The core dog register

For each boarding dog, keep the arrival and departure dates together with the dog's identity details: name, age, sex, neuter status, microchip number and breed or description. Where dogs are from the same household, record that relationship rather than leaving an inspector to infer it.

The owner record needs usable contact information, not just a first name and mobile number. Keep the owner's postal address, telephone number and email address, emergency contact details, and a local emergency contact for the dog. Record the dog's normal vet and relevant insurance details too.

Health, behaviour and day-to-day requirements

A useful dog profile should make the dog's normal routine obvious to anyone responsible for care. That means relevant medical and behavioural history, parasite-treatment information, exercise restrictions, diet and related requirements, recent vaccination information, and any medical treatment.

Do not bury these details across old messages. If a dog suddenly needs veterinary attention, the value of the record is that the right information can be found immediately.

Written consent matters in several areas of home boarding. Examples include boarding dogs from different households together, keeping dogs from the same household together in a designated room, certain exercise arrangements and crate use. Store the actual consent, the dog and stay it relates to, who agreed, and when.

Keep records for long enough

The current statutory guidance says required records must be kept for at least three years from the date the record was created, and electronic records must be backed up. A tidy “active dogs only” database is therefore not enough if old records disappear when a client stops using you.

A practical digital structure

  • Owner record
  • Dog profile
  • Health, vaccination and parasite-treatment history
  • Trial or familiarisation records
  • Booking and designated-room record
  • Consent record
  • Daily care, medication and incident records
  • Archived stay summary

That structure mirrors how a real stay unfolds. It also means that when someone asks, “Show me the records for this dog during this stay,” you can answer with one coherent file rather than opening six apps.

A record set that works in a real inspection

Think in two layers. The first layer is the standing record for the dog: identity, owner contacts, local emergency contact, normal vet, relevant insurance information, medical and behavioural history, diet, exercise restrictions, vaccination information and parasite treatment history. The second layer is the stay record: dates, designated room, consent, daily observations, medication administrations, incidents and any changes that happened while the dog was with you. Keeping those layers separate stops permanent information being copied into every booking while still giving each stay a complete story.

A useful inspection test is to pick one dog from six months ago and ask someone who was not involved in the booking to find the whole record. They should be able to identify the owner, the dog, the dates, the care arrangements and any welfare event without asking you where the missing piece lives. If the answer depends on “I remember that one,” the system is relying on memory rather than records.

Common record-keeping gaps

  • Emergency contact details exist, but the contact is not local or is no longer reachable.
  • A vaccination certificate is stored as a photo but there is no visible review date or status.
  • Consent exists as a generic annual form even though the boarding mix or exercise arrangement changed.
  • Medication instructions are stored, but individual administrations are not.
  • An incident note says what happened but not what action was taken or whether the owner was informed.
  • Old dogs are deleted from the active system, taking historical stays with them.

Build retrieval into the daily workflow

The easiest long-term system is one where records are created at the point of work. Add the booking when it is agreed, collect consent before arrival, log daily care while the stay is happening and record medication at the time it is given. That is more reliable than creating a polished inspection folder later from fragments. The goal is not to produce more paperwork; it is to make the normal operating record the same evidence you would show during an inspection.

Keep your own licence in charge.

BoardingReady helps organise records and evidence. It does not provide legal advice or guarantee licence compliance. Check the conditions on your licence and current local authority requirements.