A kennel's website tells you what it wants you to know. A tour tells you the rest. This checklist works for any facility and shows where Happy Paws Kennels in Dixon fits each point.
Start with a tour, not a price list
Walk the kennel when dogs are present, not just when it is empty. Look at floors, drains, smell, noise level and how staff move around dogs. A good kennel welcomes the visit; Happy Paws offers tours every day, 9 to 11 AM and 2 to 4 PM, with no appointment, and a staff member walks with you.
Notice the details that never make a brochure: whether runs have a raised bed, whether water is in every run, and whether a dog has somewhere to go if it prefers the outdoors or the indoors.
Ask for the written basics
Since 2017, California Health and Safety Code sections 122380 to 122388 set minimum standards for pet boarding facilities, defined as places that board four or more pets for pay. A facility must give each owner written information on drop-off and pick-up times, staffed hours, the square footage of the enclosure, how pets are observed in each 24-hour period and the daily activity schedule. The law also requires daily enrichment, fresh water, a place to isolate a sick pet, and either a central-station fire alarm or a sprinkler system.
Use that list as your question sheet. A kennel that answers each item clearly and without hesitation is telling you something good.
Check the health rules
Strict vaccine rules protect your dog. Happy Paws requires rabies, distemper/parvo, Bordetella and canine influenza for dogs, with records good through the end of the stay, and rabies plus FVRCP for cats. No vaccine rule at a kennel is a reason to keep looking. The questions to ask a boarding kennel guide has the full list.
Match the space to your dog
Ask exact sizes. Happy Paws lists three: Economy at 4 x 4 feet inside plus about 48 square feet outside, Business Class at 5 x 6 feet inside plus about 60 outside, and First Class at 6 x 8 feet inside plus about 72 outside. The 2026 nightly rates for one dog are $52, $59 and $72. The kennel class guide helps you pick.
Weigh convenience honestly
Hours, location and payment rules matter too. Happy Paws is open for drop-off and pick-up seven days a week except holidays, charges by the night like a hotel, and takes the balance at pick-up. Read the reviews, but weigh the pattern, not one comment: Google shows 4.9 stars from 133 reviews, and reviewers often mention friendly staff and a clean kennel.