How to Maintain a Pet Vaccination Record

Pet vaccination is performed in each dog that is purchased, adopted or checked in to an animal shelter. The purpose of the vaccines is to protect the pet from various infections that he will be most likely exposed to during his life. In addition to the initial puppy shots, your pet will also need some boosters, which will be administered yearly or at least once every 3 years. In order not to forget to get a vaccine or a booster shot, you will need to keep a vaccination record for your pet.

Keeping Pet Vaccination Record

While most vets will keep a record of their patients and their vaccinations, it’s best if you also keep a vaccination record yourself. This can be helpful if you move or change your vet and your new vet will need to know the vaccination status of your pet.

The vaccination records are also important when you want to leave your pet in a day care (i.e. while you go on vacation), as the day care regulations will require that the pet is vaccinated to protect the other pets from the facility.

The proof of vaccination may also be asked when you are traveling with your pet.

Keeping the vaccination records may also help whenever you will be asked for a proof of vaccination.

The Necessary Vaccines

There are core vaccines that your pet will have to get and there will also be other vaccines that will only be recommended by your vet. You can choose to get only the core vaccines for your pet. These are administered starting from the time your puppy is 6 to 8 weeks old and the last shot will be given when the puppy is about 4 months old (the shot against rabies).

However, to maintain the effect of the initial vaccines, your puppy will have to get yearly boosters. Some vets will only recommend getting booster shots only once every 3 years, as they consider that the initial shots are effective for a longer period of time. However, in some areas, the rabies vaccine will be necessary each year.

Make a note with all the vaccines your dog needs and the frequency of the booster shots. You can set reminders, so that you can remember when you need to get the boosters.

Use a Vaccine Form

Most vet clinics may have vaccine forms that you can fill in and keep for your records. Don’t forget to update these forms whenever your dog gets a new shot.

There are also various online pet vaccine forms that you can download and fill in. Save your files in your computer and make sure you also keep an updated version as a backup.

Maintaining your pet’s vaccination record is important and you may be asked for proof of vaccination in various instances. Make sure you have these records at hand at all times for the benefit of your pet.

 

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