Gather the whole history before the handover day
A new carer piecing together a dog's past from three people's memories will get a version with holes exactly where it matters. Assemble the history in advance as one packet: vaccination and treatment records, any past operations or significant illnesses described factually, current feeding routine and amounts, exercise pattern, behaviour notes, and the vet practice and emergency contacts. Collecting it before the carer starts lets you chase the missing vaccination card or the old practice's records while there is no deadline pressing. Add schooling and social history too, such as classes attended, how the dog travels and which dogs he knows well, because a carer's first fortnight runs on exactly those ordinary details.
Include the behaviour and incident history honestly
Owners drafting a handover sometimes soften the difficult parts, describing a dog who has snapped at visitors as a bit shy. That kindness backfires within a week. Write plainly about fears, triggers, past scuffles with other dogs, resource guarding, escape attempts and anything the dog cannot safely do, with what has worked to manage each one. A carer who is warned can plan around a known issue calmly; a carer who discovers one mid-walk loses trust in the whole packet, including the parts that were accurate.
Separate the daily routine from the background record
Structure the packet in two layers so it can actually be used. The first layer is the living routine the carer follows every day: meals, walks, commands the dog knows, house rules and settling habits. The second layer is the background history consulted when needed: older health records, the story of a past injury, why a certain food was abandoned. Mixing the two produces a long document a busy carer skims, and skimming is how the one vital daily detail, such as a door that must stay latched, gets missed.
Hand over in person and invite the awkward questions
Sit with the carer and walk through the packet together, ideally with the dog present so abstract notes become visible behaviour. Point out the three items you would most want followed if everything else slipped, and say explicitly that questions in the first weeks are welcome and expected. Agree how updates will flow back to you, because the carer will learn new things about the dog quickly and that knowledge belongs in the packet, not in one person's head waiting to be lost at the next change of carer.
Keep the packet living after the handover
A history packet dates fast: treatments happen, routines shift, an ageing dog's exercise needs shrink. Review it at sensible intervals and after any vet visit that changes the picture, adding dated entries rather than rewriting the past, so the sequence of the dog's life stays readable. When the carer changes again, and one day it will, the updated packet is ready to move in an afternoon. Holding that complete, dated history as your dog's Pet Passport on KinsLe means it transfers to each new carer as one portable packet, with records and routines intact rather than retold from memory.