Why under a year old changes the brief
A dog under twelve months is still running a puppy's schedule inside a bigger body. She likely needs toilet trips far more often than an adult dog, sleeps in shorter and more frequent bursts, eats measured meals at set times, and has exercise limits that protect growing joints from long hikes or endless stair climbing. A sitter briefed for an adult dog will almost certainly under-schedule toilet breaks and over-schedule activity, so the preparation for this first stay is mostly about translating her young-dog routine into instructions a sitter cannot misread.
Her confidence is also still forming. A first stay handled kindly at this age teaches her that being left with another trusted person is a normal, survivable part of life, which pays off for every trip, hospital visit, or house move in her future.
Choose the sitter she already knows, then rehearse
The best first sitter is rarely a stranger with glowing reviews; it is the friend, neighbour, or family member she has already greeted happily at your home several times. Have that person feed her a meal and take her for a short walk while you are still around, so she files them as someone who provides food and outings, not just visitors' fuss.
Then rehearse the actual handover. Drop her for an hour or two, leave without ceremony, and collect her at the agreed time. Watch for the report that matters: did she toilet, eat, play, and settle for a nap? If the trial goes badly, with constant crying or refusal to eat, shorten the real stay if circumstances allow or add a second trial, rather than hoping a longer absence will somehow go better than a short one did.
Write the young-dog specifics down in full
List her toilet rhythm honestly, including the times she typically needs to go, her cue word, and where, plus what her accidents look like when the timing slips, so the sitter responds with a trip outside rather than a telling-off. Give exact meal amounts and times, her current food with no substitutions, and any foods or chews she must not have at this age. State her exercise ceiling plainly, such as two short lead walks of a set length, no rough play with large adult dogs, and no long runs, because well-meaning sitters often walk a lively young dog far beyond what her joints should take.
Add her sleep setup, the bedding or crate arrangement she expects, what she does when overtired, which is usually more mouthing and frantic behaviour rather than less energy, and the wind-down routine that works. Finish with your vet's details, an emergency contact who can reach you or collect her, and permission arrangements for urgent care, written down rather than assumed.
Keeping the stay itself boring and safe
Ask the sitter to puppy-proof as they would for a younger dog, lifting cables, shoes, and medicines out of reach, because a young dog in a novel house investigates with her mouth. Her own unwashed bedding, a familiar toy, and her usual food keep the sensory world constant even though the address has changed. Keep your goodbyes brief, and agree on one or two photo updates rather than a stream of calls that can unsettle a sitter into hovering over her.
When she comes home, return to her normal routine at once, note what the sitter reports about eating, sleeping, and toileting, and keep those notes for the next stay. Sending the sitter her feeding times, toilet rhythm, exercise ceiling, and sleep routine through KinsLe as a Care Pass means those young-dog specifics arrive as one clear temporary handover, and access simply ends when the stay does.