Learning Hub · Licensing & Compliance
Daily Animal Welfare Checks
Why welfare checks matter
DEFRA Condition 5 requires that every animal in your care is checked at least once daily by a competent person. These checks must be documented — the date, time, observer and findings must all be recorded. Inspectors will ask to see your welfare check records for the past 12 months, and missing entries are an automatic point deduction on your star rating.
How daily welfare checks work
Each morning (and optionally evening), a staff member walks through every kennel and records observations for each animal. The system provides a structured form covering all DEFRA-required criteria:
Appetite
Record whether the animal ate their meal. Options: Good, Reduced, None, N/A. Two consecutive "None" entries trigger an automatic alert suggesting vet consultation.
Behaviour
Observe the animal's general demeanour: Normal, Anxious, Aggressive, Lethargic, Over-excited, Withdrawn. Sudden changes in behaviour can indicate pain, stress or illness.
Hydration
Check water intake and physical signs: Good, Reduced, Dehydrated. Tent-test the scruff if in doubt. Dehydrated animals need immediate vet attention.
Body Condition
Visual assessment against standard body condition scores: Underweight, Ideal, Overweight. This catches gradual weight changes during longer boarding stays.
Eyes, Nose, Mouth
Look for discharge, redness, swelling or unusual odour. These are early indicators of kennel cough, conjunctivitis or dental issues.
Coat & Skin
Check for matting, parasites, hot spots, wounds or excessive scratching. Record "coat soiled" if the animal needs bathing — this feeds into your cleaning log.
Mobility
Watch the animal walk. Note any limping, stiffness, reluctance to stand, or favouring a leg. Mobility changes may indicate injury or arthritis flare-up.
Toileting
Note any diarrhoea, blood in stool, straining or incontinence. These are urgent vet referral triggers.
Watch: A welfare check being recorded
Morning welfare round — checking each animal systematically...
📅
Daily Welfare Check — Sunday 1 Nov
🐕
Animal
Bella (Labrador)
🍽️
Appetite
Good
✅
🧠
Behaviour
Normal
✅
💧
Hydration
Good
✅
⚖️
Body Cond.
Ideal
✅
✨
Coat
Clean, glossy
✅
🦴
Mobility
Slight limp (L rear)
⚠️
📋
Action
Vet check booked 2pm
🔔
👤
Checked By
Sarah M — 08:15
✅
Check complete — 8/9 fields normal
✓ Welfare check saved — DEFRA compliant record created
Abnormality flagging and action tracking
When you flag any observation as abnormal, the system requires you to complete an "Action Required" field before saving:
Flag it
Toggle the "Abnormality" switch on any check where something is outside normal. The entry turns orange and appears in the abnormality summary at the top of the list.
Record the action
Describe what you did: "Vet check booked 2pm", "Owner notified — monitoring", "Isolated to kennel 7". This creates an audit trail inspectors love.
Follow up
Abnormal entries persist in a filtered view until you mark them as resolved. Tomorrow's welfare check for the same animal will auto-populate the previous abnormality so you remember to re-check.
Print for inspectors
One click generates a date-grouped printout showing all checks, with abnormalities highlighted in amber. Ready to hand to DEFRA on request.
What happens when you complete welfare checks
Click each scenario to see the result and email preview
All checks logged by 9am
The system marks the day as "Complete" with a green badge. Inspectors can see at a glance that every day has a full set of observations — no gaps in your records.
Abnormality flagged
The animal's name appears in an amber alert bar at the top of the page. The action-required field ensures you don't just observe a problem — you document what you did about it.
Consecutive appetite "None"
Two days of no eating triggers a suggested vet referral. This proactive approach shows inspectors you have systems in place to catch declining animals early.
DEFRA inspection
Present 12 months of daily welfare checks as evidence of Condition 5 compliance. A complete, unbroken record is worth significant star-rating points.
Pro tips for welfare checks
Do checks at the same time every day — consistency builds habit and means inspectors see uniform timestamps across months of data.
Check animals before feeding. Appetite observations are more accurate when the animal is hungry — "Good" means they ate eagerly, not that food was simply placed and left.
Use the "Checked By" field honestly. DEFRA requires a competent person — if a junior staff member does the walk, have a senior co-sign by recording their name too.
Photograph anything unusual. While the system doesn't store photos yet, take them on your phone and reference "photo on file" in the notes — inspectors appreciate visual evidence.
If an animal arrives mid-day, still do a welfare check on arrival. Record it with the arrival time — this covers you if the owner later claims the animal was already injured when dropped off.
Long-stay boarders (2+ weeks) should get weight checks. Record the weight in the welfare check and compare week-over-week. A dog losing 5% body weight during boarding needs vet input.
Never skip a day. Even on Christmas Day, record welfare checks. Gaps are the #1 reason kennels lose star-rating points in this category.
Learning Hub • Daily Animal Welfare Checks