Boarding, Day Care & the Home
Who is allowed to look after your dog while you are away, and to what standard.
The IBPSA is a trade body, strongest in the United States, that publishes voluntary operational standards for boarding and pet-care businesses. They cover sanitation, animal handling, emergency procedures and staff training in a sector with little federal regulation. Adoption is a business choice rather than a legal duty, but the standards give operators a recognized framework and customers a marker of professionalism.
The Pet Industry Federation is a leading UK trade association whose codes of practice cover boarding and animal-care operators. The codes address enclosure standards, health management, contracts and staff competence, and serve as a sector reference for good practice. Membership and compliance are voluntary, sitting on top of statutory licensing as an additional, industry-set marker of quality.
The Canadian veterinary profession’s voluntary national code for kennel operations, now in its third edition and grounded in the Five Freedoms. It sets standards across housing and facilities, food and water, animal well-being, husbandry and responsible breeding, transport, and end-of-life care, serving as Canada’s common reference where everyday welfare is otherwise a provincial matter.
Published as RDRS-01, this is an open standard defining what it means for a home to genuinely welcome a dog rather than merely tolerate one. Its fourteen requirements span fair and transparent terms, with no breed or size bans and fees disclosed up front, alongside welfare and provision within the building. The text is free to read and adopt, and certification is granted only after assessment by the body’s licensed officers.
The same 2018 licensing regime that governs breeding also covers commercial boarding kennels, home boarders and dog day care in England. Operators must be licensed and inspected against standards for housing, supervision, hygiene and exercise, and display a one-to-five star rating that sets how long their license lasts. Running such a service without a license is an offense, giving owners a statutory floor of care.