USE CASES
Help your dog walker understand more than the route.
Your dog walker needs to know which leash to use and where to go.
They may also need to know that your dog bolts when the door opens, freezes when a truck passes, or can walk past another dog only if there is enough space.
Cotl helps you share the details that make a walk safer and more familiar for your dog.
CAPTURE WHAT MAKES YOUR PET SPECIAL
Build it once. Use it whenever care changes hands.
Keep what matters about your pet in one current profile, then use it to create Care Notes for each person or situation.
You do not have to start over each time, and you do not have to share everything with everyone.
The walk starts before they leave the house
“Wait for her to sit before opening the door.”
“He can pass another dog from across the street. Do not let him greet one on the sidewalk, even if he looks excited.”
“She usually pulls for the first few minutes. If she stops wanting to move, bring her home and call me.”
Your dog walker may not think to ask about these details beforehand. Sharing them helps your walker understand what is normal, what to avoid, and when something may be wrong.
Share what matters on the walk
Explain where to find the leash, harness, poop bags, and treats.
Share the routes your dog knows, where they like to sniff, how long they normally walk, and any places to avoid.
Tell your walker which cues your dog knows, how they behave on leash, and what helps redirect or calm them.
Explain how your dog reacts to other dogs, people, bicycles, wildlife, traffic, loud noises, and anything else they may encounter.
Give each walker the information they need
Keep what you know about your dog in their Cotl profile, then create Care Notes for a particular walker or walking arrangement.
A regular walker may need the full routine. A neighbor helping once may just need the essentials. Someone taking your dog on a longer outing may need additional health, behavior, and emergency information.
You decide what to include without sharing your dog’s entire profile.
Keep up as your dog’s needs change
A familiar route may become too long. A new medication may affect energy or bathroom habits. An injury may change which equipment to use. A previously harmless situation may become stressful.
Update your dog’s information in Cotl as things change. You can use that same profile to prepare Care Notes for a walker, sitter, veterinarian, family member, or anyone else helping with their care.
You do not have to rebuild what you know for every person who steps in.
Questions about sharing Care Notes with a dog walker
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A Google Doc gives you a blank page, or basic instructions you’ve revised over and over again for different situations.
Cotl helps you think through what another person may need to know, keeps those details with your pet’s profile, and lets you create different Care Notes for different people and situations.
You do not have to start over each time, and you do not have to share everything with everyone. Your weekend sitter can get the full routine. Someone stopping by can get the essentials.
If something changes, update your pet’s information instead of tracking down and rewriting every set of instructions.
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Your walker sees the information you include in their Care Notes, not your dog’s entire profile. You can share walking routines, equipment, cues, triggers, health concerns, contacts, and anything else relevant to their time together.
With our Cotl Core premium plan, you can also share live links that make sure you sitter sees up-to-date information, and you can control when the sitter has access to that information.
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Share what your walker needs to get your dog out of the house safely, handle the walk, and recognize when something is wrong.
That may include the door routine, leash or harness, usual route, bathroom habits, cues, treats, interactions with other dogs and people, known triggers, weather limits, health concerns, and who to contact with a question or emergency.
Include details specific to your dog, such as how much distance they need from another dog, what helps when they become frightened, or which change in their behavior means the walk should end early.
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You can download the Care Notes as a PDF and send the file yourself. Premium members can also share Care Notes through a live link.
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No. You can download the Care Notes as a PDF or share them through a live link that your pet sitter can access on their computer or their phone’s web browser. Your sitter does not need a Cotl account to read them.
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Update the information in your Cotl Pet Profile. If you shared a live link, your sitter can see the current information included in those Care Notes. If you shared a PDF, download and send the updated version.
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No. People receiving Care Notes can view what you shared, but they cannot edit your Pet Profile.
START WITH THE FRONT DOOR
Leave them with more than the basics
Add the routine your dog walker should follow before the walk begins. We’ll guide you through the rest.
