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Rock Dog Pro vs Kennel Connection
Kennel Connection is a long-running boarding, daycare and grooming system with cloud, desktop and hybrid editions.
Prices from kennelconnection.com, checked September 19, 2026. If something changed, tell us and we'll fix it.
| Rock Dog Pro | Kennel Connection | |
|---|---|---|
| Photo groom review | ClipSight™: the style, length and most likely blade from a photo, learning your shop as you confirm | Not built in |
| Automatic vaccine records | VaxFetch™: clients text their vaccine records; shots and vet email logged, updates requested from the vet automatically | Not built in |
| Entry price | Grooming $49, Boarding $49, Daycare $39, Mobile $39 a month; $10 off each when you run two or more (grooming, boarding and daycare together $107) | $69 a month (Hello-Groom, grooming only) |
| Grooming with payroll and texting | $89 a month (Grooming on Growth: $49 plus a flat $40), 300 texts included, unlimited staff | $149 a month (KC Cloud, all modules) plus $50 a month for unlimited two-way texting |
| Boarding and daycare | Memberships from $49 (Boarding) and $39 (Daycare), never add-ons; $10 off each when bundled | Yes, in KC Cloud, Hybrid and Desktop |
| Mobile grooming | A $39 membership: vans, service areas, routes with real drive times, on-the-way texts with a live tracking link, a safety check-in for groomers working alone | No mobile grooming module |
| A website for the shop | Included: a free site at yourshop.rockdogpro.com built from your own records, or your own domain | Customer portal; no website builder |
| Texting | Two-way from your own number, 300 a month included, bigger packages sized to the shop | Add-on: $50 a month unlimited |
| Payroll | Commission, hourly or both, overtime by state, time clock, pay stubs (Growth) | Not published |
| Year-end tax forms | 1099-NEC recipient copies and e-file CSV, digital W-9s (Ultimate) | None |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card required | 30-day demo |
| Getting help | An interactive Smart Assistant that walks you through anything on your screen, and a phone line answered by a real person, not a machine | VIP onboarding and support |
What Rock Dog Pro has that Kennel Connection doesn't
- ClipSight™ photo groom review: it names the style, the length and the most likely blade from a photo, and learns your shop
- VaxFetch™ automatic vaccine records: clients text them in, every shot is logged on the right dog, and the vet is emailed for updates, with no staff time
- Grooming plus boarding plus daycare for $107 on Base against $149 plus $50 texting
- Payroll, time clock and 1099s built in
- Skills as a hard filter (creative color, hand stripping) plus breed and weight refusals per groomer, standing appointments booked a year out, smart durations that learn each dog, and a waitlist that texts the next client when a spot opens
- Boarding rounds with sign-offs, a printable run card for the kennel door, and pupdate photos texted mid-stay, and the daycare day board by play group with a capacity meter, prepaid day packages and online daycare booking
- Mobile grooming as a $39 membership: vans, service areas, routes with real drive times, on-the-way texts with a live tracking link, and a safety check-in for groomers working alone
- A free website for the shop, built from your services, hours and photos, at yourshop.rockdogpro.com or your own domain
- The Smart Assistant walks you through any task on your own screen, typed or spoken, and a phone line answered by a real person, not a machine, and a full export of everything, any time, as a zip of spreadsheets and files: your data is yours
Where Kennel Connection is ahead
- Desktop and offline editions for shops with unreliable internet
- Unlimited texting for a flat $50
- Decades of kennel-specific workflow
- VoIP phone integration
Questions
Does Rock Dog Pro work offline like Kennel Connection Desktop?
The groomer app keeps the day's schedule available offline on a phone, but Rock Dog Pro is a cloud system and needs a connection for everything else.