A first stay at a Portsmouth boarder or day care
Most of Portsmouth's nineteen listed dog boarders, day cares and kennels will want to meet your dog before a first overnight stay or a run of day-care days, whether that is a paid trial or an informal introduction. What follows is a general walkthrough, not a promise about how any specific business runs its own process; ask each one directly what its first-time routine looks like.
Before you book
Have your dog's vaccination status, any medication, and your dates ready when you call, since a home boarder in particular usually prices around exactly these details rather than a flat rate. If you are looking at a day care rather than overnight boarding, ask whether a trial day is required before regular bookings start; All Weather Walkies in Havant, for example, publishes a trial day care rate of £40 and a trial overnight boarding rate of £50, separate from its ongoing prices, which is a useful example of how a first booking can be priced differently from a repeat one.
What to pack
Typical items a boarder or day care will ask for include your dog's usual food (to avoid a change of diet during the stay), any medication with clear dosing instructions, a lead and collar with an ID tag, and a bed or blanket that smells of home. Ask each business what it actually wants, since a kennels, a day-care premises and a home boarder can each have a different list.
A good handover
A handover is a chance to see where your dog will actually stay, meet whoever will be caring for it day to day, and hand over emergency contact details, including for your own vet. For a home boarder, this is also the point to ask how many other dogs, and from how many households, will be in the house during your dates. For a premises-based day care or kennels, ask about group sizes and how dogs are separated if needed.
Collection
Ask what time collection is expected, whether early or late collection carries an extra charge, and how the business will contact you if anything comes up during the stay, including what happens if your dog needs a vet while in its care. None of this is something this directory can confirm on a business's behalf, so treat the handover conversation as the place to settle it.
Settling in
A dog that has never boarded before can take a little time to settle, whether it is staying in a home boarder's house or attending day care for the first few sessions. Ask the business how it usually introduces a new dog to the household or the group, and whether it will call you if your dog seems unsettled rather than waiting until collection to mention it. This is also a fair point to ask about breed policies or any conditions the business applies, including for an XL Bully with a valid exemption certificate, so there are no surprises on the day.
See our Portsmouth prices guide for what a trial day or stay can cost before you commit to a longer booking.