A young dog's boarding notes can be brief, because staff can read a healthy youngster easily. A senior dog needs her normality described, because the staff looking after her have never seen her normal. Write her whole baseline down in observable terms before the stay, so a carer who met her yesterday can spot the day she is not herself.
Her Baseline, Written in Observable Terms
Describe her mobility plainly: how she gets up after a long rest, whether stairs or a step into the kennel are manageable, how long she usually walks, and how she signals that she needs to toilet. Describe her appetite the same way: what a normal meal looks like for her, whether she eats at once or grazes, which foods she refuses even when well, and how much water she typically drinks across a day. Add her routine in order, from waking and first toilet break through meals, walks, rest and bedtime, because familiar sequencing is often what settles an older dog in a strange place.
Then write the warning version of each point. Note the subtle changes that mean she is struggling: leaving part of a meal she would normally finish, needing more encouragement to rise, choosing to sleep away from activity, toileting accidents that are unlike her, or panting and restlessness at night. Include her comfort cues as well, such as the bedding she settles on, whether she likes a cover at night, and the handling she dislikes, so staff can comfort her in ways that actually work for her. Bring a worn item carrying home's scent if the facility allows it, and say so in the notes.
Medicines, Contacts and Emergency Permission
List each medicine in plain, generic terms: what it is for, how it is given, and the times it fits around her meals and rest, following the prescription label and your vet's instructions exactly. State what staff should do if a dose is refused or spat out, and which signs after medication would count as a change worth reporting to you. Pack medicines in their original packaging, with enough for the stay plus a margin for a delayed collection.
Give the facility your vet's name, address and phone number, the out-of-hours service you use, and your own contact route for each day of the stay. Above all, leave signed emergency authorisation: written permission for the facility to take her to a vet in an emergency, the vet you want used where that is possible, and a clear arrangement for how urgent costs will be covered until you can be reached. Ask directly how the facility handles night checks, a dog who goes off her food, and medicines due outside office hours, and note their answers alongside your baseline so expectations match before she arrives.
Agree the Stay Itself in Writing
Information flows both ways, and the provider's agreed terms need confirming in writing as well. Get the trial arrangements confirmed in writing if you arrange a short trial stay before a long booking, which is a sensible first step for a senior who has not boarded recently. Get the overnight arrangements confirmed in writing too: where she will sleep, how often she is checked overnight, and who is on site. Finally, get the rates confirmed in writing, including what the quoted price covers, any charge for administering medication, and the terms if you return late.
On collection, ask how she ate, slept, moved and toileted across the stay, and update your written baseline with anything the facility learned, because her normal will keep changing as she ages. KinsLe keeps that updated record in her Pet Passport, a single portable packet of routines, vet contacts and baseline notes that can be shared again at her next stay without rebuilding it from memory.