(Some of my favorite notebooks, image from Amazon.)
Let’s talk record keeping.
How much data do you have about your dog?
Bloggers, is it just what you post publicly? How do you convert the blog format into data that works for you?
I keep two logs for Silas, both of which I started here and moved to pen-and-ink places. Most importantly, I have a food diary for him. It includes a daily list of every scrap and crumb that enters his mouth. “Piece of paper wrapper from my salmon patty” featured in a recent entry. Plus, I take note of when he throws up or seems nauseous or doesn’t want to eat a meal.
I’ve also been trying to keep better records of his training, but I’m struggling a bit to find a format that I like. What do you use?
My Imperfect Dog 
You are clearly far more organized than me…My record keeping tends to be sending myself emails and then putting them in folders…You’re probably looking for something better than that…Happy Sunday!
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Hahaha. I suspect that well-regulated dogs like Gizmo probably don’t need obsessive records.
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Have you seen the dog-specific Moleskine?
http://www.moleskineus.com/mbl27-moleskine-passions-dog-journal.html
I’m not sure it’s set up to my liking, but I do like that there is a dog-specific Moleskine that acknowledges those of us who do keep obsessive records. =)
Aside from my dog budget stuff, I’ll sometimes obsessively document one or two things for short bursts in a paper journal. Meals, minutes walked, places gone, etc. If the Bows had the type of food issues that Silas does, I’d probably document their daily meals more obsessively, too. Luckily that’s not a huge issue for us.
I do document my own meals offline, also in bursts (I’ll keep regular track for a week, off a week, stuff like that). I do it for cost, calories, dietary balance, and for aesthetic pleasure (I admit, I’m one of those obnoxious people who takes way too many pictures of my meals… it’s a habit I’ve had maintained for a long time though!).
My next dog documentation project is to keep track of how many dogs we meet on our daily dog park trips over the course of a month.
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Adorable! I have to confess that I’m not a huge Moleskine fan these days, though, because I prefer fountain pens. Their paper is just too thin and bleed-y with my fountain pen ink.
Right now Silas’s food log is in a plain old composition book that I’ve had kicking around since my undergraduate days. His training log is provided by the course we’re in, but it just doesn’t contain the relevant fields for me. I need to tweak it.
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I’m not THAT organized. I do have three ring binders. One for Sampson and one for Delilah. They hold all of their vet records (immunizations), training certificates and licenses (we have to license in CT) as well as a print out regarding bloat. Each item is slipped into a sheet protector and listed by date beginning with their very first vet visit.
The very first page (or cover sheet if you will) has their name, DOB, my name, address and phone number on it. When we travel, the binders go with us, that way I always have everything I need on hand should a situation arise.
It happened. In NH visiting my sister one 4th of July, Delilah had her first ‘episode’ and we ended up rushing her to the vet, my sister clutching her records while I sat with Delilah.
If one of them had a reaction to something I would probably make a note of it somewhere.
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That’s a good idea about keeping them all portable. We went on vacation once without Silas’s tags (he does have his name and my phone number on his collar) and I was a nervous wreck that we didn’t have any proof of his rabies shot.
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Um…I just sort of keep all the vet receipts and any handouts I’ve found useful. Although, when I had a pet sitter come to watch my last two dogs when I went on vacation – I had a 2 page list for EACH dog of their specific needs. It’s a good thing she was the office manager at the vet where I took them so she wasn’t intimidated by the instructions.
You are so organized! But I was too with my Shadow because she also had many food allergies. Good for you for keeping on top of that!
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