Introduction

And you thought that keeping a dog would be a simple matter: just walkies, feedies, sleepies and chase the stick! Sadly our canine friends require medical attention, and if you need to leave poochie in a boarding kennel for a bit they will require an up-to-date vaccination record. There are insurance details, vet details, and believe or not, possible legal details. All of which require accessibility. It's time to get organised!

Types of information

How much information would you need to organise? Well, that would depend on personal preference. For example you might consider appointments at the dog grooming parlour an absolute necessity and therefore the details of such an establishment may be essential as part of the emergency information. However there maybe other types of information that you had not considered, such as what to do in the event of your death (very cheery); or a maybe common doggie illnesses and their symptoms, or what sorts human foods might be poisonous to a dog. What has to be borne in mind is that the information is for the benefit of Fido, and in the event of your demise, the people who might be looking through the information are your friends or family.

Who is going to need the information?

Obviously the person who will be using this information the most will be you! So as long as you understand your system, and can access it quickly and easily, that will be fine. But suppose your family or friends need to access this information, or professionals from a boarding kennel. What ever system you develop has to be user friendly, and easy for multiple person admission.

Computer programs

Ease of access, then, is just as important as the information itself. Perhaps you want to have everything filed in a traditional manner, in a cabinet say, or a card index system. This might seem laborious, also not so easy to back-up. Most people have computers these days, so you might consider creating a relational database. This way even friends and family can keep a copy as well. If you are baulking at the thought of the amount of work which would go into creating such a thing, there's no need for alarm, as there are plenty of software products on the market that do all the hard work for you! Some even allow you to keep a nice picture of you best friend, just to remind you who's the most important!

Conclusion

There is no doubt that it will be a lot of work setting up an information system for your dog. Equally, if a problem does occur, you will need that information pretty quickly. If you organise yourself now, then it will be a simple matter to maintain the information thereafter, and be prepared for the time when something does happen to your dog and you need to act quickly.

Pets and Animals Products on our marketplace

Probably the most important bit of information that you will need to keep is your dog training records. As your dog goes through their training, remember to keep track of all the milestones. When they were potty training, when they stopped nipping, or when they stopped barking at night.