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What Your Dog Sitter Actually Needs to Know

Not the version you'd say out loud in a rush at the door. The version worth writing down, so nothing important depends on you remembering to mention it.

A guide to leave behind, not just talk through

What Your Dog Sitter Actually Needs to Know

Most sitter instructions leave out the important part

Most people brief a dog sitter the same way: quickly, at the door, with half the information still in their head because it felt obvious at the time. It isn't obvious to someone who's never met your dog.

This isn't a form to fill out under pressure. It's the list of things worth writing down ahead of time, a note in your phone, a page taped inside a cabinet, so the important parts don't depend on a rushed conversation on your way out the door.

Before you go —there's a printable Fridge Page with all of this on one sheet.

Jump to the free download ↓

1

Feeding — Amounts, Times, and Where Everything Lives
Where the food, bowls, and treats actually are, the exact amount in cups (not 'a scoop'), the times, and anything they absolutely cannot have. Assume nothing is obvious.
2

Medication, If There Is Any
Dosage, timing, and how to actually get them to take it, most dogs know exactly what a pill wrapped in cheese looks like, and the trick that works is worth writing down.
3

The Vet's Number, and the Emergency Vet's Number
Not just 'our vet', the actual name, number, and address, plus the nearest 24-hour emergency clinic, written down even if your sitter has a phone. Panicked people don't search well.
4

What Actually Scares Them
Thunder, the vacuum, men in hats, whatever it is, the specific fear and what actually helps, so the sitter isn't guessing during a bad moment.
5

Whether They Can Actually Be Trusted Off-Leash
The honest answer, not the aspirational one, is what a break in routine, like a delivery at the door or a gate left open, is likely to make them do.

6

The Real Daily Routine
What time they actually wake up, how many walks, how long, and any small ritual, waiting at a specific window, needing to sniff one particular tree, that keeps a day feeling normal to them.
7

House Rules That Matter
On the furniture, in which rooms, near the trash, whether people-food happens even if it 'shouldn't.' The sitter needs the truth, not the rule you wish you enforced.
8

Who Else to Call, Besides You
A neighbor, a friend, anyone local who could get there faster than you can if you're unreachable for a stretch.
The one people forget

9

What 'Something Feels Off' Should Trigger
Give the sitter permission and instructions for the judgment call, when to just watch, when to call the vet, and when not to wait for you to answer your phone.