What questions should I be asking a boarding facility?

Well, you'd want to know what's the daily schedule. So how often are they let out? Is it cage-free or not? You might want to take a tour of the facility. We're happy to show you our facility anytime. You'd want to ask about feeding schedules; if your dog usually’s going to eat three times a day, we recommend that they stay on that regimen. Try to keep it as smooth of a transition as you can. Ask what their emergency policies are. So what happens if my dog gets in a fight? Where will you take them? What veterinarian do you use? Ask those types of questions. And then are they able to provide care should they have a problem? Are they able to medicate the animal or change a dressing or things like that? You need to know what to expect should an emergency arise.

The main questions would be basic stuff. You would want to know what will be in your pet's best interest, what will be the welfare situation, and how much time they are going outside. Do you need to be bringing your food? Can I bring my pet a doggy bed or a blanket of some sort? Sometimes they don't want you to bring chew toys because they're concerned that they might chew the blanket because of anxiety, and that could create some intestinal issues. So again, those are discussions you need to have. But more importantly, medications. What medications does your pet need, don't forget to bring your medications if your dog needs to be medicated in your absence. Is somebody on the premises all the time or just during certain hours of the day? How are they going to deal with emergencies? These are the sort of things you need to start thinking about if you need to board your dog.

You should ask about their vaccine requirements, how much activity the dogs get, how often they are checked on, and what their contingency plans are. For instance, what if something floods? What if there's an emergency? What if they can't reach you? Make sure they have authorization to seek treatment for your pet up to a certain dollar amount that you're comfortable with while they're trying to get ahold of you.