A Pre-Board allows our staff to evaluate your dog’s behavior and comfort level. Pre-Board Evaluations must be completed at least 30 days before your requested boarding dates. Not all dogs adapt to a boarding environment. A pre-board allows the staff to see if a dog is suitable for boarding. This will ensure that we have time to properly evaluate your dog and help them acclimate to our facility’s environment, routines, and staff. Please be aware that a pre-board evaluation does not mean that your dog has a reservation to board; rather, this means that we are evaluating your dog to see if boarding at Misty Pines is the best decision for your dog. Your dog may need many pre-board visits to condition to the environment. Our goal is to create Misty Pines be a home away from home for your dog.
While here for a Pre-Board evaluation, your dog will stay in one of our indoor/outdoor runs to acclimate to the facility and all the new sights and sounds. Your dog has probably never heard our disinfecting equipment (a pressure washer) before. He may have never used a dog door. Has he used an automatic watering bowl that fills itself back up? Does he have people walk past him multiple times a day while he’s in his sleeping/rest area at home? These are all things he will need to get used to in order to have a good boarding experience. This experience will also include getting them used to our scale for monitoring their weight, observation of your dog’s behavior, interactions with staff for check overs, helping your dog learn to use a doggie door, and observation of their appetite at meal times. Remember; a dog who has never boarded and typically spends all day at home could become very stressed when in a boarding environment.
It is worth noting, before moving on, that bringing a puppy to the kennel at an early age will help to familiarize the pup with the sights, sounds, smells and staff of the facility and will help to ease anxiety about boarding later in life. Imprinting is the most important aspect of raising a puppy.
When you pick your dog up from a pre-board we give you a verbal report regarding their evaluation and let you know if they passed or not. If they did not pass they may be able to come for more overnight visits to determine if they can acclimate and board well at our facility. It may also be that your dog is not suitable for boarding at Misty Pines, and if that is the case we will provide recommendations for different boarding accommodations based on our interactions with your dog.
We recommend scheduling your dog for multiple overnight pre-boarding visits if you plan to board your dog with us for an extended period of time. For some dogs a day of care is also a great way to continue the acclimation process.
Prior to setting up your dog’s pre-board evaluation, we will need you to send your dog’s most recent Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella vaccination record. You can submit them through the vaccination submission form, or by email or fax. We require Bordetella within 6 months and at least 10 days before your dog can visit Misty Pines. Please check that the date your dog received the Bordetella vaccine has been within 6 months. If it has been longer than 6 months they would need to get it updated and then wait a minimum of 10 days before visiting Misty Pines for their pre-board. Once we have all the necessary vaccinations we can then set up the pre-board evaluation.
Pre-boarding visits are the same cost as an over-night stay for a dog of that weight. This cost includes one on one time in addition to the regular observations and care that they receive for boarding. We highly recommend scheduling an activity for your dog and it should be an activity that is part of their normal routine: if your dog gets walked on leash each day, schedule a walk. If your dog goes to the dog park each day, schedule playtime with other dogs. We also have a Senior Program that gives multiple short walks per day to older dogs. This helps keep them limber and reduce joint stiffness and pain. Please visit our Boarding Activities page for a full list of our activities.
The 10+ Crowd
Elderly dogs are prone to stress in different environments, even those that are very well-socialized. Furthermore, stress can be more physically damaging to an older dog and may lead to serious health problems.
Scheduling your pre-board:
– Submit updated vaccination records prior to scheduling. Pre-board evaluations will not be scheduled unless we have all of your dog’s up-to-date vaccines, including a 6 month Bordetella.
– Choose the boarding activity you would like to schedule for your dog.
– Pre-board evaluations are scheduled to check in at Misty Pines on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. till 12:00 p.m. These days and times are necessary so that our staff can properly observe your dog in the kennel, spend time with them and help them properly acclimatize to the kennel environment.
Once you schedule your dog’s pre-board with us please review the following:
– We provide bedding, there is no need to bring your own.
– Complete a Medication Card if your dog requires any medications while staying with us.
– If bringing your pet’s food, bring it in a Tupperware type hard container, not a bag.
– If bringing treats or toys (nothing soft or with fabric on it), label with your pet’s name.