The Pre-Trip Pet Checklist: What to Leave Your Sitter
Packing for yourself is already a project. Packing for your pet, or rather, preparing for someone else to care for your pet while you are gone, is its own thing entirely. The good news is that once you do this once and write it down, every future trip gets faster.
This checklist covers everything your sitter needs to take great care of your pet while you are away. Print it, text it, type it into a note on the counter, whatever works. The format matters a lot less than actually having the information somewhere accessible.
The pet care essentials
Food and feeding
- Brand and type of food (and where it is stored).
- How much to feed at each meal and how many meals per day.
- Any foods or treats your pet cannot have, including things like certain human foods that cause problems for your specific animal.
- Notes on finicky eating behavior, if any. Some pets are dramatic about schedule changes; better to warn the sitter in advance.
- Where the extra supply is if the current bag or can runs low.
Medications and supplements
- Name of each medication, dose, and timing.
- How to administer it (in food, by hand, with a pill pocket, etc.).
- What to do if your pet refuses or spits out a medication.
- Any supplements (joint chews, probiotics, fish oil) and whether they are optional or important to maintain.
Medication tip: Leave medications labeled and in their original containers if possible. Put them somewhere obvious, not in a cabinet the sitter might not open. A sticky note on the fridge with a quick summary is genuinely helpful.
Vet and emergency info
- Your regular vet's name, clinic name, address, and phone number.
- Your closest emergency animal hospital and their hours (especially if your regular vet does not have after-hours coverage).
- Your pet's most recent vaccination records or the name of the clinic where they are on file.
- Any known health issues, allergies, or conditions the sitter should be aware of.
- Explicit written permission for the sitter to seek veterinary care if needed, including any spending limit you are comfortable with before they need to reach you for approval.
Your contact info while away
- Your primary phone number (and a note if you will be in a different time zone).
- A backup contact: family member, friend, neighbor, anyone who can reach you or make a call on your behalf if you are unreachable.
- Hotel or lodging name and address if applicable.
Daily routine and behavior notes
This is the section most people skip, and it is the one that makes the biggest difference. A sitter who knows your pet's quirks can handle a situation calmly. A sitter who is surprised tends to have a harder time.
- Walk schedule and typical route or duration.
- Any leash reactivity, triggers, or dogs in the neighborhood to avoid.
- Where your pet sleeps and any bedtime routines (a treat, a specific blanket, a certain toy).
- How your pet signals they need to go outside (standing at the door, circling, sitting and staring at you).
- Separation anxiety behaviors if present, and what helps.
- How your pet behaves around strangers, children, other animals.
- Things they are scared of: vacuum cleaner, thunderstorms, the trash truck at 7 a.m.
- Favorite toys, games, or ways to burn energy if they get restless.
Home and access basics
- Entry code or key location, and instructions for any alarm system (arm/disarm codes, your monitoring company's contact info).
- Wi-Fi network and password.
- Trash and recycling day (and where the bins are).
- Any quirks of the home: the back door that sticks, the sink that drips, the gate latch that needs a lift-and-pull.
- Whether anyone else has access to the home while you are gone (cleaning service, family member, etc.).
- Parking instructions if your driveway or street has rules.
- Emergency contacts for home issues: a neighbor, a handyman, your landlord or HOA.
That might look like a long list, but most of it takes about 20 minutes to pull together the first time. After that, you save the document, update anything that has changed since your last trip, and you are done. Future you will be grateful.
If you are booking with Social Paw, we walk through a lot of this during the meet-and-greet and our onboarding process, so it does not all land on you to prepare from scratch. Visit our services page to see what we cover, or get in touch and we will send over our own info form to fill out ahead of your booking.