Pet Boarding Playbook › Client Intake & Vetting

Client Intake & Vetting

Your intake process is the first — and most important — filter between you and a bad boarding experience. A professional intake system protects your home, reduces your liability, and signals to clients that they're paying for something better than a kennel drop-off.

Why Intake Matters More Than Marketing

Most home boarding operators spend time worrying about finding clients. The operators who build sustainable businesses worry equally about which clients they accept. A dog that's resource-aggressive, anxious around other animals, or has an undisclosed bite history can disrupt your entire operation — and expose you to the liability scenarios covered in the Insurance & Liability guide.

A rigorous intake process also gives you a professional basis for declining dogs without it feeling personal — and declining the right dogs is one of the most important skills a home boarding operator can develop.

Step 1: The Initial Inquiry Form

Before any phone call or meet-and-greet, collect basic information through a simple online form. This filters out poor fits immediately and saves everyone time. Collect:

• Dog name, breed, age, and weight
• Spay/neuter status
• Vaccination status and vet contact
• Whether the dog has stayed at a boarding facility before
• Whether the dog has ever shown aggression toward people or other dogs
• Any known behavioral concerns (separation anxiety, resource guarding, leash reactivity)
• Current medications or medical conditions
• Requested stay dates

Tools like Google Forms, Typeform, or pet business software ( Time to Pet or PetSitClick) can automate this collection and store responses for your records. The written record of what a client disclosed — or did not disclose — is important if a claim arises later.

Step 2: The Meet-and-Greet

The meet-and-greet is a required, in-person visit before the first boarding stay — not optional, and not something to skip for convenience. It serves three functions: you assess the dog, the client assesses your home, and you observe the dog's body language around your resident pets (if any) and family members.

Structure the meet-and-greet as a 30-minute appointment at your home. Have the client bring the dog on leash. Observe:

• Arrival behavior: Is the dog pulling frantically, barking at your door, or jumping on arrival? High-arousal entry behavior escalates indoors.
• Greeting behavior: Does the dog approach calmly, or does it lunge at other dogs or household members?
• Body language with your pets: Watch for stiff posture, hard staring, raised hackles, or resource guarding around food/toys/spaces.
• Recovery: How quickly does the dog settle after initial excitement? Dogs that remain at high arousal for 15+ minutes are difficult to board alongside others.
• Handler signals: Does the owner seem embarrassed or make excuses for behavior? “He's never done that before” is a red flag.

Step 3: The Boarding Agreement

Every client should sign a boarding agreement before their first stay. This document should cover at minimum:

• Veterinary authorization: Written permission for you to seek emergency veterinary care on the client's behalf, including their preferred vet and an emergency vet contact. A spending limit the client authorizes is helpful (e.g., “authorize emergency care up to $500 without prior approval”).
• Vaccination requirements: Which vaccines you require (typically rabies, distemper/parvovirus, Bordetella) and that the client certifies current status.
• Behavioral disclosure: A specific question about prior bites, aggression incidents, or behavioral concerns — with a written declaration from the client.
• Your cancellation and deposit policy.
• Your house rules: feeding schedule, exercise routine, sleeping arrangements, whether the dog is allowed on furniture.
• Limitation of liability language reviewed by an attorney for your state.

Vaccination Requirements

Set minimum vaccination requirements and enforce them — this is as much about your own pets and household as it is about the boarding dog. The American Veterinary Medical Association publishes core vaccine guidelines that inform industry standards. Most professional home boarding operators require:

• Rabies — current, state-required
• DHPP / DA2PP (distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus) — current
• Bordetella (kennel cough) — within the past 12 months
• Flea/tick prevention — on a current preventative

Require clients to upload vaccination records through your intake form or email them ahead of the stay. Do not accept a client's verbal confirmation as sufficient. Keep records on file.

Building a Client Communication System

Premium clients expect regular updates during boarding stays. This is one of the simplest ways to differentiate a home boarding service from a kennel. A practical communication cadence for a 3-day stay:

• Day 1: Check-in confirmation text with a photo once the dog has settled
• Day 2: Mid-stay photo or short video update
• Day 3: Pickup reminder and summary of how the stay went

Apps like Slack, WhatsApp, or pet business platforms (Time to Pet, PocketSuite) make this manageable at scale. Clients who receive proactive updates are dramatically less likely to worry, less likely to contact you anxiously, and much more likely to leave a five-star review and rebook.