Weekly Website Wednesday – Week #18

Record Keeping

I recently had a litter of English Cocker puppies. I’m not a breeder and don’t currently have any intentions of becoming one. Even though I run a website where people sell dogs, I’m very much against people breeding dogs for what they think is going to be quick cash.

So why did I do it?

I didn’t breed this litter to make money … I did it to learn. Every week I send out this post preaching about how to get the most out of your kennel online, yet I have next to no experience running a kennel myself, much less whelping a litter of puppies. Sure, I’ve bought and sold plenty of hunting dogs, but have never actually raised a litter myself … how can Gundog Central or NetKennel be an authority on selling dogs, when I don’t have any personal experience with certain aspect of it? You might say, that’s a pretty dumb reason to raise a litter of puppies, but I disagree, I think anytime you can educate yourself on something it’s anything but stupid … and these puppies have already taught me so much, it’ll be hard to see any of them go.

One of the things I’ve learned is how far not to dock your field cockers’ tails. Another thing I’ve learned is the need to keep good records. I think maintaining accurate puppy records is one of the most important responsibilities you can have as a breeder. Not just for your personal organization, but for the benefit of potential puppy buyer. Good record keeping builds transparency and trust, which can help attract buyers. Buyers want to know where their new puppy comes from, it’s lineage and health history. Providing good records that detail vaccination dates, deworming schedules and pedigree information shows that you’re a responsible breeder, that takes their dogs health seriously.

Besides buyer confidence, maintaining puppy records also protects your breeding program. Documenting things like birth dates, litter sizes, weights, and parental pairings helps you make informed decisions about future litters. These records can reveal patterns in health, behavior, or conformation that improve your long-term breeding strategy. They also serve as proof of responsible practices if you’re ever asked to verify compliance.

Keeping organized puppy records simplifies communication and offers support after the sale. When a buyer has questions about feeding schedules, vaccination boosters, or registration paperwork, having easy access to accurate information helps you respond quickly and professionally. It also encourages repeat business and positive word-of-mouth within the dog community. In short, well-maintained records aren’t just paperwork … they’re a reflection of your professionalism and commitment to producing healthy, well-socialized puppies.

NetKennel website has always offered ways to record breeding notes on litters, vaccination history and pedigrees, producing printable documents that you can easily give your customers … but who wants to do that, it can be a pain entering all that data. I recently created a “Puppy Shot Calendar”, for my own use, that will automatically generate a vaccination and worming schedule based on the litters whelped date. If you want to try it out yourself, browse to the link below and enter the date the puppies were whelped. It’ll create a form populated with recommended dates for vaccination and deworming. Each line has a checkbox that you can check off after a shot or deworming has been administered. If you don’t like the recommended dates, you can also print out a blank form and fill in whatever dates you want. The form will also give some additional information, like when the litters was bred, when the puppies should open their eyes and when they can start to hear.

You can view the Puppy Shot Calendar on Gundog Central using this link : https://gundogcentral.com/puppy-shot-calendar.
Or you can generate a blank form, using this link: https://gundogcentral.com/pdf_shots.php?calc=0