The time to learn how a kennel handles a miserable, non-eating dog is at the viewing, not in a worried phone call three days into your holiday. A dog who refuses food away from home may be stressed, unwell, or both, and the facility's answer should show they treat those possibilities differently rather than waiting for the problem to resolve itself.
Ask what they do on the first unsettled night
Find out how staff respond when a dog paces, barks, scratches at the door or will not sleep. Ask whether she can move to a quieter kennel away from a busy corridor, whether someone can sit with her, and whether a worn item of your clothing can stay in the kennel with her. Ask, too, what they will not do: a good answer rules out leaving her to cry it out for hours without a check, and it names the point at which unsettled behaviour becomes a call to you.
Agree the appetite threshold in plain numbers
Ask for appetite to be reported daily and honestly, meal by meal, rather than summarised at pickup. Agree the trigger for contacting you and the vet before you leave: commonly more than a day or so of real refusal, and sooner for a puppy, a senior dog, or a dog whose medication is given in food. Clarify what counts as eating for their records, because a dog who licks a bowl, takes treats from a hand, or eats half a meal at midnight is giving staff information worth passing on.
Leave food and permissions that give staff options
Send food she reliably eats at home, in portions, and say in writing what staff may add to tempt her within her diet and what they must never offer. If she normally eats better after exercise, or from a particular bowl, or with the room empty, write that down as well. Permission agreed in advance means a member of staff on a night shift does not have to choose between doing nothing and improvising with food that could upset her stomach.
When not eating stops being a settling problem
General information cannot examine your dog, and kennel staff are not diagnosing her either. Vomiting, diarrhoea, drooling, a swollen or painful belly, collapse, or a dog who stops drinking as well as eating moves the question from settling to veterinary care the same day. Make sure the kennel holds your vet's details, an emergency contact who can authorise treatment, and written permission to transport her if their vet or yours advises it.
Write that threshold down at booking, then share it through a Care Pass in KinsLe so staff on duty can read the plan for her stay without creating an account.