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. If a cat needs placing too, four of the ranked firms board both under one roof. 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]. The council grants licences running one, two or three years, and the holder must show the licence number in every advert and display the licence on the premises [3]. Businesses meeting the higher standards earn four or five stars and qualify for the longer licences, which is why the star rating beside the number deserves a look [4]. Ask for the licence number and the star rating, and expect to see the number on the website and the paperwork. If anything looks off, check with the council licensing team before you pay a deposit.
Where you live in the borough changes the practical questions. In the Ironbridge Gorge, an Article 4 direction removes several permitted development rights, so outbuildings, extensions, fences and hard surfaces that would pass unnoticed elsewhere can need planning permission [5]. That matters for a home boarder in a Gorge cottage or a kennel block near Madeley or Coalport: speak to the council planning desk before building anything. Parking runs tight on Gorge lanes and outside the older terraces of Wellington and Dawley, so agree drop-off and collection times that leave neighbours room, and ask a rural site about winter access down unlit lanes.
Home boarding raises a housing question first. If you rent, or the lease limits pets, get the landlord or management company to agree in writing before a boarder's dog crosses the threshold. Town-centre flats rarely suit a home stay, which is why the ranked home boarders work from family houses with fenced gardens. For a kennel build on the rural fringe toward Newport or Shifnal, the licence inspection judges the accommodation itself, so bring the council guidance notes for kennels, day care or home boarding to the first conversation [1].
A typical booking runs the same course from first contact to sign-off. The enquiry sets out the breed, age, temperament, dates and any medication, and the boarder answers with availability and a headline price. Next comes the licence number with the itemised quote for comparison against a second firm on the same dates. Then visit: 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. Some set the deadline in weeks: one Walcot kennels requires kennel cough cover three weeks before boarding [7], while a Newport site requires it a fortnight ahead [10]. 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 double rates over Christmas, and ask whether the figure includes tax, because published lists differ: some print every rate with tax included while others add it at the prevailing rate on payment [6] [10]. Confirm the deposit, the balance date and what you lose if you cancel, since deposits in this trade are commonly non-refundable [9] [10].
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, kennels around Telford charge roughly £23 to £33 a day for one dog with tax included, on lists dated 2026 [6] [10]. Size moves the price: one Newport list steps through small, medium and large kennel grades up to a luxury courtyard rate with a play session [10]. Two dogs sharing typically costs less than double the single rate. Starting prices run lower on paper: one Walcot kennels starts its daily rate on a three-day stay [7], while a Grange Lane list marked correct in summer 2023 holds its single-dog rate below the 2026 lists, adding tax on payment [9].
Luxury small-dog suites sit apart. Pooch Palace at Chetwynd Aston charges a nightly rate for one dog, with set rates for two and three sharing, covering the full itinerary from breakfast in bed to lights out [8]. A later checkout on collection day adds a daycare rate [8]. The page shows no vacancy for months ahead and closure over Christmas 2026, so peak dates bring scarcity as well as price [8].
Cats cost less everywhere. A Newport 2026 list and a Marsh Green list effective from January 2026 both publish per-day cat rates with tax included [6] [10]. A Walcot cattery starts its daily cat rate on a three-day stay [7], and a Grange Lane list from summer 2023 publishes its cat rates with tax added on payment [9]. Heated chalets, elevated levels and larger suites explain the spread between houses, and two cats sharing usually saves against two singles.
Daycare on the same site moves the total too. Published day rates span a Newport house, a Marsh Green house with separate regular and ad-hoc rates, and a Grange Lane house, each with reductions for sharing [6] [9] [10]. Extras add on: baths priced by dog size, topical medication by the day, collection and delivery, and late checkout after a daycare session [6] [10]. Peak terms bite hardest here: one Newport house doubles its rates over Christmas and sets a five-day minimum across school holidays [10], while a Marsh Green house sets a three-day minimum over bank-holiday weekends [6].
Ask whether the figure includes tax. Some Telford lists print every rate with tax included [6] [10], one publishes a tax number while adding tax at the prevailing rate on payment [9], and others state nothing at all. A quote that does not say is a question, not an answer. Get the whole stay in writing before you pay anything: the 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.
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.
Advertises boarding anywhere without showing a licence number, which the rules require in every advert [3].
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.
Adds minimum-stay or peak charges at payment time that appear nowhere in the published terms.
Has no written terms for cancellations, late collection or emergency vet care.
Demands full payment in cash before the stay with no booking confirmation.
Offers to bed your dog overnight with dogs from other households to fill space.
Will not say who stays on site with the dogs overnight.