Crownhill and Derriford; and Mutts About Dogs and Personal Pet & Home Care in Plympton. 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 household or several. Tri-Acre Kennels & Cattery and Grove Nurseries Boarding Kennels & Cattery, both near Saltash, and Orestocks Boarding Kennels and Longford Chase Boarding Kennels & Cattery, both near Tavistock, run purpose-built kennels, each with a cattery alongside the dog kennels. Pugs and Pals Devon Ltd, at Lee Mill in Ivybridge, and Happy Pets Doggy Day Care & Grooming Salon, at Belliver Industrial Estate, run day care from a dedicated site with grooming alongside it.

The council licence in Plymouth

Every business listed needs a council licence to operate, but how current a licence this site can confirm depends entirely on which council issued it. Cornwall Council and West Devon Borough Council both publish a dated, checkable register: Cornwall's is dated 4 August 2026, and seven businesses here carry a current, register-checked star rating and expiry date as a result — four in the St Budeaux and Saltash area (Central Bark, Man's Best Friend, The Whippet House and Tri-Acre Kennels & Cattery) and three in Tavistock (Barking Mad, Orestocks Boarding Kennels and Longford Chase Boarding Kennels & Cattery). Plymouth City Council, which licenses thirteen of the remaining home boarders and day cares in the city itself, has published no register more recent than a PDF dated March 2023 — over three years old — so this site could not confirm whether any Plymouth City Council licence shown to us as current still is. Those thirteen listings say plainly that the business states it holds a particular licence number, rather than showing a confirmed council licence block, and you should ask to see the current certificate yourself before booking. South Hams District Council, which covers Ivybridge, has an online register that could not be reached at all during research, so the three Ivybridge businesses listed are shown the same way, on their own word rather than a confirmed register entry. Grove Nurseries Boarding Kennels & Cattery, near Saltash, states it is licensed by Cornwall Council but could not be found on the register extract checked here, so it is shown the same way despite sitting in Cornwall Council's area.

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.

• Can you show me your current council licence certificate and its expiry date?
• 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?
• 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 it is in your care?

None of the businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule, so ask rather than assume an answer either way.

Prices

Only two of the twenty-four businesses listed for Plymouth publish a price; see our Plymouth prices guide for the two figures available and what they cover. Whichever type of boarding or day care you choose, ask what a second dog from a different household costs, whether bank holidays are charged at a higher rate, and whether collection is included or priced separately.