The in-home dog sitting checklist we give every Brisbane client

Why in-home dog sitting usually beats boarding

Kennels and boarding facilities are noisy, unfamiliar and full of other dogs' stress signals. Even well-run ones ask a dog to sleep in a new space, on a new surface, with a new routine, surrounded by barking. Anxious, reactive and senior dogs handle that badly.

In-home sitting keeps the smells, the sleeping spot, the feeding times and the walk route identical. Most dogs barely register that you left, which is why we see far fewer stress colitis, refusing-to-eat and kennel cough issues than owners expect.

There is a household benefit too: your house looks lived in, the bins go out, the mail comes in and the plants survive the week — which matters more in a Brisbane summer than most people plan for.

Your Brisbane dog sitting options compared

Overnight in-home sitting means a sitter stays at your house — best for dogs with separation anxiety, puppies, medicated dogs or stays over three days.

Drop-in visits (usually two or three a day) suit independent adult dogs and cats, and cost less. We do not recommend them for puppies under a year or dogs with any history of anxiety.

Boarding kennels suit robust, sociable dogs who genuinely enjoy other dogs and travel well. Friends and family are free but often inconsistent with medication, feeding and exercise — the three things that go wrong most.

• 🐾 Overnight in-home sitting: best continuity, best for anxious or medicated dogs
• 🐾 Drop-in visits: cost-effective for independent adult dogs
• 🐾 Boarding: fine for sociable dogs, harder on seniors and nervous dogs

Leave these out before you fly

We ask for the same short list every time, and it prevents almost every problem that comes up mid-stay. Print it and leave it on the bench rather than sending it by message — a sitter shouldn't be scrolling their phone to find your vet's number in an emergency.

• 🐾 Vet name, address and after-hours emergency clinic number
• 🐾 Written feeding amounts and times — grams and hours, not 'a scoop'
• 🐾 Medication with doses, timing and a photo of the label
• 🐾 Spare lead, harness, towel, and where the cleaning gear lives
• 🐾 A worn t-shirt for the dog bed
• 🐾 Council registration details and microchip number
• 🐾 Wi-Fi password, bin night, and how the aircon and fans work

Write the routine down, even the boring parts

The details owners assume are obvious are exactly the ones that unravel a stay: which door the dog goes out for the toilet, whether they're allowed on the couch, the word you use for 'come', how they behave around the vacuum, and which neighbour's dog sets them off through the fence.

We also want the honest version. If your dog resource-guards a bone, bolts through an open gate, or hates men in hats, tell the sitter. Nothing about that changes whether we take the booking — it changes how we manage day one.

Do a meet and greet — always

A free meet and greet before the booking is standard practice for any reputable Brisbane pet sitter. It lets the dog meet the sitter with you present, lets you confirm insurance and police checks, and lets everyone test the keys, gates and locks before it matters.

Ask three questions: are you insured, what's your plan if my dog needs a vet, and how often will I get updates? Any sitter worth booking answers all three without hesitating. We send a photo update after every single visit.

Book earlier than feels necessary

Queensland school holidays, Easter and the Christmas fortnight fill six to eight weeks ahead across Brisbane, and the good sitters go first. If your dates are locked in, lock the sitter in too.

For Christmas and New Year specifically, we recommend booking by early October. If you're travelling at short notice, ask about drop-in visits — availability lasts longer there than for overnight stays.