A real alternative to dog kennels

Home boarding — your dog stays in a vetted sitter's own house as a guest, sleeping indoors and getting walked twice a day. For shorter trips, the other option is a sitter doing drop-in visits at your house so your dog never leaves home at all.

It's broadly comparable. Irish kennels run roughly €22–€40 a night; PawPals home boarding is €35–€70 depending on county and season. You're paying for one-to-one care in a house rather than a shared facility, and second dogs from the same household add about 50% rather than a second full fee.

Usually, yes. Kennels are loud — concrete runs, dozens of unfamiliar dogs, limited human contact between checks. A dog that stress-barks, refuses food or comes home exhausted from kennels tends to settle much better in a quiet house with one family.

Vaccination is required either way — no reputable boarder or kennel will take an unvaccinated dog. For reactive dogs, home boarding with a sitter who takes only your household is often safer than a kennel, because there's no shared yard. Filter for 'one household at a time' and say plainly what your dog's triggers are.

See the actual house and the garden, confirm the fence height, ask how many other dogs will be there, agree the walking routine, and confirm what happens if your dog needs a vet. Do all of it in a free meet-and-greet before you pay.

Every PawPals booking includes our care guarantee: the sitter contacts your nominated vet, we cover emergency treatment while we reach you, and your payment is held in escrow until the stay finishes. Kennels vary widely on this — ask for it in writing.