The Dog Sitter Prep Checklist Every Dog Parent Actually Needs

You know the feeling. You're standing in the kitchen at 11pm the night before a trip, writing a note that starts with "so basically..." and ends four paragraphs later with you still not sure you covered the important part.

Here's the thing nobody tells you: a sticky note is not a system. Your dog sitter is walking into a life they know nothing about — the routines, the quirks, the one specific way your dog likes to be greeted at the door — and they're doing it without you there to fill in the gaps in real time.

So here's the checklist we actually use. Steal it, tweak it, tape it to the fridge.

The basics that are easy to forget

• Feeding times, exact amounts, and what happens if your dog skips a meal (some don't care, some will make it everyone's problem)
• Any food-related landmines — allergies, "absolutely not" foods, the trash can they've figured out how to open
• Medications: what, how much, when, and what it looks like if a dose gets missed
• Water bowl location and how often it actually gets refreshed (not how often you tell yourself it does)

The stuff that actually matters in an emergency

• Your vet's name, number, and address — written down, not "it's in my phone"
• The nearest emergency vet, because regular vet hours don't care that it's a Saturday
• Your dog's microchip number and where it's registered
• Any conditions a sitter needs to recognize fast — seizures, anxiety triggers, reactivity to other dogs

The personality file

This is the part people skip and it's the part that actually makes a sitter's life easier.

• Commands they know (and the ones they pretend not to know)
• What "I need to go out" looks like versus what "I'm just standing by the door being dramatic" looks like
• Leash behavior — pullers, greeters, the dogs they lose their minds over on walks
• Their comfort spot. Every dog has one. Tell the sitter where it is so they can point your dog toward it when things feel unfamiliar

Logistics nobody thinks to write down

• Where the leash, harness, poop bags, and treats actually live (not where they're supposed to live)
• Alarm codes, parking instructions, trash day — the boring stuff that turns into a 9pm text if you skip it
• Your travel dates and a way to reach you that isn't "I'll have my phone off but text me anyway"

The one thing to remember

A dog sitter can't read your dog's mind. You can. The whole point of writing any of this down is to hand off what's in your head before you leave, so your dog gets the same care whether you're standing in the room or three time zones away.

You don't need to be a control freak about it. You just need a system that isn't a sticky note.