Layer one: identity that anyone can act on
Start a from-scratch profile with the facts a stranger would need in the first minute. Record your dog's name and any previous names, breed or mix, sex, approximate age, colour and distinctive markings, and weight. Add the microchip number and the registry it sits with, your phone number and an emergency contact who is not you. Photographs carry half the value: take a clear front view of the face, a full side view showing markings, and one of any unusual feature such as a scar or one blue eye, in daylight without filters. Update the photos as a puppy changes or an older dog greys, because an out-of-date photo undermines the whole profile.
Layer two: daily care in usable detail
Next record how your dog actually lives, written so a sitter or kennel worker could follow it without phoning you. Note the food type in plain words, the amount per meal and feeding times, treats that are allowed, and anything that must never be fed. Add walking habits — usual length, lead behaviour, reactions to other dogs, cats and traffic — plus fears such as fireworks or stairs, favourite games, and how he travels in a car. Name your vet practice, groomer and regular walker with their contact details. This layer is where honesty matters most: a profile that admits a dog guards his bowl or dislikes small dogs keeps people safe.
Layer three: health records with dates
The health layer holds vaccination history with dates, parasite prevention and when the next round is due, any diagnosed conditions described in your vet's words, operations, allergies, and ongoing care needs. Keep the paper originals — vaccination card, microchip paperwork, insurance documents — together in one folder, and note in the profile where that folder lives. Ask your vet practice for a printed summary at your next visit if your records are scattered across practices; consolidating once is far easier than reconstructing under pressure before a boarding deadline.
A worked order for the first sitting
Set aside one sitting and build the profile in a fixed order so nothing depends on memory. Photograph the dog first, while the light is good. Then write the identity block from the microchip and vaccination paperwork in front of you, not from recall. Then phone your vet practice to confirm the dates you are unsure of, and finish with the care layer, walking mentally through a normal day from breakfast to bedtime and writing each routine as it occurs. Finally, read the whole profile as if you were the sitter receiving it at short notice, and fill the gaps that reading exposes — those gaps are exactly the ones a real handoff would hit.
Keeping the profile alive
A profile rots quietly: phone numbers change, a new condition appears, a dog gains weight, a favourite walker moves away. Review it whenever something changes and give it a full read a couple of times a year, correcting the small drifts before they matter. Share the current version with the people who care for your dog rather than letting copies in three houses age at different speeds. In KinsLe, Pet Passport holds your dog's records together in one portable packet, ready to hand over intact for a vet visit, a trip or a boarding stay.