By: Karen Van Sickler, Co-owner of Pampered Pets Inn
Published Aug 1st, 2026
I used to think feeding pets was straightforward – put the same food down, in the same spot, at the same time each day. Then my husband and I purchased Pampered Pets Inn in 2016, and our eyes were opened to all the different feeding scenarios. It quickly became clear that it was extremely nuanced. In a year, our team will prepare and deliver over 50,000 meals to our pet guests.
There is little room for error, and instructions need to be carried out 3 times a day, 365 days a year, regardless of what is going on in the world (holidays, weather events, etc). This is why our team developed a 26-page procedure document just for feeding and watering, as well as significant hands-on staff training with quizzes and certifications, multiple daily verifications, and regular video audits to ensure compliance.
In conversations with friends, family, and clients, I find there is a great deal of interest in the behind-the-scenes details of running a pet resort, so I thought feeding might be an interesting topic to cover, as it’s one of our primary functions.
The complexity in feeding stems from many factors:
- Wide Variation in Feeding Behaviors and Owner Preferences. Dry food, wet food, raw food, frozen food, food that must accompany medicines, appetite enhancers, supplements, treats, owner-provided water, quick eaters, slow eaters, infrequent eaters, family pets that must be separated during feeding, pets with an aversion to bowls. And more!
- Variation in Owner-Provided Instructions. Instructions for food, water, and medications must be accurately provided by the owners, clearly understood and recorded, then accurately communicated to a care team that changes with multiple shifts daily, feeding over a hundred guests each day.
- Impact of a New Environment. For some pets, eating behaviors change in a new environment. Especially those who are anxious and stressed when away from home and their family. They may choose not to eat, which puts them at risk of developing gastrointestinal symptoms and illnesses.
- Risk of Bloat. Some dogs are susceptible to bloat, a potentially fatal condition where the stomach rapidly fills with gas or fluid and then twists, which can develop soon after eating.
- Communication Challenges. Pet guests in our care can’t tell us what’s going on with them…we have to be trained observers. Observations need to be recorded and accurately communicated to the full care team and to the pet owners based on severity and frequency.
- Some Medications Require Administering with Meals. Administering medication introduces additional complexity, training, and recordkeeping. There are pills in food, pills with enticers, pills that must be manually administered, liquids, ointments, injections, regularly scheduled meds, discretionary meds (“as needed”), time-dependent meds, and refrigerated meds. We have a separate set of procedures, certifications, training, and verifications to cover administering medications.
How Can You Help?
Supporting the nuances of feeding and medicating is what we do. Over the course of many years, we have developed procedures, training, communication standards, and trackers to ensure we get it right. So, we are ready for any scenario. But there are some things you can do to help ensure success:
Follow our Food Bagging Policy. Bag and label each serving of dry food with your pet’s first and last name, including “AM,” “Lunch”, and “PM” only if the content between meals is different. Include treats and supplements in the bags rather than separately (medications must be packaged separately, however, in the original packaging). If you bring wet food, label the containers. Click here for more on our Food Bagging Policy.
If Possible, Discourage Your Dog from Grazing at Home. It’s tempting to place the food down and move on to other tasks, allowing your dog to eat when they would like. This may work in a one-dog household, particularly if the dog eats all their food before the next serving. But it doesn’t work as well if you have multiple dogs or if they don’t finish their meals. It becomes much harder to tell how much each dog is eating or if one isn’t eating at all. Lack of appetite is a key symptom of illness, and the sooner it is identified, the sooner the problem can be addressed. It’s also a cause of illness – dogs who don’t eat can become ill, particularly if stressed. Dogs who graze in a boarding environment are particularly tricky to monitor for food intake.
Provide Clear Feeding and Medication Instructions. At check-in, please allow enough time to give our concierges thorough instructions. We know you may be in a hurry, but please take a few minutes to help us understand what your pet needs. Our concierges will document your directions, translating and standardizing them for our care team.
Let Us Know If You Have Concerns. If you notice an irregularity, ask us, and we’ll research. It may be explainable, and you will then have peace of mind. It may be a miscommunication or an error on your part or ours. We all need that insight so we don’t make the same mistake again.