Dog Boarding and Daycare in St. Louis: Real Prices, and How to Check a Kennel
Revised July 27, 2026
How much does dog boarding cost in St. Louis?
Published St. Louis rates: standard boarding $34–$60/night, suites $54.50–$86.50, full-day daycare $21–$48. Cheapest published is Muttropolitan (5280 Fyler Ave) at $34/night, $21 daycare. Also publishing: Creve Coeur Animal Hospital ($40–$53.50 by weight), Silver Maple ($44–$54.50), WestInn ($45), The Watering Bowl ($53), Petropolis ($53–$73), Dogtopia Ellisville ($58), Sled & Breakfast ($60). ⭐ Missouri LICENSES and INSPECTS boarding kennels — unannounced, at least yearly — and reports are public, but there is NO searchable database: call (573) 751-3076. Rabies + DHPP + bordetella are near-universal; only Silver Maple REQUIRES canine influenza. ⚠️ North county has just 2 verified facilities and Jefferson County none.
Keep reading ↓Missouri licenses and inspects dog boarding kennels. The inspections are unannounced, they happen at least once a year, and the reports are public records.
Almost nobody knows this, because there is no website to search. You have to ask the state for the file.
Every “best boarding in St. Louis” list ranks by star rating. None of them mention the inspection reports. Here’s how to actually check a kennel, what boarding really costs here based only on facilities that publish their rates, and the one vaccine question that separates them.
How much does dog boarding cost in St. Louis?
Based only on metro facilities that publish rates on their own websites, standard overnight boarding for one dog runs about $34 to $60 a night, with suites and luxury rooms from about $54.50 to $86.50. Full-day daycare runs about $21 to $48, dropping toward $17 a day with an unlimited membership. The cheapest published boarding we found is Muttropolitan at $34; the low end for daycare is also Muttropolitan at $21. Holiday surcharges are common, typically around $10 a night where they’re disclosed.
The thing nobody tells you: the state inspects these
Under Missouri’s Animal Care Facilities Act, a boarding kennel must hold a state license — a separate one for each physical location. Licenses run annually, and the law covers boarding operations regardless of what they call themselves.
The Missouri Department of Agriculture states that routine inspections happen at least once yearly, that they are unannounced, and that they occur between 7am and 7pm on weekdays. Complaint-driven and follow-up inspections happen on top of that.
Inspection reports, complaints and investigative reports are all obtainable — the Department says so plainly — through a Missouri Sunshine Law records request.
But there is no public database. You cannot type a kennel’s name into a state website and see its record. You have to submit a records request, or call the Animal Care Facilities Program at (573) 751-3076 or email acfa@mda.mo.gov.
That friction is the whole reason this matters. The reports exist, they’re legally yours, and essentially nobody asks — so a facility’s inspection history plays no part in the reviews you read.
The program has teeth, too. In 2025 the state denied a license to St. Louis County’s own animal shelter in Olivette after three failed inspections that documented undersized kennels, expired medications, and insects in food storage. That’s a county shelter rather than a private boarding kennel — different kind of facility, same licensing program — but it shows the inspections are real.
One honest caveat about daycare
We want to be precise here, because this is where other write-ups would overreach.
Overnight boarding clearly requires a license. The Department’s own guidance frames the trigger as animals being cared for overnight away from the owner’s home for consideration. It also says training and grooming on their own are not regulated in Missouri — only if the animals stay overnight.
What the guidance never addresses is a daycare-only facility where no dog stays the night. The underlying regulation is worded broadly enough that it might apply; the Department’s published FAQ doesn’t say. So we’re not going to tell you every dog daycare in St. Louis is inspected, because that isn’t established. If it matters to you, ask the Department directly about that specific facility.
What the metro actually charges
Ten facilities publish rates openly. That is genuinely useful, and it is also a decent proxy for how a business treats customers.
Muttropolitan, 5280 Fyler Ave in south city — $34 a night, $62 for two dogs, $96 for three; daycare $21 full day, $16 half. The lowest published rates we found.
Creve Coeur Animal Hospital, 12550 Olive Blvd — priced by weight, from $40 for a dog under 20 pounds up to $53.50 for one near 88 pounds, with suites to $71. Vet-attached boarding, which is worth considering for a senior dog or one on medication.
Silver Maple Pet Center, 2014 N Ballas Rd in Des Peres — $44 small, $49.50 medium, $54.50 large, villas $78.
WestInn Kennels, in Wentzville and Dardenne Prairie — $45 a night, with 10% off for three or more pets.
The Watering Bowl, with locations in Brentwood, on Manchester in the city, and in St. Peters — $53 standard, $59.50 suite, plus $10 on holidays; daycare $37 full day, and multi-day packages down to $30 a day.
Petropolis, in Chesterfield and St. Charles — $53 to $73 by room size, with daycare at $48 and a 30-day package at $1,258.20.
Dogtopia of Ellisville, 15400 Manchester Rd — $58 a night if you’re on a daycare plan, $68 if not, private suite $15 more.
Sled & Breakfast, 1051 Old Gravois Rd in Fenton — $60 standard, $70 luxury suite.
Williamsburg Pet Hotel, 13998 Manchester Rd in Ballwin, operating since 1962 — daycare $40 drop-in, but memberships bring it down steeply, with unlimited working out near $16.66 a day if you go often.
A note on the numbers you’ll see elsewhere: the widely quoted “$40 a night average for St. Louis” comes from a sitter marketplace and prices in-home pet sitters, not commercial kennels. Different product, different rules. Don’t compare them.
The vaccine that tells you something
Nearly every facility here requires the same three: rabies, distemper/parvo (DHPP or DHLPP), and bordetella. That’s the baseline and it isn’t a differentiator.
The differentiator is canine influenza. Of everything we checked, only Silver Maple requires H3N2. Petropolis, WestInn and The Watering Bowl recommend it without requiring it. Nobody else mentions it.
Neither approach is wrong — requiring it is stricter, recommending it is more accommodating — but it tells you how a facility thinks about contagion, and it’s a concrete question you can ask.
A few other requirements worth knowing before you show up: The Watering Bowl asks for a negative fecal test. Most places require a temperament evaluation before a first stay — Petropolis runs a one-to-two-hour assessment, The Watering Bowl a 45-minute session. Several require spay or neuter above six or seven months; Petropolis doesn’t require it but won’t take intact males over a year or any female in heat. Sled & Breakfast states plainly that it has no breed restrictions for boarding, which not every facility can say.
Is anybody there overnight?
This is the question most owners assume they know the answer to, and most facilities simply don’t address it.
Four say something concrete on their own sites. Sled & Breakfast is the clearest: someone is on site 24/7. WestInn advertises around-the-clock care staff. Happy Tails in St. Ann states it is open 24/7. And Baronwood Kennels in Florissant — family owned since 1971 — has owners who live on the property, which for overnight monitoring and severe weather is arguably better than a staffed shift.
Everyone else is silent on it. That silence is not evidence that dogs are left alone — plenty of good facilities simply never thought to put it on the website. But it does mean the answer isn’t published, so you have to ask. It’s a fair question and a reasonable business will answer it directly.
Where the metro is thin
Coverage is wildly uneven, and it’s worth knowing before you start calling.
West county is saturated — Silver Maple, Petropolis, Williamsburg, Dogtopia Ellisville, Country Acres in Manchester and Creve Coeur Animal Hospital all sit within a short drive. St. Charles County is well served too. The city has real options: Muttropolitan on Fyler, The Watering Bowl on Manchester, No Leash Needed on Hampton, Arch City Dog Boarding at 6256 Gravois — which caps at twelve dogs at a time and states plainly that it’s licensed — and Holly Hills Pet Hotel at 4152 Toenges.
North county is the weakest part of the metro. We verified two: Baronwood in Florissant and Happy Tails in St. Ann. South county is thin as well — Camp Bow Wow in Crestwood and Sled & Breakfast in Fenton. The Metro East has a handful: Traveling Tails Inn in Edwardsville, All Paws Inn in Belleville, No Leash Needed in O’Fallon.
And Jefferson County — Arnold, Imperial, Festus — produced nothing we could verify at all.
One thing to watch if you’re searching from north county: a facility called North of the River Pet Resort comes up on those searches and is in Bakersfield, California. We nearly listed it ourselves.
What to ask before you book
Five questions, each of which has a right answer somewhere above.
1. Are you licensed under the Missouri Animal Care Facilities Act, and when was your last inspection? A boarding kennel should answer this without hesitating.
2. Is a person physically in the building overnight?
3. Do you require canine influenza vaccination, or only recommend it?
4. What happens if my dog stops eating or seems sick — at what point do you call me, and at what point do you call a vet?
5. Is there a holiday surcharge, and is daycare during a boarding stay included or extra?
Then, if you want the thing nobody does: call the state at (573) 751-3076 and ask for the facility’s inspection record. It is a public document and it costs you a phone call.
A word on webcams and touring
Several places offer live cameras — the Dogtopia locations, Traveling Tails Inn in Edwardsville with nineteen streams, No Leash Needed through its customer portal. Cameras are genuinely reassuring and also genuinely limited: they show you the playroom during the day, which is rarely where the questions are.
Tour in person, and ask to see where the dogs actually sleep, not just where they play. Dogtopia’s Rock Hill location, for instance, publishes something specific and checkable — three fully separated playrooms on separate HVAC systems, so the rooms don’t share air. Country Acres in Manchester gives each dog its own area with a window and direct access to a covered outdoor patio. Those are the kinds of details you can verify with your own eyes in ten minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to board a dog in St. Louis?
Among metro facilities that publish rates, standard overnight boarding runs about $34 to $60 a night for one dog, and suites about $54.50 to $86.50. Muttropolitan on Fyler Ave is the cheapest published at $34; Sled & Breakfast in Fenton is $60 standard. Holiday surcharges of around $10 a night are common.
How much does it cost to board a dog for 30 days?
At published St. Louis rates of roughly $34–$60 a night, thirty days runs about $1,020 to $1,800 before any package discount. Petropolis publishes a 30-day daycare package at $1,258.20. For a stay that long, ask about extended-stay pricing directly — most facilities discount it but few advertise it.
Is it stressful for a dog to be boarded?
It can be, particularly on a first stay, which is why most St. Louis facilities require a temperament evaluation before boarding — a 45-minute to two-hour session. A short trial daycare day or overnight before a long trip is the standard way to reduce it, and most facilities here will accommodate that.
Is it better to board your dog or leave at home?
It depends on the dog. A social dog often does well in group daycare-style boarding; an anxious, senior, or medicated dog may do better at home with a sitter, or at a vet-attached facility like Creve Coeur Animal Hospital. One real difference: Missouri licenses and inspects boarding kennels, and an in-home arrangement generally isn’t inspected the same way.
What's the longest you should board a dog?
There is no fixed limit, and facilities here routinely handle multi-week stays — several publish 20- and 30-day packages. For longer stays, ask how the facility handles routine, exercise and check-ins, and whether daycare is included during boarding, which some places bundle and others bill separately.
How do I check if a St. Louis boarding kennel is licensed?
Call the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Animal Care Facilities Program at (573) 751-3076 or email acfa@mda.mo.gov. There is no public searchable database, so you must ask — but inspection reports, complaints and investigative reports are public records available through a Sunshine Law request.
What vaccinations does my dog need for boarding in St. Louis?
Rabies, distemper/parvo (DHPP or DHLPP) and bordetella are required almost everywhere. Canine influenza is the variable — Silver Maple Pet Center requires H3N2, while Petropolis, WestInn and The Watering Bowl recommend it without requiring it. The Watering Bowl also asks for a negative fecal test.
Does someone stay overnight at dog boarding facilities?
Only a few St. Louis facilities publish an answer. Sled & Breakfast states someone is on site 24/7, WestInn advertises around-the-clock staff, Happy Tails is open 24/7, and Baronwood’s owners live on the property. Most facilities say nothing either way, which means you have to ask — it is not evidence dogs are left alone.
Do you board dogs in north county or Jefferson County? We verified only two facilities across all of north county, and none at all in Arnold, Imperial or Festus — while west county has six within a short drive. If you operate out there, people are searching and finding nothing near them. Listing your facility takes a few minutes — and publishing your rates and license status is what actually wins these bookings.
Also useful: how to choose a dog groomer. Or browse pet services on St Louis Near Me Directory.
Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.