How do Costs Compare between Boarding Kennels and Home Boarding?

Due to the innovative service that we provide at Home from Home you might expect the costs to be considerably higher than a standard Dog kennels, but in-fact, despite the enhanced services we provide, the difference in costs are not significant, and in many cases we are considerably cheaper than some kennels.

A simple search of Google will show that there is a wide range of potential costs for putting your Dog in a Kennels, but in general costs seem to range between £10 and £50 a day. The highest standard boarding kennels or luxury dog hotels can often be higher still.

Some Kennels will also charge extra to give your dog heating or change the pricing dependent on the size or breed of dog.

At Home from Home we charge on a daily basis for your dog starting at £24 a day for 1 dog. If you want to Home more than one dog we also apply discounts for extra dogs, the discount for 5 dogs is nearly 50%.

We even have a handy tool on our website that will help you work out how much it will cost to board your dog - http://www.homefromhomedogboarding.com/how-much-will-it-cost. (Note: These costs are correct at time of posting and may have changed since this article was written, always check our Costs page for latest pricing.)

In addition, there are no hidden costs or extra fees to pay for our service, we do not charge a registration fee or mandate that we transport your dog to and from our carer's home for an additional charge as other agencies sometimes do.

The time that you leave or collect your dog doesn’t affect the costs either; we believe in giving you flexibility, so we charge by the calendar date and not by 24 hour periods, this means that you can drop your dog off earlier or later in the day to match flight times (although we ask that you organise this with your carer in advance). If you need to arrange transport for your pooch we can organise a collection and delivery service for a small additional charge.

Payment for using us is simple, there is a non-refundable deposit that must be paid once you confirm your booking this will also guarantee the carer that has been selected for your dog. This can be paid over the telephone by debit or credit card. You pay the balance directly to the carer when you deliver your dog, payment can be by cash or cheque depending on the preference of the carer.

Obviously like everything you “get what you pay for” – so if you want your dog to go to a Home where they will be treated like one of the family, with their own home comforts and without the stress of kennels but at a price that fits your budget then why not try Home Dog-boarding via Home From Home.

How old do you think your dog is?

For many years it was always thought that to work out the age of your Dog you just multiplied the age of the dog in Human years by seven. So if you had a Dachsund who was three years old, he was actually 21 in “Dog Years”. But more recently scientists and researchers have been working to decide if calculating the age of a dog can be as arbitrary as just multiplying by 7.

After a number of years of research the statistics showed that smaller dogs actually age faster in their early years (the first two “human years”) than medium or larger dogs. However, after the first two years the breed of the dog had more influence than the size. 

They therefore created a new calculation that works on the size and breed to give a “truer” reflection than just 7 times the human years. 

To summarise the calculation they worked out that on average a “small” dog such as a Dachshund or Border Terrier would age by 12.5 years per human year, for the first two years. “Medium” dogs such as Spaniels or Retrievers would age by 10.5 years per human year for the first two years, and “Large” dogs such as German Shepherd or Boxer would age by 9 years per human year.

From the third year on, it is the breed that dictated how quickly the dog aged and the difference per breed could be quite broad, for example a Miniature Dachshund may only age by 4.32 years for each subsequent year but a Bulldog would age by 13.42 years per human year.

Therefore, a six year old Dachshund would actually be 42 in dog years (interestingly the same as if you had still used the 6 times 7 calculation), but a Boxer would be 53.

Back in May last year, the BBC Magazine did a series of interesting articles on this very subject and they even created a Dog Calculator that allows you to choose your dog breed and put in its age in human years and it will tell you how “old” you dog is.

So why not let us know how old you thought your Dog was, and how old they are based on this new calculation formula?

Enjoy your Holiday with Peace of Mind

Now that we are into the New Year and Christmas is past, the cold weather and short days make many minds extend to warmer climes and the summer holiday. Sandy Beaches and Hot Sunny Days at exotic locations are being plastered all over our television screens via the usual January campaigns from the Holiday companies.

However, for most pet owners a summer holiday, especially abroad, is out of the question unless they can find someone to look after their pet. For dog owners there are not many options available; for some the only option is Kennels, for those more lucky, they may find a family member or friend to look after their canine friend, but what if neither of these are available or acceptable?

For many dogs, being in a Kennel environment is stressful and many owners would prefer to find an alternative solution, but not all have somebody who is prepared to foster their pet for them. Some dog sitting services will look after your dog at your home, but this is often not the preference of the owner.

This is where Home from Home can help; as the largest home dog boarding agency covering London and the Home Counties, we provide an alternative to the traditional dog boarding kennel. With our solution, your dog will stay with one of our specially selected Dog Carers at their Home, on a one to one basis, so that your pet gets the undivided attention they require.

What’s more you can provide the carer with all of the things that make your dog comfortable at your home, so the environment is much more familiar to them than a traditional kennel, plus your home is not required so you can leave your home locked and secure without worry and without having to give out door keys or alarm codes to relative strangers.

So why not book that Holiday whilst you can, and also book your dog in for their own little holiday with one of our carefully selected carers. Then you can go away and sit back and relax knowing that your dog is getting the attention they deserve.

Buster's Dog Boarding Stay

Home from Home Dog Boarding is extremely proud of the many positive reviews we get from our customers. We have in excess of 20,000 happy clients that have used our dog care services throughout London and the Home Counties, some of which have left glowing reviews on our testimonial pages.

Don’t just take their word for it though. We’ve been lucky enough to get a firsthand account from Buster, loyal and cherished family pet to the Brown family in Sussex.  Here’s what Buster had to stay about his recent dog boarding stay.

“ Normally when my family go away on holiday I dread arriving at the kennels for my week stay. The staff are lovely, but the dog kennels are lonely and the other dogs make me nervous. This time we arrived somewhere different and it wasn’t even a long car ride away – I heard something about dog boarding or dog sitting I think. It was a lovely house with a big front garden. The couple who were waiting for us seemed excited to meet me and I felt relaxed with them straight away.

My owners had brought my own bed, my favourite toys and loads of my usual food. They settled me in nicely and then waved goodbye. It was a lovely quiet house with a huge back garden for me to play in. I missed my own family but my dog sitters were so kind and took me for long walks every day.   

Even when I felt lonely at night time, they took my bed upstairs so that I could sleep near to them.

The week passed so quickly and I had lots of fun with my dog boarding carers. It was great to see my own family again, but I definitely won’t get so upset the next time they go away on holiday.”

As you can see, Buster was more than happy with his time spent with one of our trusted dog boarding carers.  Why not give Home from Home Dog Boarding a call today and we can answer any questions you may have.

If you’re new to the idea of dog boarding we hope to be able to give you an insight into what it involves and what a great alternative it is to boarding kennels.

We understand that your pet is part of the family and when you have to leave them you want to know that they will be safe , well looked after and happy.

Dog home boarding provides the ideal home away from home where your dog will have one to one attention rather than pining for you in a strange lonely kennel.

All our carers are dog lovers and are carefully selected to make sure that they can provide a warm and friendly home for your pet whilst you are away. We have over 500 dog carers spread across London and the Home Counties all whom provide a one to one dog sitting service 365 days a year. They will treat your dog as part of the family and are entirely devoted to providing the best care for your pet.

For you peace of mind, we inspect our carers’ homes and insist that they have a secure garden, will not be away from the house for more than four hours at a time and have no other pets so they can provide one to one care. Every stay will be tailor made for your dog, so you can rest assured that whilst you’re away enjoying yourself on holiday, your pet is getting the love and attention they deserve.  

We recommend that you meet with your dog carer to run through your dog’s requirements and make sure that you are completely happy. Any sleeping, walking and eating patterns will be maintained whilst you are away, all you need to provide is enough food for the duration of your dog’s stay and any special bedding, toys or other items you think your dog will appreciate.

For your dog, time away from you can be stressful and traumatic; dog boarding is the ideal solution to make this separation less difficult. With Home from Home dog boarding, your dog won’t be placed in a strange environment and have to exposed to the barking and howling of other dogs. They’ll receive the undivided attention of a trusted carer and keep your dog safe and sound until your return.