The difference between Home Boarding and Boarding Kennels

We get a lot of people asking what’s difference between home boarding and boarding kennels?  Here’s the difference…

Home Boarding

Home boarding is when someone opens up their home to allow other people’s dogs to come and stay. Your dog will live in that person’s house for the duration of their stay as if he or she belongs there. The dog should be walked daily for a good amount of time (we recommend 1 hr).  They should also have use of the garden or outside space. Home boarding offers a home from home environment.

The home must be licensed through the local council who will limit how many dogs are allowed. This is to ensure the facilities can comfortably and safely accommodate the appropriate amount of dogs.  The host  should also have home boarding pet insurance which covers them against third party liability, but it will not cover the host against any damage that a boarding dog might make to their home. Home boarding is usually more expensive than Boarding Kennels.

Boarding Kennels

Boarding Kennels are where dogs are kept in a kennel, in a building separate to the business owners home.   The kennel building will be made up of separate kennels (like stables) and runs they may have a communal or divided outside space that can be concrete or some other hard surface for ease of cleaning.  Dogs are kept separately inside their own kennel and run, unless they come from the same home.

Boarding Kennels can hold a larger number of dogs than a home boarding establishment.  Boarding Kennels do give dogs a chance to stretch their legs and get out of their kennel during the day, but you can find this varies greatly, it could be anything from 15 minutes round a field twice a day to a main walk. Boarding Kennels are usually cheaper than Home Boarding, however you may find they charge for extras like longer walks, administering medicine etc…

In both cases dogs have to be up to date with their vaccinations.

It’s a good idea to shop around for the right place for your dog to stay. Leaving your dog behind while you go on holiday can be stressful for both you and the dog, so it’s important to get it right.

Pros of Home Boarding:

Care and attention: Dogs will spend time with the host and should get love and attention as they would at home.
Exercise and routine: The host will be able to come close to your own feeding and exercise routine, which will help your dog to settle in much quicker.

Points to consider:

Behaviour: A dog must be well socialised, there is a lot of close contact with other dogs and humans when home boarding, the dog must be able to cope in this situation.

There is another good article we found on the web here, that has a few more points about the difference between home boarding and boarding kennels, that you might find helpful.