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Leaving your dog in someone else’s care can be stressful for you and your dog. Luckily, there are some things you can do to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. This checklist will help you and your pet sitter work together to keep your dog happy, healthy, and safe while you’re away.
Keeping Your Dog Healthy and Well Fed
Keeping your dog to the same schedule while you’re away can help make their transition easier. Before heading out on your trip, make sure your dog has plenty of food. It can be helpful to label food containers, especially if you have multiple pets on different diets. Leave detailed feeding instructions, including portion size, how many times a day your dog is fed, and other special considerations, such as feeding order of multiple pets.
If your dog is on any medications, double-check that they have enough for the duration of your trip, and write out instructions for administration and where it’s kept, out of your dog’s reach. You can also demonstrate to your pet sitter how to dose your pet.
Leave your veterinarian’s name, phone number, and location. Ahead of your trip, contact your veterinarian’s office to let them know you have a pet sitter authorized to care for your pet. Many pet sitters will ask that you fill out a form explaining the type of veterinary care your dog can receive if you can’t be reached, including a spending cap for emergencies. If they don’t, consider providing one. Leave the pet sitter a list of vaccinations and dates received.
Most important, give your pet sitter your itinerary and several forms of contact for you – including your cell phone. They should also know the names and phone numbers for the places you’ll be staying.

Making Sure Your Dog Is Safe
Put ID tags on your dogs’ collars if you have multiple pets, especially if they’re the same breed. If you have different breeds, you can include your dogs’ breeds with their names on your instruction sheet to rule out any confusion. If the pet sitter will be going out, ask that the dog never be left alone wearing a collar with a hanging tag that can get caught in air vents or crate openings. Make sure your backyard is secured at all times. You could also instruct your pet sitter to keep your dogs on a leash to prevent an escape.
Leave your dog’s leash, poop bags, food, bowls, and other supplies in a place that your pet sitter can find easily, but out of your dog’s reach. Also, let your sitter know where your dog’s carrier or crate and dog first aid kit is in case of an emergency. Leave out any toys you want your dog to have access to, and put away toys that could pose a choking hazard.
Provide contact information for at least one person you trust to make decisions about your dog, in case you can’t be reached. Be sure to ask those people before you do this.

Leaving Directions About Your Home
In the directions you give your pet sitter, include instructions about your home, such as:
- Alarm codes
- Water turn-off
- Circuit breakers
- Your landlord’s name and phone number
- The names of anyone else who may be in your home during your absence
Remove any potentially harmful objects out of your pets’ reach, like plants, trash, or cleaning supplies. Stressed pets may exhibit behaviors they wouldn’t normally exhibit if you were home. Consider blocking your dogs in one room, or crating them for their safety.
Let your neighbor or landlord know that you’ll have a pet sitter, and provide them with your pet sitter’s contact information in case of emergency. Also, leave a set of keys, even if you have a keypad. Sometimes keypad batteries die, and there’s no way to open the outside door without a key. As a backup, leave a key with a neighbor.
If your pet sitter will be staying in your home, make sure you provide instructions about where to sleep, how to work your television, how to operate the heat/air conditioning, if the doors and window should be locked, which bathroom to use, and whether you’re comfortable having other guests in your home. Be sure to provide enough clean linens and toilet paper. Be clear about whether or not the sitter can eat the food in your refrigerator and pantry.
Keep cleaning supplies in an obvious location (but somewhere your dog can’t reach) in the event your dog has an accident or creates a mess. Prepping your house for a pet sitter helps to ensure that your dog will get the best possible care. It’s also a great way to make your pet sitter feel appreciated.