Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Carlisle

Ten dog day cares, boarding kennels and home boarders are listed for Carlisle, and every one of them needs a licence to operate in England, whether it runs from a fixed kennels, a day-care site or a home boarder's own house. A licence is not optional signage a business chooses to display: it is a legal requirement, checked and renewed by the relevant council. This guide sets out what is worth asking about the licence, your dog's health and the stay itself, rather than assuming any of it.

Check the licence, and which council issued it

Seven of Carlisle's ten listings carry a licence confirmed against a council register: Top Dog Doggy Day Care, Allenwood Kennels and Moorfield Boarding Kennels and Cattery are licensed by Cumberland Council, and Cumbria Dog Training and Home Boarding, Woof Terrain Dog Services, Berrier Boarders and Hairy Hound Hotel by Westmorland and Furness Council. The remaining three — Fingland Pet Hotel, Biggards Kennels and Solway Dog Walkers & Home Boarding — each state a licence number and issuing council on their own site, but sit in the former Allerdale area, for which Cumberland Council does not currently publish a register, so none of the three could be matched to a live entry during this research. Whichever business you are considering, ask which council licensed it, for its licence number, and to see the certificate itself, rather than taking a website's word for it.

Vaccinations and kennel cough

Ask the business what vaccinations it requires before a stay, and how long in advance it needs to see proof. Requirements and timing vary between operators, so there is no single schedule to quote here, and this directory does not set or check one. Ask separately about its policy on kennel cough, since that also varies from one boarder or kennels to the next.

Group size and what's on offer

None of Carlisle's ten listings publish exactly how many dogs they take at once, though a few describe their scale in other ways: Cumbria Dog Training and Home Boarding limits guest dogs to four at a time, and Moorfield Boarding Kennels and Cattery has a secure perimeter fence and CCTV across its site near Brampton. A home boarder such as Woof Terrain Dog Services or Solway Dog Walkers & Home Boarding takes far fewer dogs at a time than a kennels, in their own home rather than a kennel block. Ask how many other dogs, and from how many households, will be there during your dates.

Medication, breed policies and a vet emergency

• Ask how medication is given during a stay, and whether there is an extra charge for it.
• Ask whether the business has any breed policies or conditions, including for an XL Bully with a valid exemption certificate.
• Ask what happens if your dog needs a vet while in the business's care, and who decides and pays.
• Ask whether the business holds public liability insurance, and ask to see evidence rather than take a website's claim on trust.

None of the Carlisle businesses listed here publish a vaccination schedule or a stated insurance position beyond their licence, so put these questions directly to the business. See our council licences guide for the detail by business.