Day care or boarding in Darlington?

Day care and overnight boarding solve two different problems, and Darlington's nine listed businesses split across both: four hold a day-care licence, six run boarding kennels and three are licensed for home boarding, with some businesses holding more than one licence type.

Day care: for a working day, not a holiday

Day care is for a dog that would otherwise be alone through a working day: it goes in after breakfast and comes home at teatime rather than staying overnight. Four Darlington businesses hold a day-care licence: Sadberge Boarding Kennels & Cattery and The Dog Barn Darlington in the Darlington centre area, and East Shaws Boarding Kennels & Cattery and 4Paws Farm near Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle. Littlemoor Farm's own site also lists day care alongside its boarding kennels, but Durham County Council's register shows its licence under kennels only, so ask to see a day-care licence specifically if that's what you're booking.

Overnight boarding: kennels or a home

Overnight boarding means your dog stays away from home for one or more nights, either in purpose-built kennels or in a home boarder's own house. Six Darlington businesses run boarding kennels: Sadberge, Skyecroft near Shildon, Littlemoor Farm, East Shaws and 4Paws Farm near Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle, and Hunton Clump Kennels near Catterick Garrison. Two further businesses, Petpals Darlington & Yarm and Petpals South Durham, are licensed for home boarding instead, each a separate branch of the same franchise; see our home boarding or kennels guide for how the two compare.

Which to choose

If your dog needs looking after during a working day and will sleep at home every night, day care is the closer fit; The Dog Barn Darlington is a purpose-built day-care site with an all-weather play area and heated indoor suites, opened in 2024, though it also holds a separate home boarding licence. If you are going away and need overnight cover, you need either boarding kennels or a home boarder. Only Skyecroft Boarding Kennels & Cattery publishes prices for its overnight rates; see our Darlington prices guide for the figures. Whichever you choose, ask about a trial visit first; see our first stay guide for what to expect.