How to choose dog boarding or day care in Watford

Sixteen dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Watford, licensed by four different local authorities. Thirteen are home boarders, one runs boarding kennels alongside training and grooming, one runs boarding kennels and a cattery, and one is a charity centre boarding both dogs and cats. Watford town centre currently has no confirmed listing at all, and every other area has at least one.

Four councils, not one

Watford's eight areas are licensed by four different authorities: Watford Borough Council, Three Rivers District Council, Hertsmere Borough Council and Dacorum Borough Council. Most of this list — thirteen of the sixteen — sits with Three Rivers District Council, whose own register page publishes each home boarder's phone number alongside its star rating and licence expiry, which is why so many of Watford's listed home boarders are Three Rivers licence holders. Kings Langley Dog Boarding and Canine Karma Resorts, both in the Kings Langley area, are licensed by two different councils between them (Dacorum and Three Rivers respectively), because the area itself straddles a council boundary. We Love Pets Bushey and National Animal Welfare Trust Hertfordshire are both licensed by Hertsmere Borough Council despite the Watford postal addresses. Ask any business which council licensed it if you want to check the register yourself.

Home boarding, day care or kennels

Thirteen businesses board dogs in the boarder's own home rather than a kennel block: Pug & Little Paws Boarding and We Love Pets Bushey; Home from Home Doggy Day Care, The Dogs Residence and Liz Townsend Home Boarding & Day Care for Dogs in the Rickmansworth area; Kings Langley Dog Boarding, Scruffs to Crufts, Dogsbody and D's Pryme Paws in the Kings Langley area; The Pet Guardian and Walk, Sit & Stay in Oxhey; and Whiskers Feathers & Fur and Paws for Thought in Croxley Green, the first of which also boards small pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs alongside dogs. As with any home boarder, only the area and town are shown on the listing; the street address is given once you book, and ask how many other dogs, and from how many households, will be in the house during your dates. Canine Karma Resorts, at 15 Toms Lane in Kings Langley, runs boarding kennels, training and grooming from a dedicated site and requires an assessment before any booking. Verulam Farm Kennels and Cattery, near Bedmond in the Abbots Langley area, runs traditional boarding kennels alongside a cattery. National Animal Welfare Trust Hertfordshire is a rescue and rehoming charity on the Watford by-pass that also boards dogs and cats under licence.

What the council licence means

Every business listed holds a current licence: it is a legal requirement in England for dog boarding, home boarding and day care, not an optional extra. Ratings on this list run from Canine Karma Resorts' 1 star up to the 5 stars held by Home from Home Doggy Day Care, Whiskers Feathers & Fur, The Pet Guardian, Scruffs to Crufts and D's Pryme Paws. A star rating is the council's own inspection score, tied to how often the business is reinspected, and is not a customer review, so treat it the way you would a food hygiene rating rather than a Google star. Ask to see the current licence certificate, and ask what the maximum number of dogs it covers is.

Questions worth asking

None of these are things this directory can answer on a business's behalf; they are worth putting to the business directly before you book.

• What vaccinations do you require, and how long before the stay do you need to see proof of them?
• Do you have a policy on kennel cough, and what is it?
• Do you have any breed restrictions or conditions, including for an XL Bully with a valid exemption certificate?
• Are you insured, and can you show evidence of current cover?
• How many other dogs, and from how many other households, will be there during my dates?
• How is medication given during a stay, and is there an extra charge for it?
• What happens if my dog needs a vet while in your care?

None of the businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule or a stated insurance position beyond what appears on their own licence or website, so ask rather than assume an answer either way. Three of the sixteen publish a price for at least part of what they do; see our Watford prices guide for the published figures and what they cover.