How to choose dog boarding or day care in Wolverhampton

Eighteen dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Wolverhampton, across five areas that sit under four different councils: Wolverhampton city centre, most of Tettenhall & Compton, Wednesfield and Bilston within Bilston & Willenhall fall under City of Wolverhampton Council; Willenhall within Bilston & Willenhall falls under Walsall Council; the Wombourne, Trysull and Pattingham side of Tettenhall & Compton and Essington within Wednesfield fall under South Staffordshire Council; and Cannock falls under Cannock Chase District Council. Fourteen of the eighteen are home boarders and four run day care or boarding kennels from a dedicated site: Woodford Grange Boarding Kennels and Red Oaks Farm Kennels and Cattery near Wombourne and Pattingham, Hickmans Hounds Doggy Day Care at a converted water mill in Wombourne, and 4 Paws Academy from a business park unit in Willenhall.

Home boarding, day care or kennels

Fourteen businesses board dogs in the boarder's own home rather than a kennel block: The Clees Dog Services and Penn Pet Care in Wolverhampton city centre; Henry's Haven and Pawsome Dog Care in Tettenhall & Compton; Simmo Woof in Wednesfield; Jay's Pawsome Boutique, Aston's Dog Sitting and Bilston Home Boarding in Bilston & Willenhall; and Happy Hounds Holiday Home Boarding, Cosy Paws Pet Sitting & Dog Walking, K9 at Mine, Cosy Canine Club, We Love Pets Cannock and Happy Dog in Cannock. A home boarder usually takes far fewer dogs at a time than a kennel, so ask how many other dogs will be in the house during your dates, and whether they are all from one family or several. Woodford Grange Boarding Kennels and Red Oaks Farm Kennels and Cattery run purpose-built kennels near Wombourne and Pattingham; Hickmans Hounds Doggy Day Care and 4 Paws Academy run day care from a dedicated site rather than a home, in Wombourne and Willenhall respectively.

What the council licence tells you here

Every business listed needs a licence to operate in England, but how much can be checked against a public register varies sharply by council in this town. South Staffordshire Council publishes a dated PDF register that confirms all four of its businesses listed here with a star rating: Woodford Grange (3 stars), Pawsome Dog Care (4 stars), Red Oaks Farm Kennels and Cattery (5 stars) and Hickmans Hounds Doggy Day Care (5 stars). Cannock Chase District Council's register confirms all six Cannock businesses, though three of those confirmed licences — Cosy Paws Pet Sitting & Dog Walking, K9 at Mine and Happy Dog — show an expiry date that has already passed as at this research, so no current licence can be shown on those three listings; ask each business directly whether it has renewed. Walsall Council's register confirms Aston's Dog Sitting, though with no star rating or expiry shown, while Jay's Pawsome Boutique and 4 Paws Academy both state a Walsall licence that could not be matched to the register under their trading names. City of Wolverhampton Council, which covers the remaining five businesses — The Clees Dog Services, Penn Pet Care, Henry's Haven, Simmo Woof and Bilston Home Boarding — keeps no public register at all, so none of the licence and star claims those five make about themselves can be checked against anything; treat them as self-reported and ask to see the current licence certificate directly, the same position as Portsmouth and Norwich.

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?
• Can I see your current council licence certificate and, where one exists, your latest inspection rating?
• How many other dogs, and from how many households, will be there during my dates?
• How is medication given during a stay, and is there an extra charge for it?

None of the businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule or breed policy on their own sites, so ask rather than assume an answer either way. See our Wolverhampton prices guide for what the four businesses that publish a price actually charge, and ask about a second dog from the same household, bank holiday rates and collection before you compare two quotes.