Is pet boarding safe?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Boarding is usually safe for a healthy, fully vaccinated pet in a clean, secure place run by someone who checks vaccination cards, supervises properly and has a vet on call. The real risks are infections such as kennel cough where dogs mix, stress in a new place, escape through an open door or gate, and heat.
Most of those risks can be checked before you book: visit in person, ask how dogs are kept apart and kept in, and do a short trial stay. Old, unwell or very anxious pets are a different case, so ask your vet first whether a stay away is right for yours.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
What can actually go wrong at boarding?
Four risks come up again and again. Each has a check that lowers it.
| Risk | Why it happens | What lowers it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennel cough and other infections Merck Veterinary Manual | Spreads fastest where dogs are kept close together: boarding, day care and kennels | Vaccines up to date, a host who checks the card, fewer dogs mixing | |
| Stress Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine | A new place, new people and new routines; many pets skip food for the first 12 to 24 hours | A visit and trial stay first, familiar bedding, the usual food | |
| Escape Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK) | A door, gate or window left open in an unfamiliar place | Two secure barriers between the dog and any way out, an ID tag on walks | |
| Heat PDSA | Indian summers and power cuts; the UK standard asks for sleeping areas between 10 and 26°C | A cool room, a plan for power cuts, extra care for flat-faced, old and overweight dogs |
Is boarding stressful for dogs?
It can be, at least at first, and the research is more mixed than either side claims.
The best-known study measured 29 pet dogs at home and then in a boarding kennel. Stress hormone ratios in the urine were higher in the kennel, but the authors found no definitive evidence that the stay was harmful, and suggested reading each dog's own behaviour alongside the numbers. A study of working Labradors moving into a training kennel found stress hormones rose in all of them, and rose less in dogs that had been used to kennel confinement beforehand. A 2019 review of how kennelled dogs' welfare is measured concluded that individual dogs differ a great deal and more research is needed.
In practice that means two things. First, a quiet home with company through the day is a very different stay from a busy kennel, and a familiar routine helps. Second, a trial run tells you more than any study about how your own dog copes. Texas A&M's vets note that many pets refuse food for the first 12 to 24 hours somewhere new, and that mild loose stools, pacing, panting or hiding can happen at first.
How do I check a boarding place is safe?
Visit in person before you book. RSPCA Australia says to look at hygiene, temperature control, airflow and the level of care, and to ask about daily routines.
- They ask for your pet's vaccination card, plus worming and tick and flea treatment dates. Texas A&M treats a place that does not ask for vaccines as a warning sign. RSPCA Australia
- Doors, gates and windows to the outside are secure, and there are two barriers between any dog and the way out, as England's home boarding standard requires. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Dogs from different homes are only mixed with every owner's agreement, and new dogs can be kept apart. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- A named vet the host uses, and a plan agreed with you for which vet to call in an emergency. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Dogs are not routinely left alone for long: the UK standard sets no more than 3 hours in any 24. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- They keep a record for each pet: your contacts, your vet, medical and behaviour history, diet and medicines. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- They welcome questions and a tour. Texas A&M advises being wary of a place that does not. Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine
- A short trial stay is possible before the real one. RSPCA Australia
Is boarding right for my pet?
If Your dog is healthy, fully vaccinated, sociable and has stayed away before without trouble
Boarding in a well-run home usually suits. Visit first and keep the routine the same. Home boarding RSPCA Australia
If Your puppy has not finished its vaccine course
Wait. The UK standard asks for the primary course to be finished at least 2 weeks before a dog is boarded. Vaccines before boarding Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
If Your pet is old, unwell, on daily medicines or very anxious
Talk to your vet first. Texas A&M advises this for elderly, medically fragile or highly anxious pets; care at home may suit better. Overnight sitting Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine
If Your dog is flat-faced, overweight or old and the stay falls in May or June
Heat is the bigger risk. Ask where it sleeps, how the room is cooled and what happens in a power cut. PDSA
What should I watch for after a stay?
A day of extra sleep and attention-seeking is normal. These are not.
If A dry, honking cough starting in the days after the stay
Possible kennel cough, which usually shows 3 to 14 days after contact with other dogs. Keep your dog away from other dogs and call your vet. PDSA
If Coughing with fever, thick nasal discharge, dullness or not eating
See a vet the same day: these can mean pneumonia, and puppies, old dogs and dogs with other illness are more at risk. Merck Veterinary Manual
If Vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy or a big change in behaviour that keeps going
Texas A&M says persistent or severe signs should not be ignored. Call your vet. Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine
Does India have rules for pet boarding?
Not a single clear one. No central licence exists for pet sitting in an owner's home, and whether a boarding-only kennel must register under the Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules, 2017 is not settled by their text, so the question goes to your State Animal Welfare Board. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act's duty of care applies to anyone looking after an animal. That is why this page uses England's home boarding standard as a yardstick: it is a published, detailed list of what a safe home stay looks like.
Petym is not taking bookings yet. When it opens, a sitter who hosts pets will have had a video walk-through of the home by Petym, the housing society's permission for paid pet sitting, pet first-aid training and a named 24-hour vet within reach, and you get a free meet and greet before the first booking.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
Is home boarding safer than a kennel?
- Not automatically, but the risks differ. A home with one or two guest dogs means less mixing, so less chance of kennel cough, and company through the day. A home also has ordinary doors, balconies and gates, so check how dogs are kept in. Visit either kind before you book, and do a short trial stay.
Can my dog catch kennel cough at boarding?
- Yes, it can. Kennel cough spreads fastest where dogs are kept close together. The vaccine lowers the chance and severity of illness but does not stop every infection, and signs usually start 3 to 14 days after contact. Ask your vet whether your dog should have the kennel cough vaccine before a stay, given far enough ahead.
Is it normal for my dog not to eat at boarding?
- For the first day, often yes. Texas A&M's vets say many pets refuse food for the first 12 to 24 hours somewhere new. Send the usual food and bowl. If your dog still is not eating after that, or seems unwell, the host should call you and your vet.
Should an old dog go to boarding?
- Ask your vet first. Texas A&M advises a vet conversation before boarding an elderly, medically fragile or highly anxious pet, and kennel cough can be more serious in older dogs. For many senior dogs, care in their own home with a sitter keeps routine and medicines steady.
What vaccines does my dog need before boarding?
- The core vaccines against distemper, parvovirus and adenovirus, rabies, and usually leptospirosis, with a course finished well before the stay. England's home boarding standard asks for the primary course to be finished at least 2 weeks before. Your vet decides on kennel cough vaccine. See the vaccines before boarding guide.
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Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine: Planning ahead: reducing stress when boarding your pet (opens in a new tab)
- RSPCA Australia: How can I find a good boarding facility for my companion animal? (opens in a new tab)
- Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK): Home boarding for dogs licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities (updated 1 June 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: Kennel cough (opens in a new tab)
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Kennel cough (canine infectious tracheobronchitis) (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: Heatstroke in dogs (opens in a new tab)
Show all 12 sourcesShow fewer
- Animal Welfare Board of India: The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, as amended in 1982 (AWBI's copy) (opens in a new tab)
- Animal Welfare Board of India (Gazette of India copy): Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing) Rules, 2017: G.S.R. 496(E), 23 May 2017 (opens in a new tab)
- WSAVA: Core and non-core vaccines for pet dogs (opens in a new tab)
- Physiology & Behavior (2014): Physiological, physical and behavioural changes in dogs when kennelled (opens in a new tab)
- Physiology & Behavior (2007), University of Bristol: Behavioural and glucocorticoid responses of dogs to kennelling (abstract read) (opens in a new tab)
- Applied Animal Behaviour Science (2019): Assessing the welfare of kennelled dogs: a review of animal-based measures (abstract read) (opens in a new tab)