Lay out your dog's day in the order it happens
A sitter staying in your home does not need an essay about your dog; they need the day in sequence. Start with the morning: what time your dog usually wakes, whether the garden comes before breakfast, how much food goes in the bowl and where it is kept. Move through walks next — the usual routes, how long they last, whether your dog is reliable off lead or stays on, and any flashpoints such as a reactive neighbour dog two doors down or a cat that sits on a particular wall. Cover the evening in the same detail: last toilet trip, where your dog sleeps, and what settling looks like if he paces or whines at first. Anything health-related belongs in this flow at the moment it happens, written plainly, so the sitter meets each task when they reach that point in the day rather than cross-referencing a separate medical page.
Give the house the same practical treatment
House instructions fail when they assume knowledge. Write down the alarm code and how to set it at night, which key opens which door, and how the heating or boiler behaves, including the one quirk every house has — the tap that must be pushed, the window that sticks. Add the rhythm of the house itself: bin days and which bin, where post should be stacked, whether plants need watering, and what to do if something trips the electrics or the washing machine leaks. Say clearly which rooms or cupboards are off limits, and, just as clearly, what the sitter is welcome to use, from towels and bedding to the coffee in the jar. A sitter who feels like a guest rather than an intruder relaxes, and a relaxed sitter means a calmer dog.
Put emergencies where eyes land first
The first page, or the very top of the document, should carry what matters at speed: your mobile number, a second contact who can reach the house quickly, your vet's details and the out-of-hours alternative, and your dog's microchip and insurance information if you have it. Add the decisions you are making in advance — that the sitter may authorise emergency treatment, and how you will settle costs afterwards — because a sitter hesitating over permission at a surgery desk helps nobody. Include one line on what to do if the sitter themselves is taken ill or called away, naming a backup person who knows the dog and could step in, even briefly.
Test the instructions before they have to work
Walk the whole document through the house with the sitter before your trip, reading it at the spot each instruction describes. You will catch the gaps instantly: the food scoop that lives somewhere other than where you wrote, the back gate that needs a lift as it closes. If time allows, one overnight trial with you away for a single night turns the document from theory into something proven, and questions surface while you are still easy to reach. Keep the written version where the sitter will actually look — by the kettle or on the fridge — rather than in a folder. KinsLe Care Pass covers the dog half of the handover digitally, giving your sitter temporary access to the routine, feeding and key details for exactly the length of the stay, so the essentials travel with them on every walk and outing.