# Ep 146 Travel Without the Worry: How to Prepare Your Dog (and Sitter!) for Complete Success

An episode of [Help! My Dog: The Podcast. Dog Behaviour & Training Strategies that Work!](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1721245241), 16 Sep 2026, 11 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2287608/episodes/19547108-ep-146-travel-without-the-worry-how-to-prepare-your-dog-and-sitter-for-complete-success.mp3

Have you arranged for someone else to look after your dog while you’re away for work or on holiday and found yourself worrying about how they will handle the shift? Whether you’re anxious about routine disruptions or wondering how to make the handoff go smoothly, in this episode, we’re uncovering how to set both your dog and their sitter up for total success! We’ll break down why tweaking daily routines before you travel can prevent sudden overwhelm, plus simple prep steps to eliminate worry for everyone involved. We’ll also strip down the entire experience, exploring how we can set up the foundations for smooth, stress-free handoffs for any trip or vacation you have planned! ................ Whether your dog is unpredictable with other dogs or predictably bad… Whether it looks like freezing, barking, lunging or running away… Whether you are just starting out on your dog-owning journey or your dog has been labelled as having a “behaviour problem”… … this episode is for you and is going to give you huge insights! Want to join the Help! My Dog Online HUB? Here's the link: www.helpmydog.com/hub Dr Tom Mitchell is a world-renowned veterinarian, behaviourist and dog trainer and director of the Behavet behaviour clinic (rated Excellent on Trustpilot), which sees over 400 pet behaviour consultations each and every month no matter where you are in the world. In 2023, he founded Help! My Dog, an online dog behaviour learning platform to help even more owners all over the world and show that dog behaviour transformation is not only possible but it's FUN, with the right know-how! Make sure to subscribe/follow the podcast for the free weekly episodes! Useful Links: Follow Help! My Dog on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helpmydogofficial/ Schedule a Consultation with Behavet: https://www.beha.vet/ Follow Behavet on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/behavet

## Transcript

[0:00] SPEAKER_00: Thing with with dogs and and and you know whether we're a dog owner or we're a dog professional in some way, dog walker or whatever, right?
[0:07] SPEAKER_00: Or dog sitter or whatever.
[0:10] SPEAKER_00: Everybody has assumptions about dogs that they don't even realise are assumptions, right?
[0:16] SPEAKER_00: Before we dive in, a warning.
[0:19] SPEAKER_00: The content of this podcast may not be appropriate for some young listeners.
[0:24] SPEAKER_00: This is real life, and that means that sometimes it can be a little bit graphic.
[0:28] SPEAKER_00: So listen on at your own peril.
[0:31] SPEAKER_00: As a veterinarian, dog behaviourist, best-selling author and trainer, over the past decade, I've had an obsession with transforming the behaviour of dogs, understanding their brains and creating practical strategies that you can implement easily at home.
[0:46] SPEAKER_00: I know all too well when the dream you imagined when you first got your dog is far from your daily reality.
[0:53] SPEAKER_00: In fact, out of the blue, a few months ago, my little dog Gorse was bitten by a dog 20 times her size.
[0:59] SPEAKER_00: And suddenly our life of stress-free walks, a calm and cuddly household and being teammates was replaced with reactivity, anxiety, and worrying about what's around the next corner.
[1:10] SPEAKER_00: I'm Dr.
[1:11] SPEAKER_00: Tom.
[1:12] SPEAKER_00: This is the Help My Dog Podcast, and this is me documenting that journey of transformation, sharing my knowledge and experience with you and having a few laughs along the way.
[1:22] SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to this episode of the Help My Dog Podcast.
[1:26] SPEAKER_00: And today we're tackling a listener's question that goes a little bit like this: Hi Tom, we have a dog sitter coming to look after Bruce for two nights while we go to a wedding.
[1:36] SPEAKER_00: They will be sleeping in our house.
[1:39] SPEAKER_00: What can we do in preparation to help him settle at home with his new person and without us?
[1:44] SPEAKER_00: Alright, so I've got a lot to say on this, and I've probably got three or four tips that I think are really, really important.
[1:49] SPEAKER_00: So the first tip that I've got for you is what I would like you to think about is when you are not there and this the dog sitter is there, is there anything about Bruce's routine or the way he is going to live that is going to change?
[2:08] SPEAKER_00: For example, is he not going to have access to certain areas?
[2:12] SPEAKER_00: Um, or you know, does he normally sleep in bed with you, but now, you know, he's not gonna sleep in bed with a dog sitter?
[2:19] SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
[2:19] SPEAKER_00: You you'll know your situation the best.
[2:22] SPEAKER_00: And what I would like you to do is ahead of this event, I would like you to start transitioning him to that because it's gonna be way easier for him to get used to one change at a time rather than no owners are no longer here and all these changes are happening.
[2:37] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[2:38] SPEAKER_00: So effectively just think kind of like really proactively about what that might look like.
[2:43] SPEAKER_00: Second tip that I've got for you is preparation is everything.
[2:48] SPEAKER_00: So when you know Madeline and I will, you know, go away and have a have a house sitter, and it's you know, normally a family member, and um, and we try and make sure everything is prepared, okay?
[3:01] SPEAKER_00: So we will have a freezer stacked full of stuffed Kongs and stuffed bones, right?
[3:08] SPEAKER_00: So literally we can be like you use as many of these as you want to use and you need to use to um you know to keep everyone enriched and occupied and and calm as well, right?
[3:22] SPEAKER_00: And but they've got to be prepared and they've got to be there, yeah.
[3:25] SPEAKER_00: Second thing that we do is we have a whiteboard, okay?
[3:29] SPEAKER_00: Now, admittedly, you know, we have seven dogs, so a little bit more logistics involved than one, yeah.
[3:36] SPEAKER_00: But on that whiteboard is um all the kind of essential information um for each dog um and also kind of what they um what what needs to happen with them in a day, yeah?
[3:51] SPEAKER_00: Um and so it can be used as a little log so that there's not too much like having to think, like you kind of want to minimize the amount of like needing to figure stuff out and think about stuff that the dog sitter's gonna need to do, and you kind of just want like a plan.
[4:07] SPEAKER_00: Like if you have a if you have one dog, then you could probably just pop it on a piece of paper, but kind of do it as like a time-pointed, like, okay, this then, this, then, this, then.
[4:16] SPEAKER_00: Um, it can just be so handy.
[4:18] SPEAKER_00: So between the the um stuffed Kongs, bones, and whatever else, um, stock up on long-lasting chews and things like that, and then kind of the here is what needs to happen in a day, that can just really help that one, it helps the dog sit out, but more importantly, it helps little Bruce, right?
[4:37] SPEAKER_00: So that would be the second thing.
[4:39] SPEAKER_00: Third thing that I would do is I'd be really specific about the introduction.
[4:44] SPEAKER_00: So um I'm not a big fan of dogs meeting people um by people coming into the house.
[4:52] SPEAKER_00: Um, I much prefer to go, you know what, let's go to an environment where my dog would expect to meet someone normally, so like on a walk, yeah.
[5:01] SPEAKER_00: Um, and um and really what we're looking for is not a direct interaction between the dog sitter and and and Bruce.
[5:09] SPEAKER_00: We're looking for calm, optimistic coexistence, yeah.
[5:13] SPEAKER_00: So for example, um I don't know, if I was doing it here, um there's a the there are fields behind where we live.
[5:22] SPEAKER_00: And so, for example, the dog sitter might arrive for like an introduction, and I will, you know, they'll they'll pop out the car and I'll be and we'll be like, right, we're going straight on a walk, yeah.
[5:33] SPEAKER_00: Um and I'm talking to the dog sitter and I'm just explaining, like, you know, the best thing to do is just you know to to just kind of um not directly engage um any of the dogs, like, you know, they're cool with you, you're cool with them.
[5:48] SPEAKER_00: And this really what I want is for this relationship between you and them to not be like an exciting one, but to be a calm one because that's gonna set everyone up for success, okay?
[6:01] SPEAKER_00: And I think as soon as, you know, by doing that, so you know, getting straight out on a walk or whatever, also it's it it replaces kind of uh thing with with dogs and and and you know, whether we're a dog owner or we're a dog professional in some way, dog walker or whatever, right?
[6:17] SPEAKER_00: Or dog sitter or whatever.
[6:20] SPEAKER_00: Everybody has assumptions about dogs that they don't even realise are assumptions, right?
[6:25] SPEAKER_00: So, for example, what isn't an assumption to me is that when I meet a dog for the first time, that I'm getting down on my knees and giving them a stroke and saying how amazing they are, right?
[6:36] SPEAKER_00: Um, and yet that's an assumption for most people.
[6:38] SPEAKER_00: You know, many of you would have would have you know met me in real life, plus or minus your dog, and you know that I don't really directly interact with your dog.
[6:45] SPEAKER_00: Um, and yet you'll also know that it tends to be that dogs really, really like me, right?
[6:50] SPEAKER_00: And so um instead it's about kind of this like calm coexistence um and zero pressure, right?
[6:59] SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, I just wanted to take a moment to give you a heads up that BehaveVet, my team of behaviorists that are now multi-tim awarded best behaviorists year on year and rated excellent on trust pilot, are so highly qualified and experienced and known for results that pet insurance companies cover video consultations with them so that you can get the specific plan for your dog to transform their struggle.
[7:26] SPEAKER_00: So if you're insured with Pet Plan, Kennel Club, Agria, LV, Napo, Everyport, or Sainsbury's, you can now get booked in for a consultation for just a£25 out-of-pocket expense to you.
[7:41] SPEAKER_00: All you need to do to get help is go to www.beha.vet.
[7:48] SPEAKER_00: That's www.behe.vet and click book a consultation.
[7:53] SPEAKER_00: Cannot wait to help.
[7:55] SPEAKER_00: And so um instead it's about kind of this like calm coexistence um and zero pressure, right?
[8:04] SPEAKER_00: So by doing that, you kind of you get the opportunity to kind of explain how you want this relationship to be, yeah.
[8:12] SPEAKER_00: Um which I think is is powerful for dogs with struggles and equally, you know, dogs that don't have struggles.
[8:18] SPEAKER_00: Um and then my I guess my final tip for you is what I would do ahead of leaving is I try and make it as non-event as a non-event as possible.
[8:31] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[8:32] SPEAKER_00: And Madeline and I do this regardless of whether we're you know leaving the house and you know, someone's looking after our dogs or someone's looking after Delphine, our um our uh how old is she now?
[8:44] SPEAKER_00: 15 month-old baby, um, is actually, you know, the bags go in the car, right?
[8:49] SPEAKER_00: The overnight bags go in the car at some point.
[8:53] SPEAKER_00: Um, we're kind of just going about our day, the person arrives, we might go for a walk around the fields, we'll then come back in, we'll make a cup of tea, and then um, you know, dogs will get, you know, stuffed congs or bones or whatever, have a chill after their walk, that this person's now in the house, and we will just, you know, calmly pop out and off we go.
[9:18] SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
[9:19] SPEAKER_00: And and that's important for both the leaving and the coming back.
[9:24] SPEAKER_00: We come back in the same way.
[9:26] SPEAKER_00: We arrive back, we walk into the house, we don't really do excessive acknowledgement of anybody, we put the kettle on and we go back to normal life, right?
[9:39] SPEAKER_00: We come, we go, and we there's no big deal either way, yeah?
[9:43] SPEAKER_00: And so by doing those things, I think we're gonna set Bruce up for success in the best possible way.
[9:49] SPEAKER_00: Obviously, if he's never done this before, it is gonna potentially be a little bit weird.
[9:54] SPEAKER_00: And that's why it can be really handy to have a freezer full of stuffed high-value things, yeah?
[10:01] SPEAKER_00: Because then he can engage in that and that will help him to better disengage from the lack of your presence.
[10:08] SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, that little formula there is useful.
[10:10] SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, you got tons of value.
[10:12] SPEAKER_00: For those of you that haven't got a wedding coming up and are doing uh two nights away, um, that's that's sad for you, but also this formula will be useful in the future.
[10:21] SPEAKER_00: So take note of the um the the episode and um and and make sure that you you you can easily find it for when you do need this kind of um information.
[10:31] SPEAKER_00: That was this episode of the Help My Dog podcast, and we will see you next time.

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