How we chose
We started from the boarding businesses Google Maps shows across Telford and its villages. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and its licence statement appears on its own pages, since boarding cats and dogs needs a council licence under national rules [1] [2]. Eight of the eleven met all three. What customers say counts most toward the score, then qualifications, then whether the firm has traded two years or more and whether its cover is stated, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Match the setup to your dog first. A traditional kennels gives your dog its own heated sleeping quarters with scheduled exercise, which suits dogs that value their own space. A home boarder takes a handful of dogs into a family house, which suits dogs that fret in kennels but brings house rules and other pets to ask about. Several Telford sites pair boarding with daycare, grooming or training, which suits a dog that already spends days there. When you first enquire, give the breed, age, temperament and dates.
Check the licence before you book. Boarding cats and dogs is licensable work: the national regulations require anyone providing it to hold a council licence, and Telford and Wrekin publishes the conditions for kennels, catteries, day care and home boarding [1] [2]. Ask for the licence number and the star rating, and expect to see the number on the website and the paperwork — every ranked firm in our table states one. If anything looks off, check with the council licensing team before you pay a deposit.
See the place before you commit. Ask to look round the sleeping quarters, the exercise areas and the isolation space for poorly dogs, and meet the people who will handle yours. Some Telford kennels run viewings on pre-booked appointments at set hours, so ring ahead rather than turning up. For a home boarder, meet the household, see the garden fencing and ask how many dogs stay at once. A trial day or a single overnight stay settles most doubts.
Sort the health paperwork early. Every reputable kennels asks for proof of up-to-date vaccinations before it confirms a booking, and several publish a full vaccination policy, so ask your vet what your dog needs and when. Tell the boarder about medication, allergies, seasons and quirks in writing, and agree how tablets or treatment are given. Bring your own food measured into daily portions plus something that smells of home.
Get the quote itemised in writing. It should show the nightly or daily rate, exactly what that covers — food, heating, exercise, medication — and every extra with its price, from baths and grooming to late checkout. Ask about minimum stays and peak-weekend terms, since some sites charge a minimum over bank holidays, and ask whether the figure includes tax, because published lists differ. Confirm the deposit, the balance date and what you lose if you cancel.
Finish with paperwork you can file. Keep the booking confirmation, the written terms with the licence number on them, the emergency vet authorisation saying which practice is used and who pays, and a note of the insurance position. Agree the drop-off and collection times and what a late pickup costs. Then check the confirmation matches what you were quoted before you pay the balance, and keep everything until you are home with the dog.
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough Telford rates run like this: kennels charge £23 to £31.50 a day for one dog, with the luxury small-dog hotel at the top of the table charging £52 a night for its suites. Two dogs sharing typically costs less than double the single rate. Cats run £13 to £15 a day, and day care sits from £30.
What moves the price is company and calendar. A second dog sharing, a larger kennel grade, school holidays and bank-holiday weekends all push it up, and several sites set minimum stays over peaks. Extras add on: baths, grooming, medication visits, collection and delivery, and late checkout after a daycare session. Longer stays sometimes earn a steadier rate, so ask.
Ask whether the figure includes tax. Some Telford lists print every rate with tax included, others publish a tax number but leave the position unclear, and some state nothing at all. A quote that does not say is a question, not an answer — confirm the tax-inclusive total before you compare two firms.
Get the whole stay in writing before you pay anything: the nightly rate, what food, heating, exercise and medication it covers, each extra with its price, the minimum charge and peak terms, the deposit and cancellation terms, and who pays the vet if treatment is needed. Agree the collection time and the late-pickup charge, then keep the confirmation with the quote.
Red flags
Books your dog in without asking for proof of vaccinations.
Cannot show a licence number on its site, terms or paperwork when you ask.
Refuses a look round the kennels or rooms where your dog will sleep.
Quotes a nightly figure that will not say what food, exercise and extras it covers.
Has no written terms for cancellations, late collection or emergency vet care.
Demands full payment in cash before the stay with no booking confirmation.
Will not say who stays on site with the dogs overnight.
The bottom line
For most Telford owners, start with Pooch Palace: one organised luxury stay, a printed daily routine and clear nightly rates with the licence number and rating on the page, though you will need to book well ahead. If you would rather have daycare and boarding on one flexible site, K9 Anytime is the close alternative, after confirming prices yourself.
Match the firm to the dog as well as the diary. Chetwynd Firs covers cats and dogs together, Haleswood suits social dogs that thrive in company, and Kerrina's or Hayden's suit dogs that settle better in a family house. Then shortlist two, visit both, and compare written quotes on the same dates before you decide.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.