Standard forms capture the measurable dog: food amounts, walk times, vet numbers. The dog a sitter actually meets is the unmeasured one, who has opinions, rituals and a private logic for everything. A quirks letter bridges that gap. Write it as scenes from her real life, in the order a sitter will meet them, and keep the same six subjects every time so nothing essential depends on what you remembered that day.
Her Quirks and Her Fears
Begin with her quirks, the small behaviours that look strange until they are explained: the grumble that is conversation and the different sound that means she wants space, the circuit of the garden she must complete before settling, the toy she carries to the door when anyone arrives. Describe each quirk with what it looks like and what, if anything, the sitter should do, which is often nothing beyond recognising it as normal for her. Move from quirks to her fears, naming the specific triggers you know, whether that is thunder, fireworks, the vacuum, men in hats, or a particular stretch of the walk where she always balks. For each fear, write what she does, because one dog trembles in a corner while another barks at windows, and a sitter who expects the wrong reaction may miss the real one entirely. Note also what has never helped, so the sitter does not improvise a response you already know fails.
Her Games and the Exact Words She Knows
Her favourite games deserve their own lines, because play is how a sitter becomes trusted. Name the games she loves, where her toys live, how she asks to start, and the signal that ends a game before it tips into overexcitement. A sitter who can produce her favourite game on the first evening is halfway to being accepted as one of her people. Then list the exact words and routines she knows, written as she hears them, not as a trainer would phrase them. If she responds to a particular word for recall, a different one for waiting at the kerb, and a household phrase that means dinner is coming, write those exact words down, because near-enough versions may mean nothing to her. Include the routines built around those words, such as the order of harness, lead and door, or the bedtime sequence she expects, since a routine performed in the wrong order can unsettle a dog who was coping well.
Where She Hides and What Calms Her
Close the letter with the two subjects a worried sitter needs first. State where she hides, every place she retreats to when frightened, tired or unwell, from the gap behind the sofa to the airing cupboard she can open herself, so a sitter who cannot see her checks those places calmly instead of imagining an escape. Then describe what calms her, specifically: the spot she likes scratched, the blanket that settles her, the quiet company that works better than fussing, or the familiar sound you leave playing. Write the calming method as steps the sitter can copy, including how long it usually takes before she relaxes, so nobody gives up one minute before it works. Hand the letter to the named sitter for the booking, get the booking's agreed terms confirmed in writing, and revise the letter when the sitter reports back, because her fears and games evolve. KinsLe handles the handover narrowly by design: Care Pass lets that particular sitter view the details she needs only during the window you set for the sit.