It's incredibly helpful to know what your routine is, as it helps dogs with separation anxiety if I keep to the same schedule. Any allergies or medical concerns are also important, as well as any triggers that might cause them stress (do they like car rides? do fireworks upset them? etc.) The more I know about your pet, the better prepared I can be should a situation occur.

I love taking dogs on "smell walks" - the idea being that for dogs, scents are almost like books - so letting them sniff for as long as they want is almost like a spa treatment for them! I'm also a very outdoorsy person, and know a lot of great walks in the countryside that are perfect for high energy dogs. My motto for dog sitting is that the more activity they have, the less time they have to be anxious, and so I try to come up with an individual list of things we can do in the time we have together.