What to Pack for Your Dog's Overnight Boarding Stay
Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
People arrive for a first boarding drop-off with a duffel the size of a carry-on, then apologize for it. You do not need most of it. What we actually want fits in a tote: food already portioned, medication in its original packaging with written instructions, one thing that smells like home, and paperwork your vet can email you in about a minute.
Food portioned per meal in labeled bags. Meds in the original bottle plus a written schedule. One familiar-smelling item. A current health certificate and your vet's phone number. That is the list.
One note first, because it comes up: overnight boarding happens at Ronkonkoma, 835 Portion Rd. Our East Northport salon at 16 Laurel Rd is grooming only, Tuesday through Saturday — so if you know us from Laurel Road haircuts, a boarding stay means the Portion Road building instead. Check-in runs 2:00pm to 7:00pm, check-out 7:00am to 11:00am.
Their own food, portioned — and why we ask for it that way
Bring the food your dog already eats. A boarding stay is not the week to trial a new bag, because a diet change and an unfamiliar building at the same time makes it impossible to tell which one upset their stomach.
What helps most is portioning. One meal per bag, labeled, counted out for the stay plus one or two spare. It sounds fussy. It is not — it removes the most common source of error in a kennel, which is a scoop that means something slightly different to each person holding it. Our standard feeding times are 8am, 1pm and 6pm, and custom schedules are available for puppies, seniors or medical diets, so tell us at booking if your dog eats on a different rhythm.
Count the meals
Nights times meals per day, then add two. A stay that runs long should never mean a sudden food switch.
Bag them individually
One meal per zip bag. Write your dog's name on the tote as well as the bags.
Write the toppers down
A spoonful of something on top, a specific bowl-down time — that belongs on the written sheet, not in a story told at the desk while three other dogs check in.
If you would rather not haul food, we can provide it at $5 per day per dog — a genuinely fine option for a dog with a cast-iron stomach and no particular diet. For anyone else, their own food is worth the tote.
Medication: written instructions and original packaging
Two things, always. The medication in the container it came in — that label is the record of what it is and who prescribed it — and a written schedule in your own words: drug, dose, what time, with or without food, what it is for. Instructions given verbally at a busy drop-off are the ones that get remembered wrong.
Doses that have to be given outside 7am to 10pm are a limitation on our end — raise it before you book, not at drop-off. If your dog is on a tight overnight schedule, we would rather tell you honestly that we are not the right fit than have you find out at 7pm on a Friday.
We are groomers and kennel staff, not veterinarians. We give what you tell us to give, we watch, and we call you and your vet if something looks off. Whether a dose should change while you are away is a question for your vet before you leave.
One familiar-smelling thing, not the whole toy box
Smell is the part of home a dog can actually take with them. A t-shirt you have slept in, an old pillowcase, one soft toy they already care about. That is enough, and it beats the six toys they ignore at home.
Pick something washable that you would not be devastated to lose. Dogs chew when they are unsettled. If yours is a determined shredder, send the t-shirt and skip the plush.
The best thing in the bag is usually the cheapest thing in the bag.
Vaccination paperwork and your vet's contact details
This is the part that catches people out, so read it before you book. Boarding kennels here are governed by county law, not salon preference: Suffolk County Code § 302-13 says no dog may be accepted at a boarding kennel unless the owner provides the facility with a current health certificate from a licensed veterinarian.
| What the certificate must cover | How recent |
|---|---|
| Rabies, distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus, coronavirus | Within the previous year — unless it is an approved three-year vaccine certified as such by your veterinarian |
| Bordetella | Within the previous six months |
The six-month bordetella clock is the most useful line on this page. Everything else runs on a yearly rhythm owners already track alongside the annual visit. Bordetella does not, and it lapses without anyone noticing. Check that date specifically, today, before you make travel plans.
Worth knowing: bordetella does not fully prevent kennel cough. What owners call kennel cough is properly canine infectious respiratory disease complex, and the AVMA counts roughly eleven pathogens that contribute to it. The vaccine is required and worth having. It is not a force field, and any honest kennel will tell you the same.
Requirements change. Confirm the current list with your veterinarian and with us before your stay — do not rely on a blog post, including this one, as your final word.
Bring your vet's name and phone number too, written down — the practice holding your dog's current file. Suffolk also requires boarding facilities to keep records on each dog for twelve months after the last day of use, so accurate paperwork at check-in serves you as much as us.
What to leave at home
Worth packing
- Portioned food, labeled, with spares
- Medication in original packaging
- A written schedule and feeding notes
- One familiar, washable item
- Vet's phone number and current health certificate
Leave it home
- The whole toy box
- Anything irreplaceable or sentimental
- Food scooped loose into an unlabeled bag
- A brand-new food you switched to this week
- Instructions that exist only in your head
Unsure about an item? Ask at the meet and greet rather than guessing.
Every boarding stay at Portion Road includes full-day daycare at no extra charge, so your dog is not sitting in a kennel between meals. Regular boarding is $60 a night in a 4x4 private kennel; premium is $75 a night in a larger 4x6. Sales tax applies.
Forgotten something? The shop is at the front
You will forget something — almost everyone does on a first stay. There is a retail shop at the front of the Ronkonkoma building, so a forgotten bag of treats or a replacement collar is usually solvable at check-in rather than a drive home. What the shop cannot solve is paperwork or a prescription. Check those the night before, while your vet's office is still open in the morning.
Questions people actually ask
Can I board at the East Northport salon instead?
No — East Northport, 16 Laurel Rd, is grooming only and runs Tuesday through Saturday. Daycare and overnight boarding are at Ronkonkoma, 835 Portion Rd, which is open seven days.
My dog's bordetella is a few weeks out of date. Is that fine?
It is not our call. Suffolk County requires bordetella within the previous six months on the health certificate, so a lapsed date means the certificate does not meet the requirement. Call your vet, then confirm with us before you travel.
Do I have to bring food, or can you provide it?
Either. We can provide food at $5 per day per dog. We still recommend your own for a dog with a sensitive stomach, a prescription diet, or a history of reacting to changes.
What if my dog needs medication in the middle of the night?
Tell us before you book. Doses outside 7am to 10pm are a known limitation here, and we would rather say so up front than discover it at drop-off.
Will my dog definitely be accepted?
There is an eligibility standard as well as a paperwork one. In our own words from the boarding page: a pet must be non-aggressive, comfortable in a kennel, able to socialize, and free from bite history. The meet and greet exists so both of us find out before the night you are meant to fly.
What time do I pick up?
Check-out is 7:00am to 11:00am. If you are cutting it close to a flight, the early end of that window is the calmer one.
Book the meet and greet first.
Thirty minutes, ahead of the stay you actually need — we check the paperwork and walk you through drop-off while there is still time to ask questions.
See boarding rates & book ›835 Portion Rd, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 · Boarding check-in 2–7pm, check-out 7–11am
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