Pet health record: free printable template and what to keep
A pet health record is one place for everything about your dog’s or cat’s health: vaccines, medications, vet visits, allergies, weight and the documents that prove them. When it is up to date, you can answer a new vet, a groomer, a kennel or a sitter in a minute, and you see when the next booster is due. Download the free four-page pet health record PDF below, in US Letter or A4.
| Where the record lives | Always with you | Reminds what’s due | All your pets together | Weight on a chart | Documents to share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wagzy (coming soon) | Yes, on your phone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, as files |
| Printable template below | If you carry it | No | One record per pet | Table only | Copies or photos |
| Folder of clinic papers | Rarely | No | Mixed together | No | Photos or copies |
| Clinic app or portal | If you remember the login | Sometimes | Only that clinic’s pets | Sometimes | Depends on the clinic |
What to include in a pet health record
Whether you use a pet medical records template like this one, a booklet or a pet health journal of your own, keep the same sections. The template follows the order in which people usually ask for the information: who the pet is, who to call, then the history.
Profile and ID
Name, species, breed, sex and whether your pet is spayed or neutered, date of birth, color and markings, and a photo. Add the microchip number and any license or registration number, and keep copies of the matching documents: a shelter or vet scanning a found pet sees only the chip number.
Contacts
Your phone, an emergency contact who can make decisions when you can’t, your regular vet, the nearest 24-hour emergency vet, and your pet insurance with the policy number. In an emergency, nobody should have to search for these.
Vaccinations
For every shot: the vaccine, the date given, the next due date your vet set, the batch (lot) number and the clinic. Many vets put a sticker from the vial on the certificate; copy its batch number or stick a spare label into the record. If you keep the full history of shots on a separate card, our guides to the dog vaccination record and the cat vaccination record explain what it shows and where to get it.
Parasite prevention
Flea and tick treatments, deworming and heartworm prevention: the product, what it protects against, the date and when the next one is due. Record the next due date your vet set: the interval depends on the product and your pet’s risk, and these treatments are the easiest to forget.
Medications
The medication, the dose and schedule exactly as your vet prescribed, the start and end dates and who prescribed it. Copy the dose from the label or the prescription and don’t change it without asking your vet. The record is there to remember, not to decide.
Vet visits
The date, the clinic and the vet, the reason for the visit, and what was found and prescribed, with the next steps. A line per visit is enough. Keep invoices and test results in the same folder or as files on your phone.
Allergies, conditions and surgeries
Food and drug allergies, ongoing conditions and past illnesses or surgeries with their dates. This is the part a new vet asks about first.
Weight
The date and the weight. Use the same scale each time so the numbers compare, and take the log to the vet: a slow change over months is easier to see in a table than by eye.
Food
The food and brand, the usual amount and the meal times. A sitter, a kennel or a vet treating a stomach upset will ask for it.
Dog health record or cat medical records: what’s different
The sections are the same for both, so the template works for a dog or a cat. A few lines differ:
- A dog health record often needs the license number and renewal date if your city or county licenses dogs, and notes on walks and boarding, where staff check vaccines.
- A cat’s medical records should say whether your cat lives indoors or goes outside: it is one of the things a vet considers when planning vaccines and parasite prevention.
Keep one record per pet, even for littermates: their vaccines, weights and treatments will soon differ.
How to get your pet’s medical records
Your vet keeps a medical record for every patient. To get a copy:
- Ask the clinic by phone, email or through its app or portal. Clinics can usually email a PDF or print the history at the front desk.
- Ask every previous clinic, including emergency clinics, and the shelter or breeder for shots given before you adopted your pet.
- Switching vets? Ask the old clinic to send the history to the new one, and keep a copy for yourself.
- File what you get in the record: dates and names into the tables, papers into the folder or as photos on your phone.
Keeping the record up to date
The hardest part is not starting a pet health record but keeping it current. Three habits help:
- Update it the same day as a vet visit, while you have the invoice and the certificate in hand.
- Keep a copy with you: a photo of every page or the documents on your phone. A binder at home doesn’t help at a kennel or in an emergency.
- Hand it over when someone else looks after your pet. For a sitter, add feeding and routine with our pet sitter instructions template.
Wagzy will keep this record on your phone for every dog and cat you have: vaccines with batch number and expiry date, medications as your vet prescribed them, vet visits, illness history and weight on a chart. It will remind you when the next booster, pill or visit is due and keep your pet’s documents ready to share.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free pet health record template?
Yes, the one on this page: four pages as a PDF for US Letter or A4 paper. Print as many copies as you need, one per pet.
What is a pet health record book?
A bound booklet with the same sections: profile, vaccines, treatments and visits. Pet stores and some clinics sell them. A printed template in a ring binder does the same job, and you can add pages as the history grows.
Can I keep my dog’s health record on my phone?
Yes. Photos of the documents and a note work for a start, but they don’t remind you of anything. Wagzy, the app we are building, will keep the history by pet and remind you when something is due.
How long should I keep my pet’s medical records?
For your pet’s whole life. Old records explain today’s conditions, show which vaccines were given and when, and you may need them when you change vets, move or travel.
Do I need a separate record for each pet?
Yes. Even pets of the same age and breed end up with different vaccines, treatments and weights, and a vet needs the history of the animal in front of them.