A relief walker — a neighbour covering a week, a friend stepping in during a long workday, a family member who has walked him twice but never alone — does not know what you know: which corner has the reactive dog behind the fence, which gate sticks and needs a shoulder, where your dog pulls toward the park and where he dawdles. A single page, written for a competent stranger rather than for yourself, transfers the parts of your knowledge that keep the walk safe, unhurried and ordinary.
The Five Sections, in Fixed Order
Give the sheet the same five sections wherever the contents are listed: the route and its distance and time, lead rules, door rules, other-dog and road-crossing protocol, and return checks covering paws, water and settling. Fixed order matters because a walker checking one point mid-walk should find it where the last sheet put it. Under the route, write the walk by landmarks rather than street names alone: out the front gate, left past the bakery, loop the green clockwise, back along the river path — with the distance and the usual time stated, so the walker knows what a normal version of this walk looks like and can judge whether today is running long. Note any stretch to shorten in bad weather or heat, and any place that is out of bounds entirely.
Lead Rules and Door Rules
Lead rules state how he is walked, not how dogs are walked in general: harness or collar, lead length if it adjusts, whether he may sniff freely or is kept moving past certain gardens, and the cue words he knows for stopping, leaving, and walking on. Say plainly if he pulls at one known point and how you handle it — stopping until the lead slackens, crossing early, a treat from the pouch. Door rules cover the two thresholds where outings most often unravel: how he is secured before the front door opens, where the lead is clipped on, what happens at the gate, and the same sequence in reverse on return, including checking the gate is latched before the lead comes off. A dog lost on a relief walk is usually lost at a door, not on a path, so this section earns its detail.
Other Dogs and Road Crossings
The other-dog and road-crossing protocol should read as decisions already made. State whether he greets other dogs on lead or is kept at a distance, which local dogs are known trouble, and what the walker should do if a loose-running dog approaches: turn away early, put distance in, use the cue he knows. For crossings, name the crossing points on the route, say whether he waits for a cue before stepping off the kerb, and flag the junction where traffic arrives quietly or sightlines are poor. A relief walker should never have to improvise policy at the kerbside with your dog at the end of the lead; the sheet carries the policy, the walker carries it out.
Return Checks, and the Test Walk
Return checks close the loop: paws wiped and looked over for cuts, grit or grass seeds, water offered and the bowl refilled, and settling — whether he usually drinks, circles and sleeps, or stays restless for a while, plus what restlessness beyond that pattern should prompt a phone call to you. Add your number and his vet's number at the foot of the page. Finally, the sheet is not finished when it is written; it is finished when it has been followed. Walk the route together once, sheet in the walker's hand, and let them do the doors, crossings and cues while you watch. Correct the page afterwards where reality differed from your description — that marked-up version is the one worth keeping. Once KinsLe has the route, lead rules and return checks stored together, a relief walker opens Pet Passport at the front door and follows the tested sheet step by step.