What a Poodle's Sitter Bag Has to Cover
A Poodle staying with a sitter for a week needs the standard kit — portioned food, leash, comfort items, vet contacts — plus two things many breeds can skip: real grooming tools and real mental work. A Poodle's coat grows continuously and tangles fast, and a Poodle's brain notices an empty schedule within about a day. Pack for the coat and the mind, and the week tends to look after itself; skip either one and you return to mats, mischief, or both.
Coat Tools Are the Non-Negotiable Item
Send the brush and comb your Poodle is actually groomed with, not a travel substitute she has never felt. Ask the sitter to brush her out daily, even briefly, and to run the comb through the friction zones where mats start first: behind the ears, under the collar, in the armpits, and around the tail. A week of neglect on a longer Poodle clip mats down to the skin, and those mats pull, trap moisture, and usually end in a full shave rather than a gentle detangle. If her coat is kept short, the routine is lighter, but the comb-through still matters. Include any detangling spray she already uses at home, and mention that a damp coat should be dried and brushed rather than left to curl up and felt as it air-dries.
Ears, Eyes, and the Small Daily Checks
Poodles grow hair inside the ear canal and are prone to ear discomfort when moisture and wax build up, so pack the ear cleaner your vet has recommended for her and note how often you use it in the written routine. Add a soft cloth for wiping the tear staining that many light-colored Poodles develop under the eyes; a gentle daily wipe keeps the week's buildup from hardening into a crust the groomer has to soak off. Ask the sitter to flag anything specific rather than just general unease: head shaking, ear scratching, a sour smell from the ears, or squinting are the signs worth a call to you and, if they persist or she seems painful, to your vet.
Food Portions and a Sensitive Stomach Plan
Measure her food into per-meal portions for the full week plus one spare day, and keep it the same food she eats at home — many Poodles have unenthusiastic or picky phases, and a sitter week layered with a brand-new food invites skipped meals and stomach upset at once. Pack her treats in a capped daily amount, since an intelligent dog trains a soft-hearted sitter quickly. If she uses a puzzle feeder or a snuffle mat at home, send it: feeding her brain at mealtimes is part of how this breed settles. Note her meal times in the written routine, because Poodles read schedules well and a dog expecting dinner at a set hour is calmer than one guessing.
Toys, Comfort, and the Written Handoff
Round out the bag with chew toys and at least one interactive toy she can work on alone, her usual bed or blanket carrying home smells, waste bags, and the contact sheet: your number, your vet, the emergency clinic, and her microchip information. Leave written notes that a stranger could follow at midnight — feeding amounts, the brush routine, ear care, walk expectations, and any quirk that matters, like a dislike of being picked up or a habit of counter-surfing when food is left out. Go through the bag with the sitter in person before you leave. The whole point is that her week runs on your routine rather than on guesses, and with KinsLe, the Care Pass puts that routine and her key details in the sitter's hands as clear temporary access for the length of your trip.