Day care or boarding in Portsmouth?

Nineteen dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Portsmouth, and most of them offer more than one kind of care, so the choice is rarely a straight either/or. This guide splits the town's listings by what each one actually offers, to help you find the right kind of care rather than just the nearest business.

Day care

Three businesses run day care from a fixed premises rather than a private home: BusyB Pet Care in Southsea, Nanny Sue's Doggy Day Care in Fratton, Baffins & North End, and DoggieVille Pet Services in Waterlooville & Denmead. Nanny Sue's publishes a flat day stay of up to 12 hours at £15, the only fixed day-care price found in the town. Day care suits a dog that needs company and exercise during the working day but sleeps at home at night; if that is what you need, start with these three rather than a boarder that only takes overnight stays.

Overnight boarding

Fifteen of the nineteen listed businesses are home boarders, taking your dog into their own house for an overnight stay or longer: We Love Pets Portsmouth & Southsea, Holiday Hounds and Homes and Hounds in Portsmouth centre; Haven4Hounds and The Pet Butler in Southsea; The Pukka Pooch and M-Bark Boarding & Walking in Cosham, Drayton & Port Solent; All Pawz, Barney and Sam's Pet Services, Pooch & Co and The Doggy Centre in Waterlooville & Denmead; and Semley Dogs, All Weather Walkies, A Dogs Day Pet Services and Bourner Boarding in Havant. Muirburn Holiday Boarding for Dogs & Cats, near Horndean in the Waterlooville & Denmead area, is the town's one boarding-kennels business, and the only one that also takes cats.

Businesses that do both

Several of the businesses above offer day care alongside overnight boarding, which is worth checking if your needs might change: The Pukka Pooch, M-Bark Boarding & Walking, Barney and Sam's Pet Services, Pooch & Co, The Doggy Centre, Semley Dogs and All Weather Walkies all list day care as well as home boarding or overnight stays.

Which to choose

If your dog is anxious away from home, day care or home boarding in a household setting is usually a gentler introduction than a kennels block. If you need a longer holiday cover with a business that already runs a cattery too, Muirburn is the town's only combined option. Whichever you pick, ask how many other dogs will be there during your dates and, for day care, what a typical day actually looks like before you commit.

Mixing the two

Some owners use day care regularly and only book overnight boarding occasionally, for a holiday or a work trip; using the same business for both, where it offers both, means your dog is already known to whoever is caring for it rather than meeting them for the first time on the night of a longer stay. If that matters to you, the businesses above that combine day care with home boarding are worth checking first.

Browse every listing by area on our Portsmouth area-by-area guide.