Labrador Retriever Forum
Good morning!
I'm looking to find out how everyone is organizing their dogs medical records so that it is easy to keep up with various things such as vaccinations, deworming, bloodwork etc.. I have looked at the AKC record keeping system thoroughly, and thought it an awesome place to keep tract of litters, puppies borns, dogs owned and things like that, it can't do health records.
What about the pedigree programs? That would be convenient. Or some form of easy filing system?
Anybody have a system they can share?
Thanks!
Sue Puff
We do use on online system (TBS) but I also keep a calendar book that has the extra notes pages. I track seasons, breeding dates, worming, heartworm and vaccines in this. Since most of my computer entry happens on the backend...I am one that prefers to be able to write down and make notes. I keep them as a backup to the electronic records and it really does not take up much space...all the information for the year in one little calendar book.
I think it probably depends on your personality. For me, this system has seemed to work the best.
Filing cabinet that contains a file folder for each dog. Each time I take a dog to the vet I grab their folder to go with. That way I have a history of everything and don't need to rely on my memory. The folder contains copies of all paperwork (vet,clearances, breeding, show,litter records, etc).
Every year between Xmas and New Years, I go thru each folder to verify rabies vaccines to determine who is due for vaccination. All of my dogs are vaccinated every 2 years (on the same schedule) for other things besides rabies/bordatella.
I also keep a paper taped inside the folder that has the dog's current medication dosages and when they are given as well as any supplements they are on. I also put this information on a slip of paper on my fridge with the location of the meds should someone need to care for my dogs in my absence for any reason.
I keep my vaccination records in an excel file on my desktop.
My breeding records are both on the AKC site and copied into a binder in case the AKC ever comes calling.
My heat records are also an excel file on my desktop.
All official documents are scanned into one folder on my computer and my computer is backed up via carbonite whenever there is a change to a file.
I keep what is called an emergency pull file which is all paper and all copies of original documents. In that file, clipped together and for each dog living in my house, I have a picture of that dog that is current for that year, their AKC registration with chip number (chips registered with AKC), their vaccination records, their county registration, any current meds they are on (which gets removed and put in their individual files when they are off that medication), any pertinent history for the dog that a stranger or the pound needs to know etc. It is meant to be a grab and go folder.
Each dog has their own paper folder with all their documents, vaccine certificates etc etc. If the dog ever had a litter, there are folders for each litter under that dog with all the paper information related to the puppies from that litter.
I am a freak when it comes to having multiple copies of everything in different places and I created the emergency pull file when my dogs were in an accident with another driver and I worried they would end up in the pound and how would I get them back. (They were fine and didn't end up anywhere but in the car which only had a minor accident)
Bonnie
Even though you use My AKC, you must keep hard copy ownership, breeding and litter records. You are required to keep the info from the AKC ownership page as a hard copy, not necessarily on that form. The AKC certificate is not enough to satisfy the requirement of ownership records! Who knew? I print out the stuff from My AKC and have a binder notebook for each dog. This is where I also put hard copies of medical stuff, just slipped into page protectors.
Aside from that, I have put a chart on my iPad for seasons and vaccinations, so I have that info more readily accessible.
Before I go to the vet I can pull the binder if I need to and take it with me.
