Separate The Non-Negotiables From The House Rules
Family stays go wrong when every rule feels equally important, so sort yours before she arrives. In the non-negotiable column go the things that protect her health and safety: the foods she must never have, including rich table scraps if she has a sensitive stomach; any garden chemicals or areas that are off limits; the rule that she is on a lead anywhere the fencing is uncertain; and who to call, your vet first, if she is unwell. Everything else belongs to your parents as hosts. If dogs are not on their sofas, not upstairs, or not in the kitchen while cooking, those rules win in their house, and your job is to prepare her for them rather than negotiate exceptions that leave your parents managing a dog who expects different treatment from different people in the same room.
Walk Their Garden With Her Eyes, Not Yours
A familiar garden to your parents can hold a list of hazards for a visiting dog. Walk it together before the stay and look at fence height and gaps at her size, especially under gates and behind sheds where a determined dog tests first. Check for slug pellets, fertiliser, compost she could raid, tools and mower fuel stored at dog height, ponds or water butts she could fall into, and plants she might chew. Then agree the practical system: is she supervised in the garden, on a long line until everyone trusts the boundaries, or free once the gaps are blocked? If their garden opens onto a lane, fields, or a neighbour garden with its own animals, treat the first outings as supervised reconnaissance, not freedom, and make sure everyone in the house knows the door and gate routine, because most escapes happen at a door opened by someone thinking about something else.
Rehearse The Visit Before The Stay
A practice visit does more than any briefing. Bring her over for an afternoon that includes the things the stay will include: arriving through their front door, being told to stay off the furniture if that is the rule, eating a meal in the place she will be fed, and resting on the bed she will sleep on, which you should bring from home along with her blanket. Let your parents do the handling during the visit, feeding her, letting her out, and calling her in, while you watch and coach quietly, so she learns their voices giving the cues and they learn how she actually responds rather than how you describe her. If the real stay is longer than a couple of nights, add a trial night. Any confusion shows up then, while you are still nearby to solve it, instead of halfway through your trip.
Brief Them Like Carers, Thank Them Like Family
Write the same care brief you would give any sitter: food and portions, walk times and the route length she is used to, toilet signals, medication-free everyday care such as wiping muddy paws or checking her ears after wet walks, what she is frightened of, and what to do in the first minutes of common problems such as her refusing food, having an upset stomach, or escaping into the street. Leave her vet number, your number, and a local emergency contact. Then set expectations about updates, agree spending for emergencies in advance, and make life easy for your parents with her food pre-portioned and everything she needs in one labelled bag. Retold instructions drift between generations and kitchens, so give them the source itself rather than a summary. Your parents can also be given access to her profile via KinsLe Family Sharing.