A new walker, however experienced, knows dogs in general and does not yet know her. A senior dog's safety on a walked route depends on details only you can supply: how slowly she truly goes, where her limits sit, and which streets she loves. Brief those specifics properly, prove them on a shared walk, and leave them in writing, because a walker guessing kindly at any of them can still push her too far on a warm day.
Her Pace and Her Limits, Stated as Numbers
The walker set to brief is her pace, her limits, and her favourite routes, and every part of it should be stated concretely. Her pace is the speed she sets herself, which for a senior dog usually means an amble with long sniffing stops, and the walker must match it rather than setting a brisker human rhythm and letting the lead do the persuading. Say how long she takes over her usual route, so a walker running behind schedule knows the answer is a shorter route, never a faster dog.
Her limits need the same precision. Give her distance limit as the route length she manages comfortably, not the longest she has ever survived. State her heat limit plainly: the conditions in which walks shorten, move to cooler hours or are skipped for a garden visit instead, because senior dogs regulate temperature poorly and a walker keen to deliver a full service may not volunteer to cut a walk short. Cover stairs too: whether she manages them, how many, and what the walker does at flights she must avoid, including which entrance or lift replaces them.
Her Favourite Routes, Walked Exactly as She Walks Them
Favourite routes are not trivia; they are where she is confident, where surfaces suit her joints and where she reliably toilets. Describe her favourite routes turn by turn, or better, walk them together, naming the flat, even stretches she handles well, the grassed section where she likes to linger, and the spots to avoid, such as a steep camber, a slippery painted surface or a corner where excitable dogs lunge at fences. Note where she toilets so the walker builds the stop in rather than hurrying past it.
Add her signals and her rules. Show the walker how she signals tiredness, whether she lags, sits, pants heavily or turns towards home, and make clear that any of those signals ends the walk without negotiation. List what must never happen on any walk: never hurried across roads, never pulled up kerbs, never allowed to jump from a car boot, and never let off lead anywhere you have not approved. A walker who knows her stop signals and her never list can be trusted with the rest.
Prove It Together, Then Put It in Writing
Do the first walk together, with the walker holding the lead and you alongside to correct details in the moment. That single accompanied walk reveals questions no written brief predicts, lets the walker feel her pace through the lead, and lets you watch how she responds to a stranger's handling before you hand over fully. Follow it with the written brief, kept identical to what you said on the walk, covering her pace, her limits on distance, heat and stairs, and her favourite routes.
If the walker is paid, confirm the agreed terms in writing as well: the rate, walk length and frequency, cancellation arrangements, and what the walker should do and who they should call if she is unwell or refuses a walk. Paid or not, keep her brief with her vet's details and your emergency contact. Her Pet Passport, maintained through KinsLe, gathers her records and that walker brief into a single portable packet, ready for any new carer to read before the first solo walk.