Cat owners get told, repeatedly, to check the door before they walk through it. Dog owners tend to get less of this — dogs are "supposed" to stay in a fenced yard, walk nicely on lead, and come back when called. In practice, dogs escape constantly, and usually for reasons that have nothing to do with a sitter doing something wrong. It's worth covering properly rather than assuming a dog handover doesn't need it the way a cat one does.
The short answer
Most dog escapes come down to one of four things: a gate or fence with a weak point, a door or car that opens faster than a "wait" cue is actually trained for, a lead or harness that isn't secure for that specific dog, or recall being trusted further than it's actually reliable. All four are fixable with the same approach — be specific and honest about your dog's actual behaviour, not their best-case behaviour, and tell your sitter exactly which one applies to them.
Gates and fences
Dogs get out of secure-looking yards more often than owners expect, and it's rarely one dramatic failure — usually it's a small, known weak point nobody flagged. Common ones:
- A latch that doesn't fully catch, especially after weather or regular use has worn it down — worth a physical check before a sitter's first day, not an assumption it's still fine
- A gate a dog has learned to nose or paw open, which some dogs figure out with enough motivation and repetition
- A fence height or gap that's fine for a calm dog but not a determined one — dogs are climbers, jumpers, diggers or chewers, and which one yours is changes what actually needs securing
- Anything near the fence line that acts as a step-up — outdoor furniture, a woodpile, a garden bed — worth clearing before a stay, not after an escape
If your dog has a known method — climbs, digs, or is a gate specialist — say so explicitly rather than leaving your sitter to discover it. A sitter who knows "she digs under the back corner" checks that corner. A sitter who doesn't know will just trust the fence.
Doors: the moment nobody plans for
Yards get secured. Doors rarely get the same thought, even though a dog barging through an open front door is one of the most common ways a "secure" dog ends up loose — it happens in a split second, usually while a sitter's hands are full with keys, mail, or shopping.
- Which door your dog is most likely to bolt from, and whether they need to be secured in another room, on lead, or behind a gate during entry and exit
- Whether a "wait" or "stay" is actually enforced at your front door, or whether that's aspirational rather than reliable — if it's the latter, say so, and tell your sitter to physically block the gap instead of trusting the command
- Deliveries and visitors specifically — a knock at the door is exactly the moment excitement peaks and training drops, so it's worth its own mention even if general door behaviour is otherwise fine
- Whether your dog's collar or harness is genuinely escape-proof for them — some dogs are notorious for backing out of a standard collar the moment they're startled or pulling
Cars: doors, boots and windows
This one gets missed constantly, because a car trip feels incidental compared to a walk or a yard — but an open car door or boot is one of the easier ways for a dog to get loose, especially somewhere unfamiliar like a vet car park or a new walking spot.
- Whether your dog waits for a release cue before jumping out, or bolts the second a door opens — a dog who's steady in your driveway isn't necessarily steady in a car park with a lot going on, so don't assume the calm version travels
- Restraint in the car itself — an unrestrained dog in a moving vehicle isn't just an escape risk if a door's opened at the wrong moment, it's also a safety risk if the car stops suddenly, so a harness clipped to the seatbelt or a secured crate matters for the drive itself, not just arrival
- Windows — keep them no more than cracked, since a dog can push through further than owners expect, and turn on child locks if your dog's ever pawed at a door or window from the back seat
- The boot specifically, if that's how your dog travels — a dog who's overexcited by an opening boot benefits from being taught to wait for a release cue rather than diving out the second there's a gap, and until that's reliable, a clipped-in harness is the safer option
If your dog has never fully settled into "wait for the cue" at either the front door or the car, it's worth telling your sitter plainly that this is a two-hands, no-multitasking moment — not something to do one-handed with a phone or bag in the other.
Recall: the honest version, not the hopeful one
This is where owners most often oversell their dog's reliability, not out of dishonesty but because recall looks different at home than it does anywhere else. A dog's recall reliability is highly dependent on distance, distractions and environment — a dog who comes every time in the backyard may not come at all near another dog, a jogger, or open space with room to run. This gap between "reliable at home" and "reliable anywhere" is one of the most common reasons a good recall fails at exactly the wrong moment.
What's actually useful to tell a sitter:
- Whether your dog is reliable off-lead in enclosed, low-distraction spaces only, or genuinely anywhere
- The specific situations where recall drops — other dogs, wildlife, food on the ground, a particular type of person or vehicle
- Whether a long training line is used for anywhere less than fully secure, rather than trusting recall alone
- The actual word or tone that gets a response — the same "say the real command, not the textbook one" principle that applies to every other command applies doubly here, since a failed recall is the one command failure with real consequences
If your dog's recall is a work in progress rather than solid, say that plainly. A sitter who knows to keep your dog on a long line in open space is doing exactly the right thing. A sitter who's told "he comes when called" and finds out otherwise is finding out in the worst possible circumstances.
What to actually hand over
- Which escape method applies to your dog, if any — climbing, digging, gate-opening, or bolting through doors
- Any weak point in your own fence or gate that you already know about
- Whether "wait" is genuinely reliable at the front door and the car, or aspirational
- Car-specific restraint and whether your dog jumps out the second a door or boot opens
- Collar or harness specifics
- Recall reliability, honestly graded by environment, not by their best day
Why this belongs in the handover, not just in your head
Most of this lives as instinct in an owner's head — you don't consciously think about it because you've adjusted around it for years without noticing. That's exactly why it needs to be written down for someone meeting your dog for the first time; they don't have the years of adjustment, just whatever you tell them.
Quirks & All keeps this kind of detail on your dog's profile alongside the rest of the handover, so a sitter knows which door to watch and which command to trust before the first walk, not after a scare in the yard.