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Book the health side of a boarding stay two to four weeks ahead, not the week before. That window allows time for a wellness exam, for any vaccines a facility requires to take effect, for parasite prevention to be current, and for a written medication plan. Last minute bookings are where preventable problems and cancelled stays come from.
Why late August catches people out
The last stretch of summer is the busiest boarding period of the year on the West Side. Families squeeze in a final trip before school starts, the long weekend fills every kennel and sitter in the neighbourhood, and September brings work travel back after a quiet couple of months.
Two things go wrong at once. Facilities are full, so there is no flexibility if your booking falls through, and owners discover the health requirements only when they read the intake form. A vaccine that needs to be given a couple of weeks before arrival cannot be fixed on the Thursday before a Saturday flight, and a facility that turns a pet away at the door leaves you with a genuine problem on your hands.
Start with an honest wellness exam
A boarding stay is a stress test. Your pet will be in an unfamiliar place, on a different schedule, around other animals, and away from the person who normally notices when something is off. Conditions that are comfortably managed at home have a way of surfacing under those conditions.
An exam a few weeks ahead is worth booking for its own sake. It is the point at which a heart murmur, a sore hip, a dental problem, early kidney change or a skin issue gets found while there is still time to do something about it. For older pets or those with an ongoing condition, this is also when your veterinary team can tell you honestly whether boarding is the right choice at all, or whether an in-home sitter would suit them better. That conversation belongs in a wellness exam rather than in a phone call the day before you leave.
Where an existing condition is being managed, bloodwork or imaging through our in-house diagnostics gives whoever is caring for your pet a current baseline rather than a six month old one. It also means that if something happens while you are away, the team treating your pet is not starting from nothing.
Records, requirements and the paperwork nobody enjoys
Every facility sets its own requirements, so ask for the list in writing rather than assuming. Most want proof of core vaccination and many ask for kennel cough protection specifically, given that it spreads readily wherever dogs are housed together. The timing matters as much as the vaccine itself, because protection is not immediate and most facilities want it given a set number of days before arrival.
Parasite prevention deserves a check at the same time. Shared outdoor runs and communal spaces are exactly where fleas and intestinal parasites move between animals, and a lapsed treatment is easy to overlook in a busy summer. Our explainer on preventing parasites, ticks, fleas and worms covers what current protection actually looks like.
Ask your veterinary team to send records directly to the facility rather than relying on a photo of a card in your phone. Confirm they arrived. This is a small task that prevents a large problem at the door.
The medication handover, done properly
This is where most avoidable incidents start. A pet on daily medication is going into the care of someone who has never given it before, often alongside twenty other animals.
Write it down rather than explaining it verbally. A clear sheet should state each medication, the exact amount, the time of day, whether it goes with food, how your pet best accepts it, and what to do about a missed dose. Send enough for the full stay plus several extra days, in the original labelled packaging, and never decanted into an unlabelled container. If a medication needs refrigeration or careful timing, say so in bold on the sheet and again in person.
Include your veterinary clinic’s details, written permission for the facility to seek treatment, and a spending limit you are comfortable with so nobody has to guess while you are unreachable. Leave a second contact who can make decisions if you cannot be reached, and make sure that person knows they are on the form.
Stress is a physical event, not just an emotional one
The most common thing we see after a boarding stay is not an injury or an infection. It is a gastrointestinal upset driven by stress and a change of routine, usually soft stool or diarrhoea that starts during the stay or in the first day or two at home.
Keeping food identical helps more than anything else. Send your pet’s own food, pre-portioned into labelled bags for each meal, and ask the facility not to add treats or switch to a house diet. A sudden diet change stacked on top of the stress of a new environment is a predictable route to an upset stomach.
Cats deserve particular thought here. Many do better with an in-home sitter than with a boarding facility, because so much of a cat’s sense of safety is tied to territory rather than company. A cat who stops eating for more than a day is a genuine concern rather than a case of sulking, so whoever is caring for them needs to know to check the food bowl and litter box daily and to report changes rather than wait.
What to pack, and what to leave at home
- Enough of your pet’s usual food for the whole stay plus a few extra days, pre-portioned and labelled
- Medications in original packaging with a written schedule
- An unwashed t-shirt or blanket that smells of home
- One familiar toy, accepting that it may not come back
- Your pet’s own collar with current identification tags
- Written emergency contacts, veterinary details and treatment authorisation
Leave behind anything your pet destroys and swallows when unsupervised, rawhide or hard chews that need watching, and retractable leads. Confirm microchip details are registered to your current phone number before you go, since a chip with an old number on it does not do the job it was implanted for.
Two practical rehearsals
If your pet has never boarded, arrange a short trial stay of a night or two well before the real one. It lets you see how they cope while a change of plan is still possible, and it lets the facility flag anything that concerns them.
Second, keep departures and returns undramatic. A long emotional goodbye at the door raises the temperature for an animal who is already reading your body language closely. Hand over, confirm the details, and go.
When you get home
Expect tiredness for a day or two. What is not routine is a pet who will not eat, has ongoing diarrhoea or vomiting, is coughing, is scratching persistently, is limping, or seems genuinely unwell rather than simply flat.
A cough that develops within a week of a group stay is worth a call rather than a wait, and any new lump, wound or discharge should be looked at. Our guide on spotting and handling common pet emergencies covers the thresholds, and anything urgent is handled through our urgent care service. If your travel plans involve taking your pet with you rather than leaving them behind, our pet travel services cover the documentation side, which has its own lead times.
Older pets often need a slightly longer settling period, and a stay can reveal changes that were easy to miss at home. Our article on senior pet care in Dunbar is a useful read if your pet came back a little slower than they left.
Frequently asked questions
How far ahead should I book a vet visit before boarding?
Two to four weeks is sensible. That leaves room for a wellness exam, for any required vaccine to be given with enough time to take effect before arrival, for parasite prevention to be brought up to date, and for records to reach the facility. Booking in the final week removes all of that flexibility and is the most common reason a stay falls through.
What vaccinations do most boarding facilities require?
Requirements vary by facility, so always ask for their list in writing. Core vaccination is standard, and most dog facilities also ask for kennel cough protection because it spreads easily in group housing. Some require it to be given a set number of days before arrival, which is why the timing matters as much as the vaccine.
My dog got diarrhoea after boarding. Is that normal?
Mild, short-lived soft stool after a stay is common and usually reflects stress and routine change rather than anything caught at the facility. It is not something to ignore indefinitely though. Diarrhoea lasting more than a day or two, or any diarrhoea with blood, vomiting, lethargy or a refusal to eat, should be assessed rather than waited out.
Is a pet sitter better than a boarding kennel?
It depends on the animal rather than on which option is better in general. Cats and anxious, elderly or medically complex pets often cope better at home with a sitter, because their environment stays constant. Sociable dogs frequently enjoy the company and structure of a facility. Your veterinary team can give you a view based on your individual pet.
What if my pet needs medication while I am away?
Confirm before you book that the facility or sitter is comfortable giving it, since not all will administer injections or handle a difficult cat. Provide a written schedule, send the medication in its original labelled packaging with several extra days’ worth, and leave written authorisation for veterinary treatment along with a second contact who can make decisions.
Should I change my pet’s food to make packing easier?
No. Keeping the diet identical is one of the most effective things you can do to avoid an upset stomach, because a food change and the stress of a new environment together are far more likely to cause problems than either alone. Pre-portion the usual food into labelled bags and ask that no other treats be given.