Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in St Albans

Eighteen dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for St Albans, across seven areas from the town centre out to Harpenden, London Colney and Hatfield. Sixteen hold a licence from St Albans City and District Council, and two, both in Hatfield, are licensed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. A licence is not a promise about any one stay, so the questions worth asking are about vaccinations, insurance and breed rules as much as the licence itself.

Vaccinations

Every boarder, kennels and day care here sets its own vaccination policy, so ask what it requires and how long before the stay it needs to see proof, rather than assuming one rule covers the whole town. The Wag House, in Marshalswick, asks new customers directly about vaccination requirements before a first visit — a reasonable question to put to any of the other seventeen too, since practice varies from business to business.

Licences

All eighteen hold a current licence. The sixteen licensed by St Albans City and District Council are checked against the council's own published PDF register, which gives a licence number, expiry date and a star rating from 1 to 5 for each. Kate's K9s and Your Paws Pet Services, both in Hatfield, are licensed instead by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, which publishes no animal-boarding register of its own; those two are checked against animal-licensing.uk, a third-party mirror, so no star rating is shown for either. See our council licences guide for the full breakdown of stars and licence numbers.

Breed policies and insurance

A boarder, kennels or day care is entitled to ask about a dog's breed and set its own conditions, including for an XL Bully, so ask directly rather than assuming either way. Marley & Me Doggy Day Care states that only small to medium dogs are taken and that un-neutered males over a year old are not accepted, which is the kind of specific condition worth asking any of the other seventeen about too. None of the eighteen state an insurance position on their own site beyond their licence entry, so ask to see evidence of cover if it matters to your decision.

Questions to ask before you book

• Which authority licensed you, and can I see the certificate or licence number?
• What vaccinations do you need before the stay, and how far in advance?
• Do you have a policy on kennel cough cover?
• Do you have any breed or size policies I should know about, including for an XL Bully?
• Do you say you hold public liability insurance, and can I see evidence of it?
• Will my dog share a room, run or exercise area with other dogs, and how often?
• What happens if my dog needs a vet while staying with you, and who decides that?

What a licence actually covers

Wherever it is checked, a licence covers premises or home standards, record-keeping and how many dogs a business may keep at once; Croft Farm Kennels, for instance, is licensed for up to 36 dogs, and several of the home boarders here are licensed for a specific maximum of five to eight dogs rather than an open-ended figure. A licence does not fix a price, promise a particular room, or guarantee a certain group size, so ask those separately once the licence itself checks out.