What is home boarding?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Home boarding means your pet stays in a sitter's own home while you are away, living as part of the household rather than in a kennel run. It suits sociable dogs that settle well in new places. Good sitters take few pets, meet each one first and keep its records. On Petym, every sitter's home is checked by video first.
Also called pet boarding at home, dog home boarding, cage-free boarding, boarding in a sitter's home.
Key facts
- England defines dog home boarding as housing other people's dogs for day and overnight stays inside a domestic home, not in outdoor kennels. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- There, dogs from different households may be boarded together only with the written consent of every owner. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- A documented trial session must familiarise a dog with the other dogs, including resident dogs, before it boards. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Dogs must not be routinely left alone for more than 3 hours in any 24, and must be exercised at least once a day. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Sitters must see an up-to-date vaccination record, with primary courses completed at least 2 weeks before boarding. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
How is home boarding different from a kennel or pet hostel?
The pet lives in a family home, with the sitter's routine, rather than in a run or a room at a business.
In home boarding, a dog sleeps where the sitter's family sleeps, walks on the sitter's usual routes and fits into the sitter's day. Group sizes are small, which many owners prefer for a dog that has never been away. A kennel or pet hostel cares for more animals on business premises, with staff in shifts.
England's statutory guidance for licensed home boarders, used here only as a reference point, shows what careful home boarding looks like: a maximum number of dogs written on the licence, no more than 10 dogs per member of staff, every dog's microchip number, vaccinations, vet and emergency contact on a register, and a key holder able to reach the home within 30 minutes in an emergency.
What should a good home-boarding sitter check before your pet stays?
Drawn from England's statutory guidance for licensed home boarders. Expect to be asked for these.
- Your pet's vaccination record, with primary courses completed at least 2 weeks before the stay. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- A trial meeting with the sitter's own pets and any other boarders. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Your written consent if your dog will share the home with dogs from another household. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Your contact details, an emergency contact and your vet's details. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- The dates of your pet's last worming and flea and tick treatment. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Its microchip number, and its diet, medicines and habits. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
What does Petym check before a sitter can host pets?
Petym is pre-launch. These are the checks every sitter must pass before being listed, when a city opens.
Identity
PAN-verified
Every sitter's identity is verified with their PAN.
The home
Video walk-through
Petym does a video walk-through of the sitter's home before they can host pets.
The society
Housing society permission
The sitter must have their housing society's permission for paid pet sitting in their home.
Safety
First aid and a named vet
Pet first-aid training before the first booking, and a named 24-hour vet within reach.
Numbers
A pet limit for the home
Each home has a set limit on how many pets it can take at once.
Which pets suit home boarding, and which do not?
Home boarding suits confident, sociable dogs that are relaxed with new people and, if the sitter has them, other dogs. It can also suit a dog whose own home would leave it alone too long. It is often less suitable for cats, which tend to cope better in their own territory with drop-in visits or a sitter who stays, and for pets that are very anxious, unwell, or reactive to other animals.
On Petym, the sitter follows your pet's plan as you wrote it, logs feeding, walks and medicines, and sends a daily photo update every day. In an emergency the sitter calls you and takes your pet to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list. You meet the sitter free 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 better than a kennel?
- It depends on the dog. Home boarding gives a family setting and small numbers, which suits many dogs that have never been away. A well-run kennel can suit dogs that do better with set routines and their own space. Visit or meet the sitter first, and check how many animals they take.
Will my dog be with other dogs in home boarding?
- Possibly: the sitter may have their own pets or other boarders. In England, dogs from different households may board together only with every owner's written consent, after a trial meeting. Ask the sitter who else will be there, and on Petym, each home has a set pet limit.
What vaccinations does my dog need for home boarding?
- Sitters usually ask for an up-to-date vaccination record. England's rules for licensed home boarders require primary courses completed at least 2 weeks before boarding. Ask your vet well ahead of the stay, because some vaccines need time to work.
Can cats go to home boarding?
- Some can, but many cats cope better in their own home with drop-in visits or a sitter who stays. RSPCA Australia says home-based care suits cats that prefer few changes and are stressed by unfamiliar animals or places.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in services and booking
- Background checkA background check is what a pet care service verifies about a sitter before they care for your pet and enter your home. It can cover identity, police verification, references, training and the sitter's home. Services differ widely, so ask what was checked. Petym verifies identity with PAN; police verification is not one of its stated checks.
- Care sheetA care sheet is the written plan you leave for whoever looks after your pet: what and when it eats, walks and toilet routine, medicines and how to give them, habits and fears, and who to call, including your vet. Welfare bodies list these as the essentials. On Petym, the sitter follows your plan as written and logs each task.
- Daily photo updateA daily photo update is a photo of your pet, with a short note, that the sitter sends each day of a booking, so you can see your pet is fed, well and settled. The best updates are specific: food, walks, toilet, medicines and mood. On Petym, a daily photo update is sent every day of every booking.
- Doggy day careDoggy day care is daytime care for your dog while you work: you drop it off in the morning and collect it in the evening, with no overnight stay. The dog gets company, play, walks and rest instead of a long day alone. Good day care screens each dog first and keeps groups small.
- Drop-in visitA drop-in visit is when a pet sitter comes to your home, once or more a day, to feed your pet, refresh water, clean the litter tray or take the dog out, give medicines and spend time with it, then leaves. It suits cats and independent pets that are happier at home. On Petym, drop-in visits are paid per visit.
- Group dog walkA group dog walk is when one walker takes several dogs from different homes out together, instead of a solo walk with one dog. It can give sociable dogs company and exercise, but more dogs means less control near traffic and street dogs. As a benchmark, England's licensing guidance caps a day care walker at 6 dogs at once.
- House sittingHouse sitting means someone lives in your home while you are away, looking after the house and often the pets. The arrangement is built around the home: security, plants, post. Pet sitting is built around the animal: its meals, walks, medicines and company. Many pet owners want both, which is what an overnight pet sitter staying in your home provides.
- Key handoverA key handover is the agreed way a pet sitter gets into your home: a key handed over, one left with a trusted neighbour or the society office, or a digital lock code. In a flat it also means telling the watchman the sitter is expected. Done well, it is planned, written down and reversed when the booking ends.
- Meet and greetA meet and greet is a short visit before any booking where the owner, the pet and the sitter meet. You see how the sitter handles your pet and ask questions; your pet learns the sitter's face and smell. Welfare bodies advise meeting a sitter before hiring. On Petym, the meet and greet is free, before the first booking.
- Overnight pet sittingOvernight pet sitting means a sitter stays in your home, including overnight, while you are away, so your pet keeps its own home, routine and company. It suits dogs that cannot be left alone, senior pets, pets on medicine and anxious animals. It is Petym's main service: the sitter follows your pet's plan and is paid by the day.
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Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources