Home boarding or kennels in Durham and Chester-le-Street?
Overnight boarding in Durham and Chester-le-Street comes in two different shapes: a home boarder, who takes your dog into their own house, or a purpose-built kennels, where dogs stay in individual runs on a dedicated site. Two of the fourteen listed businesses are home boarders; seven run boarding kennels; the remaining five are day-care businesses, covered in our day care or boarding guide.
Home boarding
Both of this page's home boarders also offer dog walking or pet-sitting alongside overnight stays. Walk The Line Dog Walking and Pet Care covers Chester-le-Street and the surrounding DH2 and DH3 postcode areas, and asks new callers to text or email first rather than ring straight away. Willington Pet Services covers Willington, near Crook, is contactable seven days a week, and asks new customers to email first to arrange an appointment. As with any home boarder, only the area and town are shown on the listing, never a street address; ask how many other dogs will be in the house during your dates and whether they are all from one household.
Boarding kennels
The seven boarding kennels on this page are spread across five of the town's seven areas: Shincliffe Mill Kennels and Cattery and Dovecote Farm Boarding Kennels and Cattery in Durham city; Lanchester Pet Resort in Durham villages & Brandon; Tendercare Boarding Kennels and Cattery Ltd and Fondley Sett Farm in Stanley; Hunwick Boarding Kennels in Spennymoor & Crook; and Mahon House Kennels and Cattery in Ferryhill, whose licence is held by Saints Sled Dog Rescue, a dog rescue charity that also rehomes dogs on the same site alongside its paid boarding service. Hunwick Boarding Kennels is the only one to publish a price, from £18 a night; see our prices guide for the full figures.
Viewing and visiting
How easy a kennels is to view before booking varies: Shincliffe Mill Kennels and Cattery, in Durham city, takes viewings by appointment only, while Dovecote Farm Boarding Kennels and Cattery, also in Durham city, is closed all day Wednesday but otherwise open six days a week. A home boarder's viewing is usually a visit to their house rather than a fixed appointment slot, so ask what to expect either way before you commit.
Which suits your dog
A nervous dog, or one used to a lot of one-to-one attention, may settle better with a home boarder than in a kennel block, while a dog that copes well away from a family home, or an owner who wants a fixed, staffed site, may prefer purpose-built kennels. Ask either type of business how it introduces a new dog to its routine, and see our first stay guide for what a trial visit usually covers. Cost is also worth asking about directly, since only one of the nine — Hunwick Boarding Kennels — publishes a rate, and a home boarder's price often works differently from a kennels' nightly figure.