A vaccination check should not happen at the grooming table.
It should not happen when the dog is already in the play yard. It should not happen after the owner has driven 30 minutes to drop off. By the time you discover an expired vaccination during an appointment, every option is bad: turn the pet away (angry owner, lost revenue), proceed anyway (liability risk, safety concern), or have an awkward conversation while the pet is mid-groom.
Petboost now surfaces vaccination alerts before any of that happens.
How It Works
When you look at your scheduler, appointment cards for pets with expired or soon-to-expire vaccinations display a visual alert badge. The badge is visible across both the standard scheduler view and the timeline view.
The alert shows:
- Which vaccination is affected (C5, kennel cough, rabies, etc.)
- When it expired or when it is due to expire
- The pet's name so you can quickly identify who needs attention
You do not need to click into each appointment to check. The alert is visible at the calendar level, alongside the pet name, service, and time. When you are reviewing tomorrow's schedule at the end of the day, you can scan for vaccination badges in seconds.
The Edge Case It Solves
Most pet businesses check vaccinations when a pet is first registered or when a booking is made. The problem is time.
A pet owner books a groom three months in advance. At booking time, their C5 is valid. By the appointment date, it has expired. The booking system did not re-check because the validation happened at booking time, not at appointment time.
Vaccination alerts solve this by evaluating vaccination status against the appointment date, not the booking date. If a vaccination will be expired by the time the appointment happens, the alert appears. This catches the gap between "valid when booked" and "still valid when the appointment arrives."
Who This Is For
Dog Groomers
Many grooming salons require up-to-date vaccinations before accepting a dog. The alert lets you contact the owner days before the appointment to request updated records, rather than discovering the issue at check-in.
Dog Daycare
Daycare environments have the highest vaccination compliance requirements because dogs are in close contact with each other. A single unvaccinated dog in a playgroup is a risk to every other dog present. Calendar-level alerts make it visible across your entire daily roster.
Pet Boarding
Boarding facilities often require vaccinations as part of their intake process. For repeat customers on recurring bookings, vaccinations can lapse between stays. The scheduler alert catches this before the pet arrives.
Dog Walkers
Group walkers who require vaccination compliance for their walking groups can see at a glance which dogs on today's walk have current vaccinations and which need follow-up.
Practical Tips for Using Vaccination Alerts
Review tomorrow's schedule at end of day. Make it a habit to scan the next day's appointments for vaccination badges. This gives you time to call or message the owner that evening.
Pair with SMS reminders. When you spot a vaccination alert, send a quick message via 2-way SMS: "Hi Sarah, we noticed Buddy's C5 vaccination expires before his groom on Thursday. Could you send through updated records?" This is a professional, proactive interaction that builds trust.
Set vaccination as a booking eligibility requirement. If you have not already, you can require current vaccinations as an eligibility condition for online booking. This prevents most issues at the source. The scheduler alerts catch the edge cases that slip through.
Use it as a value-add for pet owners. Some businesses message pet owners when they notice a vaccination approaching expiry: "Just a heads-up, Bella's C5 expires next month. Your vet can update it before her next groom." This is not a sales tactic. It is genuine care, and pet owners remember it.
Available Now
Vaccination alerts are live on the Petboost scheduler today. If you have vaccination records stored on your pet profiles, alerts will appear automatically on upcoming appointments where a vaccination is expired or approaching expiry.
No configuration needed. The feature works with whatever vaccination data you have already recorded in your pet profiles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to enter vaccination data for this to work?
Yes. Vaccination alerts are based on the vaccination records stored in each pet's profile. If no vaccination data exists for a pet, no alert will be shown.
Can I set which vaccinations trigger alerts?
The system checks all vaccination types recorded in the pet profile. If any vaccination is expired or approaching expiry, the alert appears.
Does this block the appointment from being created?
No. Vaccination alerts are informational. They appear on the appointment card to flag the issue but do not prevent the appointment from proceeding. If you want to enforce vaccination requirements at booking time, use the booking eligibility settings.
Can pet owners see these alerts?
No. Vaccination alerts are visible only on the business-side scheduler. Pet owners see their vaccination records in their own profile but do not see the scheduler badges.
Related Petboost Features
- Scheduling & Booking: The core scheduling engine with capacity and conflict management
- CRM & Pets: Pet profiles with vaccination records, breed data, and care notes
- Smart Booking Rules: Eligibility requirements and booking conditions
