# Diwali Boarding Week: A Checklist for Pet Businesses

> Diwali is the busiest and noisiest week for pet boarders and daycares in India. A checklist for bookings, intake, fireworks nights, food safety, staff and parent updates.

By Sahil Verman, founder of petboard · Published 2026-10-23 · Source: https://www.petboard.in/blog/diwali-boarding-checklist-pet-business

## In short

Diwali is the busiest week of the year for most pet boarders in India, and the hardest one for many pets. Plan it like a project, three to four weeks ahead:

1. **Bookings:** set your Diwali-week rate, deposit rule and last booking date before parents start asking.
2. **Intake:** for every pet, confirm vaccinations, fireworks history and any vet-prescribed calming medicine, in writing.
3. **Fireworks nights:** keep pets indoors in a quiet inner room, walk them early, and check every door, gate and lead.
4. **Food and fire safety:** no mithai, chocolate, raisins or sugar-free sweets near pets, and no diyas or candles where pets can reach.
5. **Staff:** put extra people on Diwali night and the night after.
6. **Parents:** tell them the plan before the stay, and send an update every evening.

A one-page version you can print or send on WhatsApp is at the end of this post.

## Why is Diwali week so hard for pet boarders?

Three things happen at once. Demand goes up, because many families travel. Noise goes up, because fireworks start days before Diwali and go on late into the night. And many pets are staying away from home for the first time, so they are already unsettled.

That means more pets, more stress, and less room for mistakes. A short checklist, done early, takes most of the stress away.

## What should I decide before the bookings start?

Decide these before the first Diwali enquiry, so you give every parent the same answer.

- **Your Diwali-week dates.** Most boarders treat the two or three days before Diwali to two days after it as the festival period.
- **Your rate for those dates.** If you charge a festival rate, say it up front, with the dates. Do not surprise a parent at checkout.
- **Your deposit rule.** Many boarders ask for an advance to hold a Diwali booking, because last-minute cancellations leave an empty room you could have filled.
- **Your cancellation rule.** Write it down: until when a parent can cancel, and what happens to the advance.
- **Your capacity.** Fewer pets than usual is often wiser on the loudest nights. Decide your limit now, not on the day.
- **Your last booking date.** After it, you only take a booking if a room is free and a staff member is free too.

Send these to parents as one short message, so the rules are in writing.

## What should I ask every parent at booking?

Add these to your intake form for Diwali bookings, or ask them on the phone and write the answers down.

1. **Vaccinations:** which vaccines are up to date, with the dates. Ask for a photo of the vaccination card.
2. **Fireworks history:** how did the pet react to fireworks last year? Hiding, shaking, barking, trying to run away?
3. **Calming medicine:** has the pet's own vet prescribed anything for fireworks? If yes, ask for a photo of the vet's prescription with the name, the dose and the time to give it.
4. **What helps:** a favourite blanket, a crate, a toy, a quiet corner, being held?
5. **Food:** the usual food, amounts and times. Ask the parent to send the pet's own food, because a sudden change of food during a stressful week can upset the stomach.
6. **Contacts:** the parent's number during the trip, a second emergency contact, and the pet's vet.

For a full form you can copy, see our [pet boarding intake form template](https://www.petboard.in/blog/pet-boarding-intake-form-template).

## How do I keep pets calm during fireworks?

Fireworks are loud, sudden and close to the ground, and many dogs and cats find them frightening. Signs of fear include panting, pacing, hiding, shaking, drooling, barking and trying to escape. You cannot stop the noise, but you can make the pet feel safer.

- **Walk dogs early.** Finish evening walks before the fireworks usually start, and keep every walk on a lead, even inside a compound. A frightened dog can slip a loose collar, so check that each harness or collar fits.
- **Choose an inner room.** On the loudest nights, keep pets in the quietest room you have, away from windows and outside walls. Close the windows and draw the curtains.
- **Give them a place to hide.** A covered crate, a bed under a table or a box for a cat. Let a scared pet hide. Do not pull it out.
- **Add steady sound.** A fan, soft music or the TV at a normal volume softens the bangs.
- **Stay calm and close.** Sit with anxious pets if you can. Do not scold a pet for barking or hiding.
- **Check exits twice.** Gates, doors and windows, every evening of Diwali week. Escapes are one of the biggest risks on fireworks nights.
- **ID on every pet.** Make sure each pet wears a tag with your phone number while it is with you, because the parent may be travelling. For cats, use only a breakaway (quick-release) collar.

**Medicines:** only give a calming medicine that the pet's own vet prescribed, exactly as the vet wrote it, at the time the vet said. Never give a human medicine, and never give a pet a medicine prescribed for another pet. If a pet seems unwell or its fear does not settle, call its vet.

## What should I keep away from pets during Diwali?

- **Sweets and snacks.** Chocolate, raisins and grapes, and sweets made with xylitol (found in some sugar-free sweets) are toxic to dogs, and chocolate is toxic to cats too. Mithai boxes, dry fruit and festive snacks should be out of reach, and staff should not share them with pets.
- **Festive flowers.** Lilies are very dangerous to cats, even the pollen. Keep them out of any room a cat can reach.
- **Diyas and candles.** Keep flames well above the reach of a wagging tail or a curious cat, or use electric lights.
- **Rangoli colours and decorations.** Keep pets away from fresh rangoli, strings of lights and anything they might chew.
- **Smoke.** On heavy-smoke nights, keep pets indoors with windows closed, and keep walks short.

If a pet eats something it should not, call a vet at once. Do not wait to see if it gets better, and do not try to make the pet vomit or give a home remedy unless the vet tells you to.

## How should I plan my staff for Diwali?

- **Extra hands on the loudest nights.** Diwali night and the night after usually need more people than a normal night.
- **One person per room on the worst hours.** Someone should be with the pets while the fireworks are at their peak, not only checking in now and then.
- **A clear medicine list.** If any pet has a vet-prescribed calming medicine, the person on duty should know which pet, which medicine and what time.
- **Leave plans early.** Your staff celebrate Diwali too. Agree who works which shift in advance, and thank them for it.

## What should I tell parents, and when?

Parents worry more during Diwali, because they know fireworks scare pets. A clear plan, shared early, is the best reassurance.

- **Before the stay:** where their pet will be during fireworks, who is on duty, and when you will send updates.
- **At arrival:** a short message saying the pet has settled in.
- **Every evening:** one photo and one line, after the fireworks have passed their peak. On Diwali night, send it even if all you can say is "noisy night, Bruno stayed close to me and is asleep now".
- **If something happens:** tell the parent the same day, calmly, with what you did and what you will do next.

For ready messages and a simple schedule, read [how to send pet parents updates on WhatsApp](https://www.petboard.in/blog/pet-parent-updates-whatsapp-boarding).

## How does petboard help with Diwali week?

- **A Diwali-week rate for boarding stays.** In your boarding settings, under "Pricing Rules", add a date-range override for your Diwali dates and turn on "Apply these multipliers to bookings". petboard uses that rate for new bookings on those dates. Bookings you already took keep their old rate. If you also have a weekend rate, both apply on Diwali weekend nights, so check the total before you quote it.
- **Advance payments.** On a booking, tap "+ Record advance payment" (or "Record Payment" if the booking already shows a charge) when a parent pays a deposit, so the advance is counted at checkout.
- **Vaccination dates on record.** The intake form collects vaccination dates, and each pet's care card shows them. Under Clients, "Reminders" lists pets whose vaccinations are due in the next 30 days or overdue, so you can ask the parent before Diwali week.
- **One page per pet.** Food, medicines, allergies and vaccination dates sit on the pet's page (its care card), so whoever is on duty on Diwali night can check them.
- **Updates from your own WhatsApp.** petboard prepares the check-in message and photo updates, and you send them from your own WhatsApp number.

## Download the one-page checklist

[Download the Diwali boarding checklist (PDF, 1 page)](https://www.petboard.in/guides/diwali-boarding-checklist.pdf). Print it for your team, or send it to your staff on WhatsApp. You do not need to sign up.

## Try it before the rush

[Sign up for petboard](https://www.petboard.in/signup). Your first booking is free, and you need no card. Add your Diwali-week rate, then take your first festival booking with the intake form.

Boarding pets at home? See [petboard for home boarders](https://www.petboard.in/for/boarders). Running daycare? See [petboard for daycare](https://www.petboard.in/for/daycare).

## Frequently asked questions

### When should a pet boarding business start preparing for Diwali?

Start three to four weeks before Diwali. That is when parents start booking. Set your Diwali-week rates, your deposit rule and your last booking date first, then confirm vaccinations and fireworks plans for each pet as bookings come in.

### Can I give a scared pet a calming medicine during fireworks?

Only if the pet's own vet prescribed it, and only exactly as the vet wrote it. Ask the parent at booking for a photo of the vet's prescription, with the medicine name, the dose and the time to give it. Never give a human medicine or a medicine prescribed for another pet.

### Which Diwali foods are dangerous for pets?

Chocolate, raisins and grapes, and sweets made with xylitol (some sugar-free sweets) are toxic to dogs, and chocolate is toxic to cats too. Keep mithai, dry fruit and festive snacks out of reach, and tell staff not to share them. If a pet eats one of these, call a vet at once.

### Should I charge more for Diwali week?

Many boarders charge a festival rate because demand is high and they need extra staff. If you do, tell parents the rate and the dates before they book, and put it in writing. In petboard, under your boarding pricing rules, add a date-range rate for Diwali week and turn on 'Apply these multipliers to bookings'. It applies to new bookings.

### How do I keep parents calm during Diwali?

Tell them your plan before the stay: where their pet will be during fireworks, who is on duty, and when you will send updates. Then send an update on the evening of Diwali, after the fireworks have passed their peak, even if it is just one line.