Pet profiles — documents, photos, tags and notes
Updated
On this page
Sidebar: Pets, then open a pet.
The pet record is where your team looks before handling an animal, so what goes on it matters more than the equivalent field on a client record.
Documents
Upload files against the pet and label them by type:
- Vaccination Record
- Vet Record
- Rabies Certificate
- Health Certificate
- Spay/Neuter Certificate
- Insurance
- Other
Photograph or scan certificates at drop-off and upload them straight away. Documents live with the pet permanently, so the next stay does not need the paperwork again.
Uploaded documents are private to your business. They are not visible to other businesses on Alaga and are not public.
Uploading a vaccination certificate does not update the expiry dates — those are separate fields on the Health tab, and it is the dates that drive alerts and booking blocks. Do both. See Tracking vaccinations and expiry alerts.
Tags
Tags are short flags shown prominently on the pet, grouped into:
- Caution Flags — the ones that change how someone approaches the animal
- Behavioral
- Health & Medical
- Positive Traits
- Life Stage
- Other Tags
Manage the available tags under Business Settings → Pet Tags, and apply them per pet.
Tags earn their place because they are visible at a glance. Use caution flags sparingly and precisely — a dog tagged as a bite risk when it is really just nervous trains staff to ignore the flags, which is worse than not having them.
Notes versus tags
Both exist and they are not interchangeable:
- A tag is for something a person must know in the two seconds before they open the kennel door.
- A note is for detail — what worked last time, which clipper guard, why the nails take two people.
Long notes are read by the person preparing for the groom. Tags are seen by everyone. Putting "WILL BITE" in a note nobody opens is how people get hurt.
Photos
Add a photo to the pet. Worth doing for more than sentiment: it is how a new member of staff confirms they have the right dog when two Cockapoos called Bella are booked the same morning.
Feeding and medication
These are pet fields too, and they drive the boarding task lists. See Feeding and medication schedules.
Keeping it current
The pet record persists between visits, which is its value and its risk. When an owner mentions a change — new food, new medication, a bad experience with a dryer — update the pet there and then. Anything only said aloud is gone by the next booking.