Keeping your pet sitter prepared

American Kennel Club

When leaving for vacation or even just a day trip, making sure your pet has proper care should be the No. 1 priority. This usually means leaving them in the care of a pet sitter.

The American Kennel Club provides a helpful checklist of everything you should leave with your pet sitter so you can have a stress-free time apart:

Maintain the same routine: Structure is important. Keeping your dog on the usual schedule while you’re away will help make the transition easier and even prevent accidents. Make sure to give the sitter a detailed rundown of when to walk and feed the dog

Enforce the house rules: Just because you’re away from home, that doesn’t mean your pet gets to break the rules. Make sure your sitter knows what your dog is and isn’t allowed to do in the house.

Leave emergency contact information: Make sure there’s a backup person the sitter can call if you’re unreachable. Don’t forget to include your emergency vet contact in the event your dog gets sick or injured. If you’re going on vacation, leave the name and number of your hotel, as well as your itinerary.

Create a list of medications and conditions: The sitter should know of any medical conditions or allergies to report in case they need to reach your dog’s vet for assistance.

Leave a credit card and authorization letter: Leave this information with your vet in case he needs to charge an emergency visit while you’re away. Include a signed letter stating that you give permission for the vet’s office to use your card for your pet’s care.

Maintain extra food and supplies at home: If you’re going on vacation, make sure you have enough food, medications, doggie bags and other supplies on hand for the sitter in case your return gets delayed.

This article was provided by Tribune News Service.