Policies and Standard Operating Procedures, often referred to as SOPs, are an important part of managing a breeding establishment.
They should not simply be documents created because an inspector might ask to see them. A useful policy describes how your breeding establishment actually operates. It provides a consistent procedure for you, anyone who works with you and, where appropriate, your licensing officer to understand how a particular part of the establishment is managed.
Digital PawPrint has been designed to help you create, maintain and put those procedures into practice.
What is the difference between a policy and an SOP?
The terms policy and SOP are often used together, but there is a useful distinction. A policy explains your approach to a particular subject and the standards you intend to follow.
An SOP goes further and explains the practical procedure you follow. For example, a cleaning policy might state that accommodation, feeding equipment and whelping areas are maintained to an appropriate standard of hygiene.
The SOP element explains how you actually achieve that.
It might describe when cleaning takes place, which areas are cleaned, which products are used, how equipment is disinfected, how waste is handled and what happens if additional cleaning is required.
For a small home breeder, the policy does not need to read like a procedure written for a large commercial kennel.
It needs to accurately describe your establishment and your routine.
Your policies should describe what you actually do
One of the most important principles when using the Digital PawPrint Policy Builder is that there is no benefit in creating an impressive sounding document if it does not reflect what happens in practice.
A generic statement such as:
“All dogs are maintained within a clean and hygienic environment using appropriate veterinary grade cleaning products.”
may sound professional, but it tells somebody very little about what you actually do.
A much more useful policy would explain things such as when the areas are cleaned, what you clean, the products you normally use, where equipment is stored, how frequently bedding is changed and how you deal with additional cleaning following illness or contamination.
That creates a procedure that is specific to your breeding establishment. It also gives you something practical to work from.
How the Digital PawPrint Policy Builder works
Digital PawPrint contains a library of policies and procedures covering different areas of managing a breeding establishment. Rather than presenting you with a finished generic policy to copy, many of the policies use a guided Policy Builder.
The builder asks questions about how you manage that particular area of your establishment. Your answers are then used to help build your policy.
The questions are there for an important reason. They encourage you to think about your own procedures rather than simply accepting a standard document written for somebody else’s establishment.
You may be asked about things such as your routine, equipment, products, responsibilities, frequency of activities and what you would do in particular circumstances. The resulting policy should therefore become a description of your own working procedure.
If you already have an established policy or SOP, Digital PawPrint also allows existing documents to be uploaded rather than recreated unnecessarily.
Using AI to help write your policies
Artificial intelligence can be extremely useful when creating policies.
There is nothing wrong with using AI to help you articulate something that you already do. You may know exactly how you clean your whelping area, introduce new dogs, monitor behaviour or manage an emergency, but find it difficult to turn that routine into a clear written procedure.
This is where AI can be helpful.
It can organise your information, improve the wording and turn your notes into a more structured document. The important distinction is that AI should help write your procedure. It should not invent your procedure.
A policy generated from a prompt such as “write me a dog breeder cleaning policy” will usually produce a broad overview based on general good practice.
It may look impressive, but it may include equipment you do not own, routines you do not follow, products you do not use or procedures that are simply not relevant to your establishment.
That defeats the purpose of having the policy.
A better approach is to first explain what you actually do and then use AI, or the Digital PawPrint Policy Builder, to help turn that information into a clear document.
Ultimately, you should be able to read every section of the finished policy and say:
“Yes, this is what happens here.”
Policies and Tasks should work together
Creating the policy is only one part of the process. The Digital PawPrint’s My Tasks area is designed to help turn those written procedures into ongoing records.
Think of it this way:
Your policy explains what you say you do.
Your Tasks help record that you are doing it.
If your cleaning procedure says that a particular activity is completed every day, the corresponding task allows you to create an ongoing record of that activity. If your procedure requires something to be checked weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually, that activity can form part of your routine records.
This is why Digital PawPrint is more than somewhere to store documents. The aim is to connect the procedures within your establishment with the records being created as you operate it.
Over time, this creates a much clearer evidence trail.
Record changes, not just perfect routines
Real establishments change.
A product may become unavailable.
A dog may need a different feeding routine.
You may change how an area is cleaned.
An incident may lead you to introduce an additional check.
Your records should be able to reflect this.
For example, if your normal disinfectant was unavailable and you used an appropriate alternative, recording that information within the relevant task gives context to the change.
If that new procedure becomes permanent, you may then need to update the policy itself.
This creates a much more useful record than repeatedly recording that everything was completed without explaining significant changes.
The Digital PawPrint review process
Where a policy has been created using Digital PawPrint, you can submit it for review. The purpose of the review is to help identify areas where the policy may need more information or greater clarity.
For example, a reviewer may notice that an answer is very general, an important part of the procedure has not been explained or the document does not clearly describe how the routine works within your establishment.
You may then be asked to add or clarify information before considering the policy complete. The review process is there to support you in producing a useful working document.
It is not an approval of your breeding establishment, your licence or your compliance with licensing conditions. Your licensing authority remains responsible for determining whether the arrangements at your establishment meet the requirements of your individual licence and the legislation that applies to you.
Your policies should evolve with your establishment
A policy should not be written once and forgotten.
Review your procedures periodically and whenever something significant changes.
This might include a change to your premises, staffing arrangements, products, equipment, veterinary advice, routines or the way dogs are managed.
Your policies should continue to describe what actually happens within your establishment.
If the procedure changes, update the document.
Don’t try to complete everything at once
If you have only just started using Digital PawPrint, seeing a large number of policies can initially feel daunting.
You do not need to create every policy in one sitting. Start with the procedures that form part of your everyday operation and work through the remainder gradually.
A sensible starting point might include:
- Daily cleaning
- Daily feeding
- Monitoring your dogs
- Emergency procedures
- Preventative health
- Socialisation and enrichment
Take the time to make each document specific to your establishment rather than rushing to mark everything as complete.
A policy is only useful when it reflects practice
The most important thing to remember is that Digital PawPrint is not trying to create a folder full of paperwork.
- Your policies should describe the way you operate.
- Your SOPs should explain how those procedures are carried out.
- Your Tasks should help you record the activities taking place.
- Your Diary Updates can provide additional context when something unusual happens or circumstances change.
- Together, these create a much clearer record of how your breeding establishment is being managed.
When creating any policy, start with one simple question:
What do I actually do?
Once you can answer that, Digital PawPrint can help you turn it into a clear, organised and useful procedure.