Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Sutton Coldfield and Erdington

The twelve dog boarders, day cares and kennels on this page sit under two different licensing authorities, and one of the four areas has no current register entry for any business listed here. Birmingham City Council licenses businesses based in Sutton Coldfield, Four Oaks & Streetly and the Wylde Green part of Walmley & Minworth; North Warwickshire Borough Council covers the Curdworth cluster, also inside Walmley & Minworth; and Erdington has no business on this page with a current entry on either register. That split matters more here than in most towns, because it changes what a phone call should actually establish before you book.

What a licence number tells you, and what it does not

Five businesses here (Boldmere Home Dog Boarding, PetStay – West Midlands North & South Staffordshire, Wags Dog Day Care Ltd, Walk & Wagg and Bark Doggy Daycare) carry a current Birmingham City Council licence, checked against the council's own register and shown on their listing with a licence number and an expiry date. A licence number confirms the council has inspected the premises or the home and set conditions such as a maximum number of dogs; it does not tell you anything about whether a particular carer is a good match for your dog's temperament, so treat it as a floor to check for, not a recommendation. Four more businesses (Fetch Doggy Day Care, Nine Stones Boarding Kennels, Curdworth Kennels and The Paw Club) appeared on North Warwickshire Borough Council's own licensing list in 2023, but the council's website no longer publishes a current register, so this cannot be checked against today's position – ask any of these four to see their current licence certificate directly rather than relying on this page. The remaining three (Pawpounders Doggy Day Care, Old Barn Kennels and Erdington Pet Centre) were not found on either register at the time of checking, despite Pawpounders' own claim of a licence; ask them plainly what, if any, current licence covers their premises.

Vaccinations and kennel cough

Every boarder and day care sets its own vaccination policy, and practice genuinely varies between them, so this page does not state a schedule or a waiting period for any business – ask the one you are calling what it requires and how long before your dog's stay it needs to see proof. The same goes for kennel cough: some businesses ask for cover against it, some do not, and this is the business's own policy rather than a rule this directory can confirm on its behalf.

Questions worth asking before you book

• Can I see your current licence certificate, and which council issued it?
• Is there a cut-off for how close to the stay you need to show proof of vaccination?
• Does your licence set a maximum number of dogs, and is that ever stretched on a busy day?
• If my dog is on regular medication, is giving it included in the price or charged separately?
• If I have a dog with a breed condition attached, such as an XL Bully needing an exemption certificate, is there anything extra you would ask of me?
• For the four Curdworth businesses specifically: since North Warwickshire's own published list dates to 2023, would you be able to show a licence document with a more recent date on it?

See our council licences guide for the full detail on each authority, and the prices guide for what the two businesses that publish a rate actually charge.