Vaccinations, licences and what to ask in Woking

Twelve dog boarders, day cares and kennels are listed for Woking and west Surrey, licensed by three different councils: Woking Borough Council, Guildford Borough Council and Surrey Heath Borough Council. All three activities offered here — home boarding, day care and boarding kennels — need the same kind of council licence in England, so a current one matters whichever service you are booking.

Vaccinations

Every boarder, kennels and day care here sets its own vaccination policy, so ask what it requires and how long before a stay it needs to see proof, rather than assuming one rule covers the whole town. None of the twelve businesses listed here publish a specific vaccination schedule on their own site, so this is a question worth putting to each one directly rather than assuming an answer either way.

Licences

Eleven of the twelve businesses here hold a licence traced to a specific council register. The exception is Small Paw Adventures, which states a Woking Borough Council home-boarding licence on its own site, but that licence number does not appear on the council's register as checked for this page, so no licence is shown for it; ask about this directly before booking. Where a register was read through a third-party mirror rather than a council's own site, no star rating is shown here, only the licence type, number and expiry — see our council licences guide for the full picture, including one licence whose listed expiry has already passed.

Breed policies and insurance

A boarder, kennels or day care is entitled to ask about a dog's breed and set its own conditions, including for an XL Bully with a valid exemption certificate, so ask directly rather than assume either way. None of the twelve businesses listed here states an insurance position on its own site, so ask any business you are considering whether it holds public liability insurance and, if it says yes, ask to see evidence, since Roskosh has no way to check an insurance policy independently.

Questions to ask before you book

• Which council licensed you, and can I see the certificate or licence number?
• What vaccinations do you need before the stay, and how far in advance?
• Do you have a policy on kennel cough cover?
• Do you have any breed policies I should know about, including for an XL Bully?
• Do you say you hold public liability insurance, and can I see evidence of it?
• How many other dogs will be there during my dates, and are they all from one household?
• What happens if my dog needs a vet while in your care, and who decides that?

What a licence actually covers

Wherever it is confirmed, a licence covers premises or home standards, record-keeping and how many dogs a business may keep at once; it does not fix a price, promise a particular room, or guarantee a certain group size, so ask those separately even once the licence itself checks out. Ask any business here for its licence number directly if you want to check it against the relevant council's register yourself.