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Pet Care Instructions Sheet Template — Free PDF & Editable Download

The intake is what the client told you; this sheet is what the sitter follows. Prepared by the business from the confirmed intake, it puts each pet's routine in one grid — food, water, exercise, toilet, medication — and gives medication its own dated administration record, because 'give the tablet daily' is an instruction while 'given Tuesday 9:15 AM, initials EB' is evidence. Access instructions appear by coded reference only: the full alarm code never appears on a sheet that travels to the job. It is the operational heart of the FormNest pet-sitting chain, sitting between the intake and the daily report cards.

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⬇ PDF (print-ready)⬇ DOCX (editable)

Free for your own business use — please don't redistribute or resell the files.

The template — full preview

[Your Business Name]

[phone] · [email] · [address]

Pet Care Instructions Sheet

For pet-sitting businesses — the sitter-ready handover sheet prepared from the intake: routines per pet, a dated medication record, and access instructions by reference.

Document details

Client name:

Booking reference:

Service address:

Booking start date:

Booking end date:

Assigned sitter:

Prepared date:

Revision number:

1 · Emergency contacts

Client name & primary phone:

Secondary emergency contact & phone:

Regular veterinary clinic & phone:

Emergency veterinary hospital & phone:

Business emergency contact:

Escalation instructions

2 · Pet identification

Pet	Type / breed	Age	Weight	Temperament & handling warnings

3 · Per-pet routine grid

Pet	Food & quantity	Feeding time	Water	Exercise / walk	Toilet / litter	Medication	Other instructions

4 · Medication administration record

Date	Pet	Medication & dose	Time due	Time given	Result (given / refused / not given)	Initials	Notes

5 · Home access & security — access method

☐ Key

☐ Lockbox

☐ Client present

☐ Other

Key reference:

Alarm instruction reference:

Parking instructions:

Doors / windows to check:

Restricted rooms / areas:

Key storage instructions:

Entry instructions

Exit instructions

Full alarm codes must not appear on this document. Keep the actual code in the business's restricted access record, and refer to it here by its reference only.

6 · Visit completion checklist

☐ Feed all pets

☐ Refresh water

☐ Complete walk / exercise

☐ Complete litter / toilet tasks

☐ Check scheduled medication

☐ Secure the home

☐ Send the visit report card

7 · Handover confirmation

Prepared by:

Sitter receiving instructions:

Sitter acknowledgement signature:

Date received:

Client-approved instruction source / date:

Free template from FormNest (formnest.pages.dev) — free for your own business use; please do not redistribute or resell.

See it filled in — a worked example

Example details only. Emma Brooks prepares this sheet from Jordan Lee's intake on November 8, 2026, and it is the document she actually works from all week — including the medication record, filled in one row per day as the booking runs.

Pet Care Instructions Sheet — Paws & Paths Pet Care
Booking	Client: Jordan Lee · Booking PP-1109 · 1847 Willow Creek Drive, Springfield, IL 62704 · November 9–15, 2026 · Sitter: Emma Brooks · Prepared November 8, 2026 · Revision 1
Emergency contacts	Owner: Jordan Lee, (217) 555-0148 · Alternate: Taylor Lee, (217) 555-0176 · Regular vet: Springfield Family Veterinary Clinic, (217) 555-0182 · Emergency vet: Springfield Emergency Animal Hospital, (217) 555-0194 · Escalation: contact Jordan promptly about any unusual behaviour, health concern or missed medication; for an urgent emergency, seek veterinary assistance without delaying for a reply
Routine — Scout	Food: 1 cup dry food · Feeding 9:00 AM · Water: refresh · Exercise: 20-minute walk · Toilet: outdoor walk · Medication: none · Special note: avoid greetings with unfamiliar dogs
Routine — Juniper	Food: 1 pouch wet food · Feeding 9:00 AM · Water: refresh · Exercise: indoor activity as appropriate · Toilet: scoop litter tray · Medication: 1 prescribed tablet · Special note: tablet given in the approved small treat
Medication record	Juniper — client-supplied tablet, 1 tablet, due 9:15 AM: Nov 9 given 9:15 AM · Nov 10 given 9:15 AM · Nov 11 given 9:15 AM · Nov 12 given 9:15 AM · Nov 13 given 9:15 AM · Nov 14 given 9:15 AM · Nov 15 given 9:15 AM — all marked Given, initials EB. Illustrative records only; the client supplies the prescription and the exact instructions.
Access	Method: key · Key reference PP-1109-K1 · Alarm reference PP-1109-A1 · Entry: front door · Parking: driveway · Restricted area: closed home office · Exit: secure the front door and set the alarm as instructed · Full security code: not recorded on this sheet
Handover	Prepared by Emma Brooks · Received and acknowledged by Emma Brooks (owner-sitter), November 8, 2026 (illustrative)

The medication record is the sheet's spine: seven dated rows for seven doses, each marked given at the time it happened — so "did Juniper get her tablet on Thursday?" is a lookup, not a memory test.

What's included

Document details
1 · Emergency contacts
Escalation instructions
2 · Pet identification
3 · Per-pet routine grid
4 · Medication administration record
5 · Home access & security — access method
Entry instructions
Exit instructions
6 · Visit completion checklist
7 · Handover confirmation

Who should use it

Pet-sitting businesses handing a booking to an assigned sitter
Solo sitters who want one authoritative sheet instead of a thread of client messages
Any business where a second sitter might cover a visit and needs the exact same instructions

How to use it

Prepare it from the completed intake form, and confirm every instruction with the client before issuing it.
Give the assigned sitter the latest revision — and only the latest revision.
Record each medication administration immediately, in the record on this sheet, including refusals and missed doses.
When instructions change, issue a new revision with a new number and date rather than annotating the old sheet.

Printing & customization

Prints on US Letter or A4 across two pages. Add medication rows in the editable version for longer bookings or multiple daily doses, and keep the completed medication record with the client's booking file.

Simple usage licence

Free for your own business use — print it, fill it, edit the editable version and save it as your master. Please don't redistribute, resell or re-upload the files themselves; link to this page instead.

Frequently asked questions

Is this sheet completed by the client?

No — the business prepares it from the client's confirmed intake information and issues it to the sitter. The client supplies and approves the information; the sheet is the business's working document.

Why does medication get its own record?

Because medication needs a dated, per-dose account — given, refused or not given, with the time and the sitter's initials. A tick on a feeding checklist cannot carry that, and 'I think she had it every day' is not a record.

What happens when instructions change mid-booking?

Issue a revised sheet with a new revision number and date, and make sure the sitter is working from the new one. Two versions in circulation is how last week's instruction gets followed this week.