The way a boarding reservation falls apart is at the counter, on the morning you are leaving. The records get handed over, the kennel-cough dose turns out to be three days old, and the facility will not take the dog. Nothing here is expensive or hard to find. Several pieces of it simply have lead times, which makes boarding a scheduling problem wearing a packing list's clothes.
Everything the facility needs from you sorts into proof and instructions. Proof means current vaccination records, and the timing matters as much as the checkbox, since veterinary guidance is to give the kennel-cough vaccine about a week before boarding so immunity has time to build. Instructions are the part nobody thinks to write down: how much food and in what order, which noises frighten the animal, and how far staff may go on veterinary care if they cannot reach you.
Book the veterinary appointment before you book the kennel, and confirm the pickup time in writing rather than leaving it as an understanding.
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01
Food & Feeding
Send the food they already eat, portioned by meal. Staff feeding a room full of animals will not measure, and a diet change during a stressful week is how a stay ends in an upset stomach.
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Portioned Meals in Ziplock Bags
One bag per meal, dated or numbered. It removes any question about whether a feeding happened and makes leftovers a useful signal at pickup.
Write it as a sequence someone can follow without you: when, how much, what goes on top, and what to do if the bowl comes back full.
Bring
Note Any Allergies
Include the treats staff are likely to reach for by default, since that is where an unlisted allergy usually surfaces.
Bring
02
Health & Meds
Requirements vary by facility and some vaccines need lead time, so this is the section to sort out weeks ahead rather than the night before.
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Prescription Meds with Instructions
Send them in the original labeled container with the dose and schedule written separately, and count out a few extra in case pickup slips a day.
Bring
Current Vaccination Records
Rabies is required by state law nearly everywhere; the rest is set by the facility and commonly includes distemper-parvo and kennel cough, sometimes canine influenza. Ask both your veterinarian and the kennel well before the stay, since some of these need days or weeks to take effect.
Bring
Vet Contact & After-Hours Number
Bring
Flea & Tick Prevention Applied
Apply it on your veterinarian's schedule rather than the day before. Many facilities check, and shared spaces are exactly where an untreated animal picks something up.
Bring
Note Existing Conditions
Arthritis, seizures, deafness, and anxiety all change how staff should handle your pet. Write them down even if you mentioned them when booking.
Bring
03
Comfort & Familiarity
Smell settles an animal faster than anything you can buy. Send things that are already worn or slept on, and nothing you would be upset to lose.
Sleep in it the night before rather than pulling it clean from a drawer. The point is the smell, and a washed shirt does not carry one.
Bring
Written Routine & Quirks
The useful details are behavioral: resource guarding around food, fear of thunder, a refusal to go out in the rain. Staff can work with any of it if they know in advance.
Assume you will be unreachable at the worst moment. Everything here exists so a decision can be made without you.
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Your Cell Number & Trip Dates
Bring
Emergency Contact if Unreachable
Pick someone local who could physically collect your pet, not only someone who answers the phone.
Bring
Pre-Authorize Vet Care & Limit
Name a dollar figure and your veterinarian's clinic in writing. Without one, a facility that cannot reach you is left guessing during exactly the situation where guessing is worst.
Bring
Confirm Pickup Date & Time
Bring
Tips
1Do a single overnight stay before a long trip, so the first separation is not also the longest one.
2Ask what the facility does when an animal stops eating, and after how long they call you. The answer tells you more about the place than the tour does.
3Leave the collar and ID on your pet and pack a labeled spare, since collars often come off for group play and are the thing that gets separated.
4Photograph the records and the written instructions before you hand them over, so you can answer a question by phone from another time zone.
Common questions
What vaccinations does my dog need for boarding?
Rabies is required by state law in most places, and facilities usually add a distemper-parvo combination and kennel-cough protection, with canine influenza required or recommended in some areas. Accepted intervals differ from one kennel to the next, so confirm the specific list with the facility and ask your veterinarian which are appropriate for your animal.
How far ahead should my pet be vaccinated before boarding?
Further ahead than most people expect. Veterinary guidance for the kennel-cough vaccine is roughly a week before the stay so immunity can develop, and a first-time canine influenza series runs two doses several weeks apart. If a stay is booked for next week and the shots are not current, ask the facility what they will accept before assuming it works.
What information should I leave with a boarding facility?
Your cell number and trip dates, a local emergency contact who could collect your pet, your veterinarian and an after-hours clinic, feeding and medication instructions in writing, any conditions or behavioral quirks, a pre-authorized limit for veterinary care, and a confirmed pickup date and time. The goal is that someone could make a reasonable decision without reaching you at all.