Note: This is a practical organization guide, not medical advice. Vaccine timing, product choices, and schedules vary by your pet, your region's laws, and disease risk. Always confirm the actual plan with your own veterinarian.
If you've ever stood in the vet's lobby trying to remember whether your puppy got their second or third shot — or scrolled three months of camera roll looking for a photo of a vaccine sticker — this post is for you.
I'm a developer who got tired of losing this information, so I built a small free pet health tracker to keep it in one place. But the system matters more than the tool, so let me walk through both: first what to track, then how to keep it from falling apart.
Why a "system" beats a good memory
Your dog's first year is a moving target. The core puppy vaccine series isn't one shot — it's a sequence given a few weeks apart, finishing at a specific age, and then boosted again a year later. On top of that you've got rabies (often legally required), deworming that repeats on its own rhythm, and monthly heartworm/flea/tick preventives that quietly need to happen all year.
Miss a dose in the middle of a series and you may blunt the protection or have to restart part of it. The cost of "I forgot" isn't just annoyance — it's redone vet visits and a gap in coverage. A boring written system removes the memory from the equation.
Here's the framework I use. It has exactly four lists.
The 4 lists every pet owner should keep
1. The core vaccine series (the time-sensitive one)
This is the one with real deadlines, so it goes first.
For puppies, the core combination vaccine — often written as DHPP / DA2PP (distemper, adenovirus/hepatitis, parvovirus, parainfluenza) — is typically given as a series of doses spaced a few weeks apart, with the final dose of the series given when the puppy is older (around the 16-week mark). Rabies is a separate core vaccine, usually given once the puppy is at least about 3 months old, with a booster roughly a year later. These are the broad strokes of the 2022 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines — your vet sets the exact dates. (AAHA Canine Guidelines)
For kittens, the core combination vaccine is FVRCP (feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia), generally given as a series every few weeks until the kitten is at least around 16 weeks old, plus rabies once the kitten is old enough under local rules. This mirrors the 2020 AAHA/AAFP Feline Vaccination Guidelines. (AAHA/AAFP Feline Guidelines)
The point of writing it down: a series only works if the spacing is right. Track the date of each dose and the date the next one is due — not just "got shots."
2. Parasite prevention (the year-round one)
This is the list people forget because there's no dramatic vet visit attached.
- Deworming in puppies typically starts early and repeats on a schedule through the first months of life, then continues less frequently — your vet or a resource like the CAPC guidelines defines the cadence. (CAPC Guidelines)
- Heartworm prevention is generally started young (often by around 8 weeks, per label and weight) and continued year-round for life. (AAHA Parasite Control)
- Flea and tick preventives are usually monthly products with their own minimum-age and weight thresholds.
The simplest hack here: pick a "prevention day" — say, the 1st of every month — and give every monthly product on that one day. One recurring reminder beats three separate ones you'll each forget differently.
3. The medication log (the one that saves vet visits)
Whenever your pet takes anything — antibiotics, a flare-up med, an allergy chew — write down four things:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Date | 2026-06-12 |
| What | (medication name + strength) |
| Dose given | 1 tablet, morning |
| Why / notes | itchy paws, vet visit 6/10 |
This log is gold at your next appointment. "How did she respond to the last course?" becomes a 5-second answer instead of a guess.
4. The reference card (the one for emergencies)
One small card or screen with: microchip number, your vet's phone number, the nearest 24-hour emergency clinic, known allergies, and current chronic meds. Keep it where a pet-sitter can find it.
A puppy's first year at a glance
Here's the shape of a typical first year — a visual reminder that vaccines come in waves, not a single appointment. Exact dates come from your vet; this is just the rhythm.
Core vaccine series given in waves a few weeks apart through about 16 weeks, rabies around 3 months, a booster around one year, and monthly parasite prevention running across the entire year. Confirm exact dates with your veterinarian.
<!-- baseline -->
<!-- month ticks -->
<!-- core series dots -->
Core series (DHPP) — doses a few weeks apart
<!-- rabies marker -->
+ rabies (~3 mo)
<!-- one year booster -->
1-yr booster
<!-- prevention bar -->
Monthly parasite prevention — runs all year
<!-- heading -->
A Puppy's First Year (the rhythm, not the exact dates)
Confirm every actual date with your veterinarian
If the SVG above doesn't render in your reader, here's the same timeline as text:
A PUPPY'S FIRST YEAR (rhythm only — confirm dates with your vet)
6 wk 10 wk 14 wk ~16 wk ~1 yr
|-----------|-----------|-----------|---------------------------|
(O) (O) (O) (O) (O)
core core core final core 1-year
dose dose dose dose of series booster
\
+ rabies (~3 months, per local rules)
[============ monthly parasite prevention runs ALL YEAR ============]
Where the tool comes in
You can run all four lists on paper — and honestly, a free printable checklist taped inside a cupboard works great. The only weakness of paper is reminders: paper can't ping you on the 1st of the month or warn you that dose #3 is due in five days.
That's the gap I built a small free pet health tracker to fill. You log each vaccine, dewormer, and medication once; it keeps the running history and surfaces what's coming up next, for both dogs and cats. No account gymnastics, nothing to install — it's meant to be the digital version of that cupboard checklist, with the reminders bolted on.
Try the free pet health tracker here: https://pethealthlog.pages.dev
And if you prefer analog, screenshot the text timeline above, print it, and fill in your vet's real dates. The system is the win; the tool is just convenience.
TL;DR
- Keep four lists: core vaccine series, year-round parasite prevention, a medication log, and an emergency reference card.
- The vaccine series is the time-sensitive one — track each dose date and the next due date, because spacing matters.
- Put all monthly preventives on one "prevention day" so you only manage one recurring reminder.
- Use a free printable for the structure and a free pet health tracker if you want automatic reminders.
- None of this replaces your vet — it just makes your vet visits faster and your coverage gap-free.
What does your own pet-tracking system look like? Paper, spreadsheet, calendar reminders? I'd love to hear what's worked in the comments.
Sources: 2022 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines · 2020 AAHA/AAFP Feline Vaccination Guidelines · AAHA Canine Parasite Control · CAPC Guidelines
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