Vaccines your pet needs before boarding

Kennel cough is not one germ. It is usually caused by the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica, canine parainfluenza virus and canine adenovirus-2, often together, and it travels in droplets when a dog coughs or barks and on shared bowls, toys and hands. Merck notes it spreads fastest wherever dogs are kept close together. A dog does not need to stay in a kennel to catch it: a busy grooming salon or the society dog park can do it too.

The typical sign is a harsh, honking cough, sometimes with retching. PDSA says signs usually start 3 to 14 days after exposure and last 1 to 3 weeks, and dogs can keep spreading it for 2 to 3 weeks after the cough stops. Most dogs stay bright, but it can turn into pneumonia, especially in puppies and in old or unwell dogs. Fever, thick nasal discharge, dullness or loss of appetite suggest pneumonia and need a vet.

That is why hosts ask. PDSA says kennel cough vaccination is usually a requirement if your dog spends time in kennels or doggy day care, and that it should be given each year your dog is at risk.

The rules that touch vaccines in India are about owners, not hosts. The Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 make the owner of a pet dog responsible for its vaccination, AWBI advises pet owners to vaccinate and keep the record readily available, and city licences such as Delhi's and Mumbai's ask for rabies certificates. AWBI's guidance also says a good sitter or kennel will ask to see your pet's vaccination record and licence.

For a sense of what a careful host asks, the UK's statutory guidance for licensed home boarding is a useful benchmark, though it does not apply in India. It says an up-to-date vaccination record must be seen for boarding dogs and resident dogs, covering parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis and leptospirosis, that kennel cough may also be required, and that a puppy's primary course must be finished at least 2 weeks before it is accepted. It allows a vet's certificate of a recent protective titre test in place of a booster, if the host accepts it. Its cattery guidance asks for current panleukopenia and cat flu vaccines.

Dates matter as much as the vaccines. Delhi's MCD ends a dog's registration when its anti-rabies vaccination expires, so a booster that falls due in the middle of a two-week stay can leave both the vaccine and the licence lapsed. Check every due date against the last day of the stay, not the first, and book any booster before you leave. Hosts and emergency vets will read the card the same way.

WSAVA lists the kennel cough vaccines as non-core: not for every dog, but for dogs whose lifestyle puts them at risk, which is exactly a dog that boards, goes to day care or meets many dogs. AAHA says giving it more often than yearly, for example before boarding, may help high-risk dogs. PDSA says it reduces the chance and severity of illness, but a vaccinated dog can still catch it, usually more mildly.

The nasal or oral form protects after a single dose. In a vaccine maker's laboratory study, puppies were protected 7 days after one dose, and an earlier study by authors from another vaccine maker reported protection against Bordetella within 72 hours of a nasal dose. The injectable form needs two doses a few weeks apart and takes longer. WSAVA notes that a small share of dogs cough, sneeze or have a runny nose for a short time after a nasal or oral dose; tell the host if yours does. Which type suits your dog is your vet's call.

Part of the cover may already be on the card. The Pi in DHPPi is parainfluenza, one of the kennel cough germs; WSAVA counts it as non-core but it comes in most core combinations because it helps against kennel cough. The Bordetella part is what the separate kennel cough vaccine adds. When a host asks for kennel cough, show them both lines and ask which they need.

Ticks. In a survey of 525 dogs in four Indian cities, about half carried at least one tick-borne infection on testing. Any place where dogs from many homes sleep can carry the brown dog tick, which lives indoors and in cracks in walls. Ask the host about tick checks, keep up the tick control your vet recommends, and check your dog all over when it comes home.

The monsoon. Leptospirosis rises every monsoon, and the Health Ministry's 2026 advisory asks owners to consider vaccinating. If a stay falls in the rains, make sure the yearly booster is done before you leave, and ask the host to keep walks away from floodwater and drains.

Older pets. In one study, older dogs vaccinated against distemper and adenovirus more than 3 years earlier were less likely to still have protective antibodies, and WSAVA suggests boosting older dogs every 3 years or perhaps more often. Kennel cough can also be more serious in old or unwell dogs. Before a long stay for a senior pet, ask your vet whether a check-up and any booster make sense, and tell the host about every medicine and condition.

Deworming. Hosts often ask for the date of the last deworming as well as the vaccines. Your vet sets the schedule; write it on the card so it travels with the rest.

At the free meet and greet, a Petym sitter asks to see your pet's vaccination card, checks that rabies and the core vaccines are in date for the whole booking, and keeps a photo with your pet's plan. Sitters who host pets will tell you which vaccines they ask for before you book. In an emergency the sitter calls you and takes your pet to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list, with the card.