Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Bristol

Twenty-four dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Bristol, and every one of them needs a licence to operate legally, whichever of the four councils covers its area: Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council, North Somerset Council or Bath and North East Somerset Council. Fifteen of the twenty-four have a licence confirmed against Bristol City Council's own published register; the other nine rely on what the business states about itself, or, in one case, Walks with the Pack, on neither.

What a licence does and does not tell you

Bristol City Council's own register carries a star rating for each business it lists, but that rating is a council inspection score, not a customer review, and it says nothing about vaccination policy, breed rules or insurance. South Gloucestershire Council, North Somerset Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council do not publish an accessible public register at all for the areas this page covers, so for the eight businesses under those three councils, any licence number shown is one the business states about itself, recorded here as the business's own claim rather than an independently checked fact; four of the eight publish no number at all.

Vaccinations

Every business here will ask what vaccinations your dog needs before it boards or attends day care. Ask exactly what each one requires and how long before your dates it needs to see proof, since this is the business's own policy and varies from one to the next rather than being set by a single national rule.

Kennel cough, breed policies and insurance

Different boarders take different views on kennel cough cover; ask what the policy is rather than assume one either way. A business can also set its own conditions on breed, including for an XL Bully with a valid certificate of exemption, so ask directly rather than assume a particular breed will or will not be accepted. None of the twenty-four businesses listed here states a public liability insurance position that this site can independently confirm, so ask to see evidence of current cover if it matters to you.

Questions worth asking before you book

• Is your licence current, and can I see the certificate with its expiry date?
• Which vaccinations must my dog have had, and how far ahead of my dates do you want proof?
• Where do you stand on kennel cough cover?
• Are there any breeds or types you will not take, or take only with conditions, including an XL Bully with a valid exemption certificate?
• Do you state that you hold public liability insurance, and can I see the certificate?
• How many dogs, from how many households, will be with you on my dates?
• If my dog needs medication, how is it given, and is that charged separately?

For the eight businesses under South Gloucestershire, North Somerset or Bath and North East Somerset councils, and for Walks with the Pack, whose Bristol City Council licence could not be confirmed on the council's own register, asking to see the current licence in person matters more than it does for a business whose star rating is already published.