A first stay at a Swindon boarder or day care
Whether your dog is going into a fixed-site kennels near Royal Wootton Bassett, a home boarder's house in Old Town or day care in Haydon Wick, a first stay usually starts with a shorter visit before the real booking, so both sides can see how the dog settles. Ask whether a trial or meet-and-greet is offered even where a business's own material does not say so.
Before you book: ask for a trial
Betts Pets, near Purton, publishes a £40 trial day ahead of a full booking, and Red Lodge Canine Country Club offers an ad-hoc day at £60 before its cheaper five-day membership rate applies; ask any other business here whether it offers something similar, since a trial lets a kennels see how a dog settles among others and a home boarder see how it behaves alongside their own pets and family.
What to pack
Take your dog's usual food for the length of the stay, any medication with clear written instructions, a bed or blanket that smells of home, and a lead and collar with an up-to-date tag. Flaxlands Kennels & Cattery, near Royal Wootton Bassett, runs fixed drop-off and collection windows of 9am to 10am or 4pm to 5pm; Goldborough House Kennels & Cattery, at Broad Town, keeps to 10am to noon and 3pm to 5pm on weekdays and 10am to noon at weekends. Check the exact hours of whichever business you choose, since these vary.
Handover on the day
Give the person taking your dog a clear account of feeding times, any health issues and how your dog behaves around other dogs, since this is the point at which a kennels or home boarder can adjust its plan. Badbury Pet Adventures and Bark'N Stay, both home boarders, only take dogs from one household at a time, which is worth confirming at handover if you are booking two dogs from different families together.
Collection, and what can add to the price
Ask what happens if you are early or late collecting, and whether a bank holiday adds to the price. Red Lodge Canine Country Club charges £82.50 for overnight boarding on a bank holiday against its usual £55 rate; asking this kind of question before the stay avoids a surprise on the day you collect your dog.
Longer stays and holiday periods
A week or a fortnight away is a different booking to one night, and dates matter more over a school holiday period. Doggy Day Care & Grooming Swindon, on Moredon Road in Haydon Wick, is licensed for up to thirty-two dogs, one of the largest day-care capacities found in Swindon, but even a large site fills first over school holidays, so ask early.
Meeting a home boarder first
Because a home boarder's address is only given once you book, the first real look you get at where your dog will actually stay is usually at a meet-and-greet, not before. Twenty of Swindon's 29 listed businesses are home boarders, so this applies to the majority of what is listed here; use the visit to see the garden, check how many other dogs might be there at the same time, and ask what a typical day looks like in the house.