A Chihuahua's sitter bag should contain pre-measured meals, a snug harness, a warm layer, a burrow bed, and handling notes written for a dog who may weigh less than the bag itself. Small size changes every decision in this list: portions shrink, warmth matters more, toilet trips come more often, and hazards that a large dog would never notice become the main event. Pack small, and write the notes smaller still in scale but bigger in care.
Meals Measured for a Very Small Dog
Portion your Chihuahua's food into daily containers, because with a dog this tiny the gap between a correct meal and a doubled one is a spoonful, and kind sitters routinely overfeed small dogs out of proportion anxiety. Include her usual treats broken to her size, and state her feeding times plainly. Note that she must never be given cooked bones or large-dog chews she could choke on, and that dropped human food should be retrieved fast, since a scrap that is nothing to a Labrador is a feast with consequences to her. If she uses a raised or shallow dish for comfort, pack it rather than assuming the sitter's bowls will suit.
Warmth, Burrows, and the Shiver Question
Pack a sweater or coat your Chihuahua already tolerates, because this breed feels cold sharply and will spend a chilly week shivering under furniture instead of relaxing. Add her burrow bed or the blanket she tunnels into at home, unwashed, since burrowing is how many Chihuahuas self-soothe in a strange house. Explain the shiver honestly to the sitter: Chihuahuas tremble from cold, excitement, and nerves alike, so the note should say what each version looks like in her and what helps, whether that is a warmer room, a lap, or simply being left to emerge in her own time.
Handling, Doors, and Small-Dog Safety Rules
Write the safety rules in bold mental ink. Your Chihuahua should be carried or watched around stairs she does not know, lifted with support under chest and hindquarters rather than scooped by the front legs, and kept on her harness outdoors. Fences need checking for gaps a small dog can slip through, doors need watching because she can be underfoot invisibly, and meetings with big dogs should be managed rather than left to chance. Note her true feelings about visitors, children, and being picked up by strangers, because a frightened Chihuahua who is cornered may snap, and a sitter who knows to let her approach first will have a friend by day two.
Toilet Trips, Contacts, and Worry Signs
Small bladders mean frequent trips, so set out your Chihuahua's real toilet rhythm, including the first-thing and last-thing outings, and where her indoor pad goes if she uses one overnight. Add your number, a backup contact who has handled her before, and her vet's details. Ask the sitter to call you if she refuses food beyond a day, trembles constantly and cannot settle, has repeated loose stools, or seems weak or wobbly, since small dogs can go downhill faster than their size suggests and early advice matters. Note her normal appetite and sparkle as the comparison point.
Sharing the portion sizes, warmth layers, and door-and-fence rules through KinsLe's Care Pass gives your sitter her whole tiny operating manual before the first shiver starts.