Day care or boarding in Taunton and Somerset?
Day care and overnight boarding solve different problems, and a couple of the businesses listed for Taunton and Somerset offer both. Of the eight boarders, day cares and kennels on this page, three list day care among their services: Bark Place Dogs and Hylands Dog Care, both home boarders that also take dogs for the day, and LittleDogs (or not so Little Dogs), which runs day care and social boarding from a farm near East Pennard.
When day care fits
Day care suits a dog that would otherwise be alone through a working day rather than one that needs to stay the night. LittleDogs is the closest thing to a day-care-only option here, though it only takes dogs on a regular or semi-regular basis so they build friendships with the resident group, rather than one-off day bookings; ask before assuming it can take your dog at short notice.
When overnight boarding fits
The rest of Taunton and Somerset's businesses board dogs overnight, either in a kennels or in the boarder's own home: E S Pet Care, Barking Mad Taunton, Animals at Home Taunton & South Somerset and Animals at Home Mendip & Bristol West as home boarders, and Steart Dog Lodge as boarding kennels near Minehead. Bark Place Dogs and Hylands Dog Care, the two that also offer day care, board dogs overnight as well, so a dog can move between a day visit and a full stay without changing business.
Franchise home boarding
Barking Mad Taunton and Animals at Home Taunton & South Somerset both work by matching your dog with one of a network of separately vetted hosts rather than boarding at one fixed address, so ask which host your dog would actually stay with, not just about the franchise itself. Animals at Home Mendip & Bristol West works the same way, covering Shepton Mallet, Wells, Glastonbury, Bruton, Frome, Street and the surrounding villages.
Ask which one you actually need
If you are not sure whether your dog needs a day or a night away, describe your situation directly: how long the dog will be away from you, whether it has been left with strangers before, and whether it needs medication or has any anxiety around other dogs. Steart Dog Lodge, near Minehead, keeps dogs together in the farmhouse and in large walk-in kennels rather than caged apart, which is worth mentioning if your dog struggles being kept alone.
Cats and other pets
Two of the franchises here, Animals at Home Taunton & South Somerset and Animals at Home Mendip & Bristol West, also offer cat care and pet sitting alongside dog boarding. If you have more than one type of pet needing cover at the same time, ask directly whether a business can take both under one booking rather than assuming a dog-only business will.