Record Identity and Contacts First, in Full
Start the handover record with the information someone needs in the worst five minutes, not the feeding niceties. Write your mobile number, a backup person who can actually collect her or authorise decisions if you are unreachable, her vet's name and number, and her microchip and ID details as you know them. Describe her properly for a stranger's eyes: breed type, size, colour, distinctive markings, collar and harness colour, and attach a recent clear photo showing her face and body. Walkers handle many similar-looking dogs; a precise description and photo are what a finder, a vet receptionist or a fellow walker will match her against if she is found without the walker beside her.
Be Honest About Triggers, Reactions and Recall
A new walker keeps your dog safe only if you tell them the unflattering truths. Record what startles her into bolting — fireworks, skateboards, lorries braking, cats, squirrels in a particular park — and what she does with other dogs: friendly, selective, anxious at greetings, or likely to lunge. State her recall honestly: reliable in an empty field is not reliable near a road or livestock, and the walker needs to know where she must stay on the lead or long line, which routes and off-lead areas are approved, and which are not. Note pulling strength and any history of slipping a collar or backing out of a harness, plus the exact fit you use to prevent it, so well-meant adjustments do not undo your safety setup.
Write the If-She-Gets-Loose Plan Before It Is Needed
Agree the lost-dog sequence in advance and write it down: stay near the point she was lost and call calmly rather than chasing, call you immediately even before searching long, keep the other contact and vet numbers to hand, and note the places she knows and might head for — home, your usual park entrance, a favourite person's house. Record where a found dog should be taken and who can collect her if the walker cannot stay. Include the details people forget under stress: which gate or door at home she might return to, and a neighbour who can let her in or hold her. A walker reading this plan for the first time mid-crisis is too late; talk it through on the first walk together.
Add the Daily Details That Prevent the Incident
Most escapes and accidents on walked dogs grow out of ordinary moments, so record those too: how doors and gates at your home must be handled, whether she dives through a front door when it opens, the harness and lead combination to use and how the lead attaches, road-crossing habits, and anything she must never be given or allowed to pick up. For a sitter staying longer, add feeding amounts and times, toilet routine, sleep place, and any current care needs described in plain words. Keep the record to what the walker will actually read — clear headings, short lines, no buried warnings in long paragraphs.
Do a Trial Walk and Keep the Record Current
Hand the record over before the first solo walk and do at least one walk together, watching the walker fit the harness, handle the known trigger spots, and use the cues your dog already understands. Afterwards, update the record whenever anything changes — new number, new vet, a new fear after a scare, weight change that affects harness fit — and tell the walker what changed rather than assuming they will reread the whole sheet. Keeping that handover current and complete is the everyday job KinsLe's Care Pass was designed for, giving each trusted walker or sitter temporary, clear access to the same routine and safety details instead of scattered notes.