What to leave the sitter so treats stay the same

Leaving treats with a dog sitter works best with one open bag in reach, the rest sealed, and a short written note: how many pieces you give, which proteins your dog skips, and where treat time happens. If a box is due while you are away, skip or pause that month or ask the sitter to bring it in.

What should the sitter's note say about treats?

Keep it to one page that someone can read standing in your kitchen with a leash in the other hand. A sitter does not need your whole routine. They need the parts that change what the dog gets, and a few lines on how treat time goes at your house.

Here is the note we would write:

• Which bag is open, and where it lives.
• How many pieces make a normal treat time, in your own words ("a small handful, no more") rather than a rule you have to defend.
• When treat time happens, and where. Some dogs get theirs at the door, some on a mat, some only after a walk.
• Which proteins your dog skips, copied from the list you gave us when you ordered.
• What is off limits, such as table scraps or anything from a guest's pocket.
• Who to text, and how to reach you, if the sitter has a question.

Write it plainly and put it on the counter, not buried in a message thread. A note on paper beats a text that scrolls away by Tuesday.

How much should you leave out?

One bag, open, and the rest sealed and put away. That is the whole system. A sitter who finds a pile of open bags will guess, and a guess usually means extra. A sitter who finds one open bag and a note will do what the note says.

Choose the bag your dog already knows. A trip is not the time to test a new piece, so if this month's lineup has something unfamiliar in it, leave that bag sealed with the others until you are home. The treats are for intermittent or supplemental feeding rather than meals, so mention in the note that dinner still comes from the usual scoop.

Put the sealed bags somewhere the dog cannot reach and the sitter will not trip over, like a high shelf in a pantry.

What if the month's box arrives while you are gone?

You have three ways to handle it, and the best one is the one you decide before you leave the driveway.

A subscription lets you skip or pause a month, and doing it before you leave means no box lands on the porch while the house is empty. Our guide to pausing a dog subscription box walks through the account side of it, so this page stays with the dog.

If you would rather the box come, tell the sitter. They can bring it inside and leave it sealed on the counter until you are back. Or you can say it is fine to open, and name which bag to use. Either works. What does not work is a box nobody was expecting.

Check the how it works page for the skip and pause options before you travel, since the details of your own plan are what count.

Our Modified Monthly box is our own treats, and the contents change by month. Photos are examples, so the bag you leave out may not match last month's.

What changes for boarding or daycare?

Ask first. Boarding kennels and daycares have their own treat rules, and some do not allow outside food at all. Some want treats in the original bag, some want them in a container with the dog's name. Call or read their policy before you pack anything.

If treats are allowed, send one labeled, sealed bag instead of a whole box, with the same short note you would give a sitter. If treats are not allowed, that is fine too, and the dog gets them when you are home.

Do not hand over a bag the staff has not agreed to. A surprise bag at drop-off only creates a question for the staff.

Once you are home, finish the bag the sitter used before you open another. The next trip starts easier if the note is still in a drawer. For more on how the box fits a household, the guides page has the rest.