When I ran my pet care business, I learned how much of a good visit happens in the small details. A sitter could care deeply about the pets and still miss a step I had done so often that I no longer thought to explain it. Writing down our expectations gave us a shared starting point. Then I could watch a sitter put them into practice, answer questions, and see where they needed more support.
You do not have to write every procedure in your business this week. Think about a visit or handoff you have explained more than once. That is often a helpful place to begin. Here are seven areas I found worth putting into writing as my team grew.
As you read, treat these as a look at how my business worked. I am sharing the small decisions we documented so you can see what makes a procedure useful during a real visit. The details for your business should come from your own services, clients, team, and policies.
1. What a completed visit looks like
“Take good care of the pet and send an update” sounds clear until two people picture different things. A visit procedure helps a sitter understand your business’s expectations while still following each client’s instructions.
In my business, that meant checking the little care details, including washing food and water bowls. I looked for at least five clear photos showing the pet doing well and a positive message to the client after the visit. I also checked that the sitter completed the care within the scheduled time, without finishing too early or running over.
Your standards may be different from mine. What helps is making them specific enough that a sitter knows what a complete visit looks like, and you can recognize when they are ready to do it on their own.
2. When the usual visit plan needs to change
Imagine a sitter is about to let a dog into a fenced yard and notices that the gate latch is broken. In my business, that meant the dog went on a leash for its potty break and stayed on the leash while being walked around the yard. A trash can in front of the gate could be an extra precaution, but it never replaced the leash.
I also wanted the next sitter to know about the problem before arriving. The sitter would add a bold, highlighted warning in the client portal that the gate was unsafe and the yard was not secure. They would tell the client in the visit report and, once the dog was safe and the visit was handled, send me a quick note.
This is where a written procedure can help in the middle of a busy day. It connects the change in conditions to an immediate response, then makes sure the information reaches the client, me, and the next team member. An event needing an immediate call or formal report would follow a separate incident procedure.
3. Getting in and securing the home afterward
Before a visit, sitters checked the entry instructions in the client portal, whether the home had a lockbox or keyless entry. Most days, they could simply follow the instructions and get on with caring for the pet. The procedure became especially useful when a code did not work.
If the last sitter had visited recently, the current sitter could ask whether an access change had been made but not recorded. Otherwise, they would message the client through the client portal to ask if the code had changed. If there was no reply within a couple of minutes, they contacted me directly.
I wanted the home secured just as carefully when the sitter left. We had a company procedure for lockboxes, while the client provided the locking steps for a keyless entry system. Keeping entry, trouble with access, and departure together in one procedure helped sitters follow the right steps from arrival to the end of the visit. A confirmed change also needed to be recorded for whoever came next.
4. Knowing when a new client is ready for the first visit
Our policy was to have a meet-and-greet before scheduling services for a new client. It gave us time to learn about the pet and the home before anyone was assigned a first visit.
The sitter used a meet-and-greet form to record routines, care instructions, and the location of supplies. We could compare what we learned with the information in the client portal. Just as important, the sitter could decide whether they felt comfortable with the pet and in the home, and we could decide whether the arrangement was a good fit.
An opening on the calendar was only one part of being ready. Putting the meet-and-greet checks and the decision about fit into our onboarding procedure helped us confirm the care details and availability before scheduling that first service.
5. Medication instructions and special care
For medication, the client’s instructions were specific to that pet. Sitters followed those instructions and messaged the client if something was unclear. If they could not reach the client, they contacted me.
Insulin injections needed more preparation than a written note alone could provide. If a new client’s pet needed insulin during our care, I arranged the meet-and-greet at the pet’s normal injection time so the sitter could learn that pet’s routine from the client. If a new sitter later took over an existing client’s insulin visits, they needed to shadow an experienced sitter and show they could follow the routine before being cleared for that care. Once visits began, the sitter noted in the client’s visit update when medication had been given.
The written procedure had a place in all of this: it told the sitter where to find the current instructions, how to resolve a question, and which care required hands-on preparation. Practice showed whether they were ready to carry out those instructions for that pet.
6. When weather changes the visit
Summertime storms were common where I worked, so sitters did not need to call me every time a midday dog walk had to change. If a visit could safely go ahead but a normal walk was not appropriate, they took the dog out for a quick potty break and spent the rest of the scheduled visit on appropriate play indoors.
A hurricane or another serious storm was a different situation. I decided whether the team would work and informed clients if that decision affected their care.
Writing down both situations gave sitters room to make the everyday adjustment they were trained to make, while leaving serious-storm service decisions and communication about those changes with me. They knew what they could handle during a visit and when the plan needed to come from me.
7. How do you know when a new pet sitter is ready to work alone?
Even a good visit procedure cannot tell you whether a new sitter is ready to use it alone. Readiness comes from seeing them follow your standards and the client’s instructions during supervised visits, then recognizing when they need to stop and ask for help.
How many shadow visits does a new pet sitter need?
There is no single number that proves readiness. In my business, sitters typically shadowed about six visits with me or a senior team member. Some needed more or fewer, depending on their experience and how they did during training.
From the beginning, I asked them to send a brief hello message to the client so they could get comfortable communicating and writing visit notes. On the last few visits, they took the lead while supervised. I paid closer attention to their client messages, how they followed our standards and the client’s instructions, and whether they completed the care within the scheduled time.
I also used a checklist to keep track of the training, supplies, and access items each sitter needed for the clients they would serve, along with what they demonstrated during visits. A completed shadow visit was not an automatic pass; I made the final decision about solo visits. Documenting who supervises, what counts as checked off, and who gives that final clearance makes the handoff more thoughtful. Even after clearance, sitters knew to contact me about something unexpected or potentially dangerous.
A practical place to start
Which part of your day do you keep explaining, checking, or stepping in to finish? Choose one of those routines. As you go through it, jot down how it begins, the steps you take without thinking, where the plan might change, and what tells you the job is done. If client-specific instructions are involved, note where your team finds the current version.
Then try those notes with someone who knows your business. Walk through the task together and notice where they pause or ask a question. That is often the spot where the procedure needs one more detail. If a new sitter will be doing the task, supervised practice and feedback can help you decide when they are ready.
A procedure your team can actually use helps make care more consistent from one sitter to the next. It also makes a visit easier to hand off because the sitter knows what to do, what to record, and when to ask for help.
About the author: Christi Johnston, CPDT, CAIVA™, is the founder of SeaBreeze Digital Studio. Drawing on more than 25 years of business ownership, including pet care and dog training businesses, she creates practical resources that help owners document their standards, train their teams, and prepare for dependable handoffs.
Not sure whether your next handoff needs written instructions, more practice, or clearer boundaries? The free Delegation & Training Readiness Check helps you identify where to start.
To help you create your first procedure yourself, I made the $29 Pet Business SOP Quick-Start Kit. It includes a guide, a process-capture worksheet, a completed example, and a reusable template. If you would rather hand the writing to me, the $297 Done-For-You Pet Business Procedure Setup covers one agreed task or routine and a matching checklist.
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