Two different jobs
Vaccination is a record. Consent is an agreement. They are collected at the same moment and they behave completely differently after that, so set them up as two things rather than one form.
A vaccination record has a date, expires, and needs re-checking. A consent needs a signature, a version, and a reason to be renewed. Get that distinction right at setup and the salon stops chasing paper.
Decide your vaccination policy first
Before any field is built, write down what you require and be able to say why. Most salons require a current primary course and boosters, and many require kennel cough where dogs share drying or holding space. Some accept a titre test result, some do not. Some make an exception for elderly dogs with a written note from a vet.
Whatever you decide, it has to be one sentence an owner can read on the site and a staff member can apply at the desk without ringing you. Vaccination protocols and the names of what is given vary by country, so state your own requirement rather than copying another salon's list, and check it with your vet if you are unsure.
Build the capture into booking
In MoeGo, Gingr, Savvy Pet Spa or whichever platform runs your diary, the vaccination fields belong on the pet profile inside the booking flow.
Ask for a confirmation tick and the date at the point of booking, because those are quick. Ask for a photograph of the card or the vet's printout in the confirmation message, because that needs the owner at home with the card in front of them. Where the platform stores an expiry date and sends its own reminder before it lapses, turn that on. It is the single most useful automation in a grooming diary and almost nobody switches it on.
Write the consents as separate agreements
One long paragraph of small print gets ticked without being read and is worth very little when it matters. Break it into named agreements, each a sentence or two.
Matted coats. That a severely matted coat may have to be clipped short for welfare reasons, that the result may look very different, and that it takes longer and costs more.
Veterinary attention. Authorisation to seek veterinary treatment if the dog is injured or unwell during the appointment, at the owner's cost, with their own vet named where possible.
Handling. That a muzzle or a second groomer may be used where a dog is unsafe to handle, and that you may stop a groom and return the dog part-finished if continuing is not fair on them.
Health disclosure. That the owner has told you about lumps, skin conditions, medication, arthritis, seizures, poor sight or hearing and any bite history.
Photography. Whether you may photograph the dog and use it on your site and social channels. Keep this one optional and honour the answer.
Cancellation. The window, the deposit rules and what happens to a no-show.
An e-signature at booking is enough for each of these. Give the set a version and re-sign annually, or whenever you change the wording.
The website carries the explanation
The platform collects. The site explains, and it has to do so before the owner books, not after.
Put the vaccination requirement, the matted coat policy and the cancellation policy on the first-groom page in plain words, and link that page from the booking area and the price table. Say what a rescue owner should do when there is no history available. Nobody minds a rule they read in advance.
Check it at the door, quietly
Whoever is on the desk needs a one-glance answer: does this dog have a complete profile and an in-date vaccination. Most grooming platforms show that as a status on the appointment. Look at the day's list each morning rather than each dog on arrival, so a gap is a phone call at eight rather than a problem at nine.
Store it in one place and only there
Health documents and signatures must not live in an inbox, a personal WhatsApp thread or a folder of photos on somebody's phone. Keep them attached to the dog's record in the platform, where the right people can see them, they are found by searching the dog's name, and they can be deleted when a client leaves.
Only collect what you actually use, keep it no longer than you need it, and know how to remove a client's records on request. Data protection rules differ by country, so treat this as orientation and confirm what applies where you work.
Where this sits
Vaccination capture with expiry reminders, consents signed online as separate agreements, and a first-groom page that explains all of it beforehand are standard on a dog grooming salon website as we build it, and the same approach runs through the other pet business websites we make. What each package covers is on pricing. Collect it once, before the dog arrives, and it stops being paperwork.