--- title: "The Ruff House Dog Center Ltd. — Philadelphia, PA" url: "https://dogsaway.co/philadelphia-pa/the-ruff-house-dog-center-ltd/" updated: "2026-10-20" data_pulled: "2026-10-20" census_at: "2026-10-20" source: "Dogs Away — public Google Business profile (identity, rating) + Dogs Away disclosure census of the facility's own website" license: "All rights reserved. Read and cite freely. No bulk copying. (https://dogsaway.co/terms/)" attribution: "Source: Dogs Away (dogsaway.co)" --- # The Ruff House Dog Center Ltd. Dog day care center in Ardmore, PA — part of the Dogs Away index of dog boarding and daycare in Philadelphia, PA (https://dogsaway.co/philadelphia-pa/). **★4.9 from 169 Google reviews, Dogs Away score 9.7/10.** The Dogs Away score is a Bayesian-adjusted Google rating on a 0–10 scale (prior weight 25 reviews at the 4.669 network mean). ## Facts - **Services:** daycare, boarding - **Address:** 1802 Karakung Dr, Ardmore, PA 19003 - **Phone:** (484) 416-0424 - **Website:** https://www.rhdogs.com/ - **Google Maps profile (verify):** https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=The%20Ruff%20House%20Dog%20Center%20Ltd.&query_place_id=ChIJ8fwzePTBxokRdy2_jHozD7c ## Hours | Day | Hours | | --- | --- | | Monday | 7 AM–6 PM | | Tuesday | 7 AM–6 PM | | Wednesday | 7 AM–6 PM | | Thursday | 7 AM–6 PM | | Friday | 7 AM–6 PM | | Saturday | 8 AM–4 PM | | Sunday | Closed | ## Booking terms, safety and care - **Breed & size limits:** No breed restrictions (stated on daycare page) — facility's words: "Breed Restrictions : We currently do not operate with any breed restrictions." (https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/) - **Unaltered dogs & females in heat:** Daycare: females in heat are asked to stay home for at least 3 weeks — facility's words: "Dogs approaching their heat cycle or go into heat while in our facility will be asked to leave and remain home for a minimum of 3 weeks." (https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/) - **Minimum age (months):** Daycare: dogs must be at least 4 months old — facility's words: "Dogs attending our daycare must be at least 4 months of age" (https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/) - **Cancellation:** Boarding: full deposit refund with 7+ days' notice; shorter notice has a different refund tier — facility's words: "CANCELLATION POLICY: We know things come up and sometimes you may need to alter or cancel your stay. In the instance you need to cancel, we have the following deposit refund options: 7+ Days: 100% refund of deposit Between 3-7 Days:" (https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/) - **Holiday minimum stay:** 3-day minimum stay on holidays (Spring Break, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) and other high-demand periods — facility's words: "Holidays (Spring Break, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) as well as other periods of high demand are subject to a 3 day stay minimum" (https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/) - **Updates during a stay:** Report cards are included in boarding pricing — facility's words: "Our all inclusive pricing includes access to daycare, medication administration, 1v1 playtime, report cards, exit baths" (https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/) - **Late pick-up:** Daycare rule: $1 per minute after 6 PM pick-up — facility's words: "All dogs must be picked up by 6pm! Late pickup’s will be charged $1 per minute up until pickup time." (https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/) ## For travelers - **PHL** (Philadelphia International): 8.6 miles, straight line - **Weekday hours span:** 7 AM to 6 PM - **Open Sunday:** no Hours from the public business profile; drop-off and pick-up windows can be narrower. ## Published rates - **Overnight boarding:** $95 per night (first dog, standard rate) - **Daycare:** $37 per day > “Rates Overnight Boarding Nightly Fee: $95.00* ... Full Day Daycare (7am-6pm) Single Day: $37.00” Source: https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/ (daycare: https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/) — checked September 9, 2026. ## Disclosure record Publishes 11 of 27 checked policies on its own website (census October 20, 2026). "Not published" is a fact about the website on that date, not a claim about the facility's practice. ### Admission requirements - **Vaccinations required:** Required: rabies, DHPP, Bordetella, canine influenza · Not mentioned: leptospirosis > “All dogs utilizing our daycare services must be up to date on Rabies, Distemper, Bordetella, and Canine Influenza vaccines with records provided by their veterinarian.” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/ - **Bordetella lead time:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Fecal / parasite test:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Spay / neuter:** Not required > “We take intact animals on a case by case basis. If they display negative behavior that may be related to their intact nature, we may dismiss them from daycare and retry after they have been altered.” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/ - **Temperament evaluation:** Required before a first stay > “All members of our daycare groups must pass our Daycare Evaluation, where we try and get an idea of how well your pup will fair in a daycare setting.” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/ - **Vaccination records:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 ### Operations - **Staff on site overnight:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Staff-to-dog ratio:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Maximum playgroup size:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Staff certification:** Pet first aid / CPR certified staff > “CPR and First Aid Certified Staff Our staff has over 40 years of dog handling experience in house and know how to render care when necessary.” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/ - **Play model:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Groups separated by:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Time out of their room:** Minimum 10 hours outside the kennel daily > “Dogs that stay with us enjoy a minimum of 10 hours outside of their kennel per day, even on weekends!” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/ - **Solo care for dogs who skip group play:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Housing:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Outdoor access:** Yard and pool > “TURFED EXERCISE YARD S WITH POOL S! A tired dog is a happy dog!” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/ - **Capacity:** 15 > “We limit the number of dogs staying overnight at our facility to 15 dogs per night!” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/ - **Climate control:** Climate-controlled > “Our top of the line Mason brand kennels are located in their own HVAC zone” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/ - **Live cameras for owners:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Photo / report-card updates:** Yes > “Our all inclusive pricing includes access to daycare, medication administration, 1v1 playtime, report cards, exit baths, and more.” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/ - **Tours:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Injury / fight policy:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Veterinary access:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Administers medication:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Feeding:** Owner's food preferred > “All feeding items should be accompanied by thorough feeding instructions. Individually bagged meals preferred. In the instance your dog requires food or runs out during their stay, we have high quality house kibble in various proteins types we will substitute for $3 per meal.” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogboarding/ - **Availability:** Not published on their website as of October 20, 2026 - **Online booking:** Yes > “portal system makes it easy to request and pay for days of daycare, boarding, or grooming services!” — https://rhdogs.com/dog-services/dogdaycare/ ## Licensing Pennsylvania licenses and inspects boarding kennels statewide, and its definition of 'boarding kennel' is unusually broad: it expressly reaches daycare, not just overnight boarding. The Dog Law (Act of Dec. 7, 1982, P.L. 784, No. 225, as amended; 3 P.S. §§ 459-101 et seq. -- not yet recodified into Pa.C.S., despite the 'Title 3 Pa.C.S. Chapter 25' framing sometimes used informally) is administered by the PA Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. Section 102 defines a 'boarding kennel' as 'any establishment available to the general public where a dog or dogs are housed for compensation by the day, week or a specified or unspecified time,' and separately extends the term to 'any establishment available to the general public that, for consideration, takes control of a dog from the owner for a portion of a day for the purposes of exercise, day care or entertainment of the dog' -- explicitly excluding only 'an establishment engaged only in dog grooming or dog training.' A kennel license is required to operate (Section 207(a.1)(1)); operating without one is a summary/misdemeanor offense and can draw a civil penalty of $1,000-$5,000 per day (Sections 207(a.1)(7), 207(a.2), 903). The Bureau inspects every licensed kennel at least twice per calendar year (Section 218(a)) and is separately authorized to inspect unlicensed establishments operating as a kennel. Boarding kennel license fees are capacity-based: Class I (1-10 dogs at a time) $125/year, Class II (11-25 dogs) $200/year, Class III (26+ dogs) $325/year (Section 206(a)(5)); licenses expire December 31 and must be renewed by January 1. Crucially, the Bureau publishes a live, public Kennel Inspections Search (pda.pa.gov) that can be filtered by county, city, kennel type and name, returning license number, current status (Open / Closed - Voluntarily / Pending Inspection), license class and a per-record inspection history with downloadable PDF reports going back roughly eight years. This is a real, joinable register -- not just a lookup that returns one record at a time and not a bulk CSV/API export, but a complete, filterable result set we retrieved and matched against every Philadelphia facility in this index by name and street address. 16 of the 25 curated Philadelphia facilities matched an Open PA kennel license; 1 (Dog School) matched five license records, every one 'Closed - Voluntarily', which corroborates that operator's own site statement that it is 'permanently closed as of 5/23/26'; 8 facilities produced no match under the names searched. A separate note on Philadelphia specifically: the Dog Law's only historical carve-out for cities of the first class (Philadelphia is Pennsylvania's sole city of that class) is Section 1201(a), and it is narrowly scoped to individual dog licensing and dog-caused-damage payments -- the reason ACCT Philly, not the state, issues per-dog licenses in the city. A parallel carve-out for kennels in first- and second-class cities, former Section 208, was deleted by amendment in 1996. Nothing in the current Dog Law exempts Philadelphia kennels from state licensing or inspection, and the search results above -- current, Open Philadelphia licenses with 2026 inspection dates -- confirm the state regime is actively applied inside the city. Market licensing detail: https://dogsaway.co/philadelphia-pa/ ## How to cite The Ruff House Dog Center Ltd., Ardmore, PA. Dogs Away, https://dogsaway.co/philadelphia-pa/the-ruff-house-dog-center-ltd/ (census October 20, 2026; listing data October 20, 2026). Source: Dogs Away (dogsaway.co). Read or cite this one record with a link. Do not bulk copy, scrape or rebuild the directory. Terms: https://dogsaway.co/terms/ Structured data: https://dogsaway.co/api/v1/facilities/philadelphia-pa/the-ruff-house-dog-center-ltd.json