You book the kennel, pack the food, and then the front desk hands you a clipboard. Suddenly you're trying to remember when your dog's last Bordetella shot was, whether the emergency contact you listed still has the same number, and which medication gets given with food.
Most pet owners find out what's required at drop-off — not before. That's the worst possible time to be scrambling, and it's often the difference between checking in smoothly and getting turned away at the door.
Why boarding facilities and sitters ask for so much
It's not bureaucracy for its own sake. Kennels and daycares house multiple animals in close contact, so they have a real liability and health reason to confirm every dog is current on core vaccines before it's around others. Pet sitters coming into your home need enough information to act correctly if something goes wrong while you're unreachable — a bad reaction to a new food, an unexpected limp, a missed dose.
What boarding kennels typically require
Requirements vary by facility, but this covers what the large majority ask for:
| Requirement | Why it's asked for | How current it needs to be |
|---|---|---|
| Rabies vaccine | Legally required in most states | Current, per your state's interval |
| DHPP / DAPP (dogs) | Core distemper/parvo protection | Current per vet schedule |
| FVRCP (cats) | Core feline viral protection | Current per vet schedule |
| Bordetella (kennel cough) | Required by nearly all boarding & daycare facilities | Within the last 6–12 months |
| Canine influenza | Increasingly required, especially in facilities with high dog turnover | Within the last 12 months |
| Negative fecal test | Some kennels require this for parasite screening | Within 6–12 months |
What pet sitters need that kennels usually don't ask for
A sitter coming into your home is operating with less institutional backup than a kennel — no on-site staff to consult, no vet down the hall. They need context, not just proof of vaccination.
- Feeding schedule and amounts — including any food-related allergies or sensitivities
- Medication schedule — dosage, timing, and whether it's given with or without food
- Your regular vet's name, address, and phone number
- Nearest emergency/after-hours vet — not the same as your regular vet, and easy to forget until it's needed
- A secondary emergency contact who can make decisions if you're unreachable
- Behavioral notes — anxiety triggers, reaction to strangers, escape tendencies
Have it ready before you're asked
The fix here isn't complicated — it's just having everything already organized instead of reconstructing it under pressure. A few minutes before your pet's next vet visit or before you book a sitter:
- Confirm which vaccines are current and which are due, so you're not caught off guard at drop-off
- Write out the medication schedule in plain terms, not just what's on the bottle label
- Keep your vet's contact info and the nearest emergency vet's info in the same place — not two different apps or a photo from six months ago
- Update your emergency contact if it's changed since the last time anyone asked
This is exactly the kind of thing that's easy to keep current when it lives in one place you can pull up from your phone, and easy to lose track of when it's spread across a vet portal, a paper folder, and a group text from last year.
Never scramble at drop-off again
PetFolio Health keeps vaccination records, medication schedules, and emergency contacts organized in your browser — ready to show a kennel, sitter, or vet in seconds. No app to download.
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