Before you leave for the visit
Read the whole booking once before you start driving. The goal is to resolve uncertainty while you can still contact the owner—not after you are standing at the door.
- Confirm the client, pet, address, service, date, arrival window, and expected visit length.
- Check the door, key, lockbox, alarm, parking, and building-entry instructions.
- Review food, water, walk, medication, and special-care directions for this visit.
- Know the veterinarian, emergency contact, and owner contact path.
- Confirm the rate, payment status, and the update the client expects afterward.
Do not guess on medication.If a medication name, dose, timing, or method is unclear, pause and contact the owner. This checklist organizes instructions; it does not replace veterinary guidance.
Arrival and safety check
- Follow the exact entry instructions and disarm the alarm if required.
- Close and secure the exterior door before greeting the dog.
- Locate every pet expected to be in the home.
- Scan for anything unusual: illness, injury, vomit, diarrhea, damage, an open gate, unusual heat or cold, or signs that someone else entered.
- Send an arrival message if the client requested one.
Pet-care checklist
- Refresh water and confirm the bowl or fountain is working.
- Prepare food exactly as instructed; record how much was offered and eaten.
- Give medication only according to the confirmed instructions and record completion.
- Complete the scheduled walk, potty break, play, enrichment, or yard time.
- Observe energy, appetite, bathroom activity, mobility, breathing, and behavior.
- Return leashes, harnesses, medication, food tools, and supplies to their proper places.
Home-care checklist
The pet is the priority, but the home details are often what turn a good visit into a trusted one.
- Bring in mail or packages only when requested.
- Clean food-prep surfaces, spills, and pet messes.
- Check litter, puppy pads, crates, gates, and closed-room instructions.
- Adjust lights, blinds, thermostat, TV, or music only as directed.
- Confirm trash, plant, and other household tasks listed for this visit.
Departure: the final sweep
- Count every pet and place each one where the owner requested.
- Confirm water, food, medication, and comfort items are in place.
- Check doors, windows, gates, crates, faucets, appliances, and lights.
- Return the key, set the lockbox, and arm the alarm when required.
- Pull the door once after locking it. Do not rely on the sound alone.
- Send the client update and record anything the next visit needs to know.
A short client update that covers the essentials
Hi [client name] — [pet name] is all set. We [walked / played / had a potty break], and [he/she/they] [ate / drank / took medication] as planned. I noticed [helpful observation, or “nothing unusual”]. I refreshed the water, completed [home task], and locked up at [time]. [One warm, specific detail about the pet].
Make it repeatable
The best checklist is attached to the actual visit, not buried in a note titled “dog stuff.” Keep permanent instructions with the pet and home, then keep today’s required actions with today’s booking. That makes the list shorter, safer, and easier to trust.