Home boarding or kennels in Wakefield?
Of Wakefield's twelve dog day cares, boarding kennels and home boarders, four hold a council licence for home boarding and four hold a licence for boarding kennels; the other four are licensed for day care only, though one of them, Muddy Pawz Serenity Ltd, advertises overnight boarding on its own site without a matching boarding licence on the council's register.
What a boarding kennels gives you
A boarding kennels means your dog has its own kennel and run on a site built for it, with set feeding and exercise times and more than one household's dogs on site at once. Wakefield's four kennels are Harefield Boarding Kennels, a family farm near Ossett, and, in the Horbury area, Waggin' Tails Boarding Kennels at Overton and Oakenshaw Boarding Kennels & Cattery and Westmead Kennels & Cattery, both also boarding cats.
What a home boarder gives you
Three of the four home-boarding licence holders keep their address private, shown by area and town only, with the address given once you book: Pet Stay Wakefield & Castleford and George's Pet Pals, both franchise branches covering Wakefield city centre and beyond, and Unleashed Pet Services, covering the Pontefract area. The fourth, Wragby Grange Daycare & Boarding, is licensed for home boarding too, but runs from a working farm rather than a family house, so its full address is published on its listing.
Which suits your dog
A kennels tends to suit a dog that is happy with its own space and a set routine, and there is often more room left during a busy school-holiday week simply because a kennels takes more dogs at once. A home boarder tends to suit a dog that finds a group of strange dogs stressful, or one that is used to living in a house rather than a run. The council licenses both types under the same regulations, so asking to see the certificate is the same question either way.
Day care rather than either
Barkley & Co, Carter & Co Canine Care and Paddle & Play Pet Wellness Centre run day care from their own premises rather than either a home or a kennels, in Wakefield centre, Walton and Normanton. See our day care or boarding guide for the day-care side of the picture.
Where each type sits
Wakefield's home boarders and kennels are not evenly spread: Horbury & Crigglestone has four listed businesses, more than any other area, including three of the town's four kennels. See our area-by-area guide for the full breakdown.
Insurance and vaccinations either way
Neither a kennels nor a home boarder is required to publish its insurance position, and none of Wakefield's twelve does so beyond what its own site states; ask to see evidence if a business says it holds public liability cover. Both types are also expected to ask about your dog's vaccinations before a stay, whichever kind of business you choose, so raise it directly rather than assuming either type has a stricter policy than the other by default.