A dog boarding facility can catch expired vaccination records by tracking each dog's rabies, DHPP, and Bordetella expiration dates in GoHighLevel, reminding the owner 30 days before each one lapses, and flagging any dog whose record has expired before check in. The bottom line: GoHighLevel cannot refuse a booking on its own, so the workflow warns the owner early and gives the front desk a flag to check.

What facilities require

A Dogtopia location says all dogs must be current on rabies, DHPP, and Bordetella before daycare or boarding, states that rabies is required by Virginia law for dogs four months and older, and asks owners to bring records showing each vaccine date and the next due date. A boarding kennel example requires Bordetella yearly and accepts one or three year rabies and distemper combination vaccines. A veterinary clinic says rabies and DHPP are effective for one to three years depending on the product, while Bordetella is effective for six months, and asks owners to vaccinate at least two weeks before boarding.

A vendor guide on daycare vaccination tracking says the tracking half is where facilities fail: policies are easy to write and hard to enforce with eleven dogs in the lobby. It says Bordetella intervals commonly run six to 12 months, with many facilities requiring every six. AAHA says rabies vaccination is required by law in all states. Your own policy, insurer, and local rules set the exact requirements.

Dates to track for each dog

FieldTypical rule in the sourcesReminder timing
Rabies expirationRequired by law, one or three year products30 days before
DHPP expirationOne to three years depending on product30 days before
Bordetella expirationSix to 12 months, often required every six30 days before
Lapsed flagSet the day after any expiration date passesThe day after

Build it in GoHighLevel

  1. In your GoHighLevel account, go to Settings, then Objects, and click Add Custom Object. Enter Dog as the singular name and Dogs as the plural name, and label the primary field Dog Name. Only admins can create objects, and the internal name cannot be changed later.
  2. Add the fields to the dog object: Rabies expiration, DHPP expiration, and Bordetella expiration.
  3. Open the object's Associations tab and add an association to Contacts with the label Owner. GoHighLevel's documentation shows this flow for linking records, and one object can link to many contacts.
  4. Create a record for each dog and link it to the owner contact.
  5. In Automation, choose Create Workflow and pick the workflow based on your custom object.
  6. Add the Custom Date Reminder trigger. For object workflows, GoHighLevel says the date field selector shows date fields on the same object. Select the date field and add Before Number of Days set to 30.
  7. Add the Add Associated Records to Workflow action, choose Contact as the object type, filter by the Owner association label, and select the contact workflow that sends your message.
  8. Build the contact workflow with Send SMS and Send Email actions that name the dog and the vaccine.
  9. Build a second object workflow with After Number of Days set to 1 for each date. Use Add Associated Records to Workflow to enroll the owner in a workflow that runs Add Contact Tag with a tag such as vaccine lapsed and Add Task for the front desk.
  10. Add an If Else to your booking confirmation workflow that checks for the lapsed tag, and send those owners a request for updated records. Test it on a test contact, because GoHighLevel's support matrix lists calendars as not supported for custom objects, so the calendar itself cannot check the dog's record.

Why the second workflow? GoHighLevel's support matrix lists conversations, bulk SMS, calendars, and payments as not supported for custom objects, and it lists emails to associated contacts as coming soon. The documented way to reach the owner is the Add Associated Records to Workflow action, which enrolls the linked contact in a normal contact workflow.

Text to send at 30 days

Hi [first name], [dog name]'s [vaccine] record expires on [expiration date]. Please send us the updated certificate at least two weeks before your next stay: [upload link].

What the workload looks like

A facility with 600 active dogs and three tracked vaccines has 1,800 expiration dates. With Bordetella on a six month cycle, that is at least 1,200 Bordetella dates a year alone. Nobody at the front desk can check each one at 7:15 in the morning, which is what the flag is for.

Mistakes to avoid

Check before you switch it on

US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Many owners share a household number, so confirm who receives reminders. This is general information, not legal advice.

Questions people ask

Can GoHighLevel block a booking for an expired vaccine?

Not by itself. Its support matrix lists calendars as not supported for custom objects, so use a lapsed flag, a confirmation message, and a front desk check.

How long before boarding should a dog be vaccinated?

One veterinary clinic asks owners to vaccinate at least two weeks before boarding.

How often is Bordetella required?

A vendor guide says intervals run six to 12 months, and a kennel example requires it yearly. Set your policy with your veterinarian.

Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.

You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.