Questions to Ask When Dog Sitting
Questions to ask an owner before you look after their dog, in their house or in yours: feeding and medication, walks and recall, how the dog behaves around other dogs and strangers, escape habits, and what happens if something goes wrong while they are away. Written for friends, neighbours, and new sitters.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Talk me through a normal day: when does he get up, eat, go out, and settle at night?
Why ask it
Ask for the day in order rather than for a list of needs, because owners remember their routine as a sequence and will fill in details they would otherwise skip. It also shows you where the day has slack, which is what you need when your own schedule does not match theirs.
What does he eat, how much, and when?
Why ask it
Get the amount by the actual scoop or bowl in the house, not by weight or by eye, and take a photograph of it filled. Half a cup means different things to different people, and a dog fed twice as much as usual for a week will tell you about it at the other end.
What treats and chews is he allowed, and is there anything he must never have?
Why ask it
This covers both the training treats you will need and the genuine hazards: foods that are toxic to dogs, an allergy, or a chew that has caused a blockage before. Ask whether anyone else in the house sneaks him food, since that is usually where a diet quietly breaks down.
Where is everything kept: lead, harness, bags, towels, food, and cleaning things?
Why ask it
Boring and the most useful question of the visit, because you will need all of it in a hurry at some point. Do this walk-through while the owner is still there rather than opening cupboards at ten at night after an accident on the rug.
Where does he toilet, how often, and what does normal look like for him?
Why ask it
You need a baseline to notice a change, and stools and urination are the earliest signs of most problems you would want to catch. Ask about his usual pattern and what has happened in the past when it slipped, so you know what warrants a call and what is ordinary.
How much walking does he need, and what does he do for the rest of the day?
Why ask it
Underexercised dogs invent work, and a dog used to two long walks who gets one short one will chew, bark, or pace. Ask what he does at home too: whether he sleeps most of the day or needs something to occupy him, which changes how long you can leave him settled.
Where does he sleep, and how does he settle?
Why ask it
Sleeping arrangements are where sitters unknowingly change the rules: a dog who has always slept on the bed will not understand a closed door, and the reverse is equally true. Ask about the specifics, including whether a light, a radio, or a particular blanket is part of it.
Where is he allowed in the house, and is he allowed on the furniture?
Why ask it
Getting this wrong is easy and hard to undo, since a week of sofa privileges undoes months of consistency. It also protects you: if he is not allowed upstairs and something is chewed up there, everyone knows what happened.
What does he chew or take when nobody is watching?
Why ask it
Almost every dog has a habit, and owners have usually adapted to it so thoroughly that they forget to mention it: shoes by the door, food off a low counter, tissues from a bin. Asking for the specific target lets you move it before it becomes a story you have to tell.
What frightens him, and what helps when he is scared?
Why ask it
Fireworks, thunder, the vacuum, and bins on wheels are common, and the useful part of the answer is the remedy: a particular room, a crate, being left alone, or being held. A frightened dog is also the one most likely to bolt, so this question is about safety as much as comfort.
How long can he be left alone, and what does he do when he is?
Why ask it
Ask for the honest maximum and how they know it, because an optimistic figure gets tested on your watch. Barking, destruction, or accidents after an hour is important information for planning your day and worth knowing before you commit to the job.
What does he do when you walk out of the door, and how do you handle it?
Why ask it
The handover is the hardest hour, especially with a dog who has never been left with anyone else. Owners who have done this before usually have a method: a quick exit, a chew, a walk immediately afterwards. Following theirs is better than inventing your own.
What is his recall like, and where is it safe to let him off the lead?
Why ask it
Do not take good as an answer. Ask what he does when he sees a rabbit or another dog at distance, and whether there is anywhere the owner themselves would not let him off. If there is any doubt, keep him on a long line, since a lost dog is the worst outcome of a sitting job.
How is he on the lead when he sees another dog, a cat, or a bike?
Why ask it
Lead reactivity is common, manageable, and frequently understated, so ask for the behaviour rather than the label: barking, lunging, freezing, pulling to greet. Also ask how the owner handles it, because a dog who is used to being turned away calmly will not cope with being hauled back.
Has he ever growled at, snapped at, or bitten anyone, and what was happening at the time?
Why ask it
Ask it plainly and without judgement, because context is what keeps everyone safe: guarding a bone, being cornered, having his feet touched, a child hugging him. Owners often skip this out of embarrassment, and an unexplained no from a dog who resource guards is the answer most likely to lead to an injury.
How is he with children, and with people arriving at the door?
Why ask it
Relevant if you have a household of your own or expect deliveries and visitors, which is exactly the situation the owner may not have thought about. Ask how he is managed when the doorbell goes, since that moment combines excitement, strangers, and an open front door.
Is he a door bolter or a fence climber, and where has he got out before?
Why ask it
Past escapes tell you which risk to manage: a gate left ajar, a car door, a gap behind the shed. Ask whether he comes back or keeps running, and take a clear photograph of him on the first day so you have something recent to circulate if the worst happens.
Is he microchipped, and is your current phone number on his tag?
Why ask it
Details go out of date after a house move or a new phone, and this is precisely when it matters. Check the tag yourself rather than asking about it, and consider adding your own number for the period you have him.
Is he on any medication, and can you show me how you give it?
Why ask it
Watch it done once rather than reading an instruction, since the practical trick, hidden in food, held in the cheek, given before a meal, is what makes it possible. Confirm the dose, the timing, and what to do if he spits it out or you miss one.
Who is your vet, where is the out-of-hours clinic, and have you left written permission and a way to pay for treatment?
Why ask it
Practices commonly need the owner's authorisation before treating a dog brought in by someone else, and emergency clinics often want payment at the time. Sort the note, the account details, and a spending limit in advance, and put the address in your phone before you need it at midnight.
What would tell you he is unwell, and at what point would you want me to call you rather than wait?
Why ask it
Owners know their dog's tells, and they also have a threshold that is theirs to set: some want to hear about a skipped meal, others only about something serious. Agreeing the line now avoids both an unnecessary alarming phone call and a delay that mattered.
If I cannot reach you, who else can make decisions about him?
Why ask it
Flights, time zones, and lost phones are ordinary, and a dog needing a decision cannot wait for a signal. Get a second name and number, and make sure that person knows they have been named, which owners often forget to do.
Is there anything I would otherwise only find out the hard way?
Why ask it
Left open on purpose, and it reliably produces the thing the owner had stopped noticing: he screams in the car, he cannot be walked past a particular house, he will not go out in the rain without a fight. Ask it last, once the practical list is done and they are relaxed.
Before, during, and after the handover
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Meet the dog before you commit
- Meet on the dog's territory first, then take a short walk together with the owner so you see how he behaves outside.
- Ask to do the feeding and the lead once while the owner watches, so any correction happens now.
- Watch how he responds to the owner's cues, and use the same words. Dogs do not generalise commands as well as people expect.
- If the dog is frightened of you, or the owner is vague about a bite history, it is fair to decline. Saying no early is much better than handing back a dog mid-week.
- For a stay in your own home, ask about the same things again for your house: stairs, other pets, garden fences, bins.
What you want in writing before they leave
- Feeding amounts and times, with a photograph of the filled scoop or bowl.
- Medication names, doses, and times, plus what to do about a missed one.
- Vet practice and out-of-hours clinic, with addresses, not just names.
- A signed note authorising treatment, an agreed spending limit, and how the bill gets paid.
- Two contact numbers: the owner and one other person who can make decisions.
- Alarm codes, key arrangements, and who else has access to the house while you are there.
The first day
- Keep to the owner's timings even if they are inconvenient. Familiar rhythm settles a dog faster than attention does.
- Expect a dog who barely eats on day one, and mention it to the owner only if it continues.
- Walk the garden and check gates, gaps, and latches before he goes out unsupervised.
- Keep him on a lead or long line for the first walks, however good the recall is said to be, until you have seen it yourself.
- Send one photograph and a line of text a day. It costs nothing and it stops the owner worrying enough to phone every evening.
If something goes wrong
He gets out
Start where he was last seen and check there repeatedly, since dogs often return to the same spot. Call the owner early rather than after hours of searching alone, and contact the vet practice, the microchip database, and local social media groups with the recent photograph.
He seems unwell
Ring the vet rather than deciding yourself what is minor, and use the agreed threshold for calling the owner. Note the time symptoms started and anything he ate or chewed, which is the first thing the practice will ask.
He growls or snaps at you
Stop what you were doing, give him space, and do not correct him. Work out what preceded it, tell the owner plainly, and change the routine to avoid it rather than trying to train through it in someone else's home.
Something in the house is damaged
Tell the owner the same day rather than hoping it is unnoticed. Sitters lose relationships over concealment far more often than over a chewed skirting board.