Reference
UK dog boarding glossary
Plain-English definitions for every term used in UK dog boarding — from the Animal Activity Licence and Higher Standard tier through kennel cough vaccines and peak surcharges. Hand-written, sourced, and cross-linked.
Animal Activity Licence (AAL)
An Animal Activity Licence is the legal permit a UK business must hold to operate a dog boarding kennel, home-boarding service, or dog day care commercially. It is issued and inspected by the local council under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.
AAL Star Rating
England’s Animal Activity Licensing scheme awards each licensed business a star rating from 1 to 5 at inspection, based on the welfare standards it meets and the risk assessment of the premises. The rating determines the licence duration and inspection frequency.
Higher Standard
Higher Standard is the optional welfare tier under the Animal Activity Licensing scheme that an operator must achieve to be awarded a 4 or 5 star rating. It sets requirements beyond the Standard minimums.
Standard Tier
Standard tier under the Animal Activity Licensing scheme is the baseline welfare grade. Operators meeting Standard are fully licensed but cannot be awarded more than 3 stars.
Home Boarding
Home boarding is a licensed dog boarding model in which a single licence holder takes dogs into their own home for overnight stays. It is regulated separately from boarding kennels under the same Animal Activity Licensing scheme.
Boarding Kennel
A boarding kennel is a purpose-built facility where dogs stay overnight in dedicated runs or kennel buildings with on-site staff. It is regulated under the boarding-kennels activity of the Animal Activity Licensing scheme.
Dog Day Care
Dog day care is a licensed activity for daytime supervised care of dogs without an overnight stay. Operators must hold a separate dog day care activity on their Animal Activity Licence.
Licensed Operator
A licensed operator is a dog boarding business holding a current Animal Activity Licence from its local council. Every operator we publish meets this bar at the time of last verification.
Kennel Cough Vaccine
Kennel cough vaccine (Bordetella bronchiseptica) is the additional vaccination most UK boarding kennels require beyond the core vaccinations of distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, and leptospirosis. It must usually be given at least 7–14 days before boarding.
Peak Surcharge
A peak surcharge is an additional fee charged by a dog boarder during peak-demand periods such as Christmas, New Year, Easter, August bank holiday week, and the summer holiday weeks. Surcharges typically add 10–30% to the standard nightly rate.
Multi-Dog Discount
A multi-dog discount is a reduced per-dog nightly rate offered when boarding more than one dog from the same household. Typical discounts range from 10% to 50% off the second dog’s rate.
Verification Score
Verification Score is our proprietary 0–100 score measuring how complete and current the publicly verifiable data is for an operator. It captures whether we have a verified licence status, star rating, published prices, and other signals — not whether the operator is good.