Puppy First Year Health Record

Who this is for

Twelve months of a puppy in one record. The first table is every vet visit and treatment with the next date the practice gave you; underneath, a weight column filled in whenever the puppy is on the scales, and a socialisation table for what the puppy has met, handled and coped with.

New puppy owners who want more than a vaccination card, breeders sending a record home with a pup, and fosterers raising a litter who will hand each one on with its history.

What this helps you track

• Every vet visit in the first year, with what was done and what comes next
• Weight at each weighing, in whatever unit you and your vet use
• What the puppy has been introduced to, and how it went
• The date the vet discussed neutering and what was agreed
• A record a new owner, a trainer or a second vet can read without a phone call

How to use it

1. Fill in the puppy's details at the top, including the date it came home and where from.
2. After each appointment, add a line: the date, the puppy's age, why you went, what was given or done, and the next date the practice gave you.
3. Write the weight each time the puppy is weighed, with the unit, and note who weighed it.
4. Use the socialisation table for new places, people, sounds, surfaces and handling — say how the puppy reacted rather than whether it passed.
5. Write the date neutering was discussed and what was agreed in the field at the top; it is the question most owners are asked to decide on later.
6. Print it for the folder, or fill it in online and keep it in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does the record say when vaccinations, worming or neutering should happen?

No. Every date on this sheet is one you were given. Timings for a puppy depend on the vaccine, the breed, the country and the individual dog, and they are your vet's to set.

How often should I weigh a puppy?

Ask your practice — many weigh at every visit and that is often enough. The chart has no target weights and no growth curve, because those differ by breed and by dog.

What should go in the socialisation table?

Whatever the puppy met: a bin lorry, a vacuum cleaner, a staircase, a vet's table, a child, a car journey. Recording the reaction honestly is what makes it useful later, especially if a trainer gets involved.

The puppy came from a breeder with paperwork already. Where does it go?

Copy the dated entries into the visits table and note the source in the notes. Keep the original paperwork — this is a summary you can actually read.

What happens at the end of the year?

Carry the entries forward onto the vaccination record and the vet visit record, which are built for an adult dog's running history.