What to Tell Your Pet Sitter About a Pet With Allergies

Your dog has a known chicken allergy. Your cat cannot have any fish-based food. Your rabbit is sensitive to certain grasses. You know this because it is part of how you shop, cook, and stock the house. Your pet sitter does not have this background. She has whatever you tell her in the first few minutes of a drop-off.

This guide covers how to communicate your pet's allergies clearly enough that your sitter can act correctly in any situation, including ones you did not anticipate.

Severity matters

Not all pet allergies have the same consequences. Your sitter needs to understand the difference between:

• Life-threatening: ingestion or exposure can cause a medical emergency requiring immediate vet care. Examples: chocolate in dogs, lilies in cats, xylitol in dogs.
• Severe: causes serious symptoms that need prompt vet attention, but not necessarily an emergency. Examples: certain protein sources causing anaphylaxis or severe stomach problems.
• Moderate: causes discomfort, itching, vomiting, or diarrhea. Unpleasant but not an emergency. Your vet should be notified.
• Mild: causes minor symptoms. Monitor and report to owner.

If you say “she has a chicken allergy” without giving severity, the sitter will assume it is mild. If it is life-threatening, that assumption could be catastrophic.

What to tell her about each allergy

For every allergy, give your sitter five things:

1. The allergen name: be specific, not vague. “Chicken” is more useful than “some proteins.” “Chocolate” is more useful than “sweets.”
2. Severity: use the words life-threatening, severe, moderate, or mild.
3. What the reaction looks like: hives, swelling, vomiting, collapse, difficulty breathing, or drooling heavily. Be specific so she knows what she is watching for.
4. What to do: call you first? Go directly to the emergency vet? Call the vet and wait? Give a specific sequence of actions.
5. Hidden sources: where the allergen might be hiding that she would not think to check.

Hidden sources: the part most people skip

A sitter who knows your dog is allergic to chicken will not give him chicken. But she might give him a “beef” flavored treat that contains chicken meal as the third ingredient. She might use a chew made from poultry. She might give a pill pocket that lists chicken broth in its ingredients.

Give her specific guidance:

• Only give treats from the approved list on the counter. Do not use any treats from her own bag.
• Do not give anything that lists “poultry,” “chicken,” or “chicken meal” in the ingredients.
• Do not give any human food without checking with you first.
• If you are not sure, the answer is no.

The most useful rule you can give a sitter is: “If you are not sure whether something is safe, the answer is no and text me.”

Environmental allergies: what sitters get wrong

Food allergies are usually easier to manage. The sitter just does not give the food. Environmental allergies are harder because the triggers are outside and not always controllable.

If your pet has environmental allergies (grasses, pollen, dust mites, mold), tell your sitter:

• What time of year symptoms are worst
• Whether she should wipe down the pet's paws and coat after outdoor time
• Whether certain routes or areas should be avoided
• Whether windows should be kept closed
• What symptoms mean a vet visit is needed

Common household toxins she may not know about

Many of the most dangerous substances for pets are everyday household items. Your sitter may not know they are dangerous. Tell her explicitly:

• For dogs: chocolate, xylitol (in sugar-free products), grapes and raisins, onion and garlic, macadamia nuts, certain mushrooms, ibuprofen and acetaminophen
• For cats: all lilies, including Easter lily, tiger lily, and day lily (these cause kidney failure), onion and garlic, xylitol, certain essential oils (tea tree, eucalyptus), ibuprofen and acetaminophen
• For birds: avocado, chocolate, caffeine, onion, fruit pits and apple seeds, non-stick cookware fumes
• For rabbits: iceberg lettuce, certain grasses, chocolate, avocado, onion, fruit seeds

Do not assume she knows these. Tell her directly: “Do not give any human food without checking with me first.”

Verbal is not enough

The problem with a verbal allergy rundown is that it happens in a rushed moment, the sitter cannot review it later, and there is no shared record of what you said. If she gives the wrong thing and cannot remember what you told her, you have no way to help her from a distance.

Allergy information needs to be written, organized by severity, and available on the sitter's phone during the visit. Not in a text thread she has to scroll through. Not in an email attachment she has to open a different app to read. On a page that opens immediately when she taps the link.

Baton Pass for pets structures allergy information exactly this way: life-threatening allergies at the top in red, each allergy with severity, reaction, and action. The sitter can pull it up in a few seconds. Free to start.