Good records answer three questions memory can't: when she's due back in heat, when she's due to whelp, and what happened last time. They're also what a registry inspector asks to see, and what your vet needs when something goes wrong.
This guide lists what to record at each stage and why each item earns its place.
The short version
- What AKC requires: Records for every dog, mating and litter, made at the time, on paper or in a backed-up, printable file, and kept five years after a dog dies, is sold or is given away.
- Heats: Log day 1 of every heat, bred or not. The gap from one day 1 to the next predicts her next season.
- Matings: Date, place, the other dog and every progesterone result with its lab. Whelping usually comes 64–66 days after your vet's LH date.
- Whelping: Time every puppy. 30 minutes of strong straining with no puppy, or 2 hours with none, is a call to your vet.
- Puppies: Weigh in grams every day for two weeks, then every 3 days to a month. A puppy not gaining like its littermates is an early warning.
What kennel clubs ask you to keep
If you register with the AKC, its rules set minimum records for every dog you own and every mating and litter.
- Each dog: breed, registered name and number, sex, colour and markings, date of birth, the sire's and dam's names and numbers, the breeder, the name and address of whoever you got the dog from and the date, and the lease dates if the dog is leased. When the dog is sold, given away or dies: to whom (name and address), the date, and which papers went with it.
- Each mating: the date and place, who handled it, and the other dog's registered name and number and its owner's name and address.
- Each litter: the whelping date, the puppies by sex, colour and markings, the litter registration number, and for every puppy who it went to (name and address), when, and which papers went with it.
Records must be made at the time: when a dog arrives or leaves, and at each mating, whelping or death. Keep them for at least five years after the dog dies, is sold or is given away. Every dog and puppy must be identifiable, by marking, tag, tattoo or microchip, with the ID recorded.
Paper or electronic both count. Electronic records must be in a standard format such as Word, Excel, PDF or OpenDocument, printable as soon as AKC asks, and backed up regularly to somewhere secure such as a cloud service or an external drive. AKC may inspect them, and can refuse to register a litter that the records don't support. Its inspection guide also asks for a written emergency plan, and its Breeder Toolkit has printable forms.
The UKC's breeder code of ethics asks for records of stud services, pedigrees, every litter, breeding and whelp dates and every puppy sold, kept and shown to the UKC on request. If you register with another club, check its rules.
In the tables below, (AKC) marks the rows that include part of that minimum, and says which fields. Everything else is there to make your next breeding easier.
Heat records: the dates that predict her next season
Heat records are the foundation of breeding timing. After understanding the four stages of the cycle, track how they show up in each bitch.
| Record | What to note | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | First swelling or bloody discharge | Starts the count. The gap from one day 1 to the next predicts her next heat |
| Discharge and swelling | Colour, amount and softening, day by day | Shows her usual pattern. Signs alone can't time a mating |
| Behaviour | Flagging, standing, snapping at males | Part of her pattern; note the day it changes |
| Standing days | First and last day she stands for a male | Her behavioural window, to compare with progesterone results |
| End of heat | The day the signs stop | Gives the length of each heat |
| Gap between heats | Day 1 to the next day 1, in days | After a few heats, her own range beats any breed average |
Record every heat, bred or not: the unbred ones count just as much for her pattern.
How much one bitch's timing can vary, and when a change needs a vet, is covered in why heat cycles vary.
Mating records: dates, method and progesterone
When you breed, write down everything. These records plan your next breeding and back up your litter registration.
| Record | What to note | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Each mating | Date, time and place, and who handled it | (AKC) Date, place and handler required. The dates set the due date |
| The other dog | Registered name and number; owner's name and address; health tests | (AKC) Name, number and owner required |
| Method | Natural or AI (vaginal, TCI or surgical); fresh, chilled or frozen semen | Compare what worked, litter to litter |
| Tie | Minutes tied, or an outside tie or no tie | Context when a mating doesn't take |
| Progesterone | Every result: date, lab, method and units | Read the trend with your vet; results compare only within one lab and method |
| LH surge date | Your vet's date, and whether it came from progesterone tests or an LH test | Whelping usually comes 64–66 days later. Ask your vet how much leeway an estimate needs |
| Vaginal cytology | % superficial (cornified) cells, with your vet's note | Some vets use it to refine timing |
The AKC litter application itself asks only for the date of birth, the number of males and females, both parents' registered names and numbers, and the owner's signature, and must reach AKC within six months of the birth. The records behind it are longer: see the (AKC) rows.
The progesterone rise that marks the LH surge is usually 1.5–2.5 ng/mL on serial tests, but no single value fits every bitch, which is why the date your vet gives is the one to record. The litter application needs both parents' registered names and numbers.
Pregnancy records: from the scan to the temperature drop
Once she's bred, track the pregnancy. It helps with this litter and gives you a baseline for the next.
| Record | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy check | Ultrasound at 25–35 days, or your vet's palpation from about day 21 | Confirms pregnancy; ultrasound before day 21 can miss it |
| X-ray count | After day 55 | The best puppy count, so you know when she's finished |
| Her weight | Weekly, mating to whelping | Her baseline for this and future pregnancies |
| Appetite and behaviour | Dates of any off days or vomiting | More than a brief off day, or vomiting with lethargy: call your vet |
| Temperature | Rectal, twice a day from about day 56–58 | A drop below 99°F usually means puppies within 24 hours. No puppy 24 hours after the drop: call your vet |
| Due date | 64–66 days after your vet's LH date; from mating dates alone, only a rough window | Book your vet and plan any C-section with them |
Sources: Merck Veterinary Manual; VCA Animal Hospitals.
An X-ray after day 55 is the best way to count puppies; ultrasound is best at 25–35 days. Merck lists no whelping within 24–36 hours of the temperature drop as a sign of a difficult birth, so call at 24 hours. Breeding dates alone predict whelping less closely than the LH date does.
Use the Whelping Date Calculator to work out expected dates from breeding, ovulation or LH dates. For a week-by-week breakdown of pregnancy, see our guide to dog pregnancy week by week.
Whelping records: a time for every puppy
Write it down as it happens. These are the details your vet will ask for if something goes wrong, and the baseline for her next litter.
| Record | What to note | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First puppy | Date and time | (AKC) Date required. Gives her real gestation length |
| Each puppy | Time born, sex, colour and markings | (AKC) Sex, colour and markings required. Call your vet after 30 min of strong straining, or 2 h, with no puppy |
| Presentation | Head first or hind feet first | Both normal; a true breech is not (see below) |
| Puppy at birth | Vigorous, needed help, resuscitated or stillborn | Flags the puppies to watch |
| Afterbirths | Count them when you can | Often eaten, so often short. Watch her, not the count |
| Delivery | Free whelp, assisted, or C-section (planned or emergency) | Shapes the plan for her next litter |
| Total time | First puppy to last | Over 24 hours is not normal |
| Problems | Interventions, medicines, vet calls | For your vet and her next whelping |
Write it down as it happens: paper by the whelping box is faster than a phone.
Merck treats more than 30 minutes of contractions or 2 hours without them between puppies, or a whelping lasting over 24 hours, as a difficult birth, and calls rear-first delivery normal but a true breech (rump first, hind legs tucked forward) abnormal. VCA gives the same 30-minute and 2-hour lines.
Puppy records: weights, vaccines and where each one went
Once the puppies arrive, each one gets its own record. These serve the puppies' health now and your breeding program later.
| Record | What to note | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Birth weight | Grams, soon after birth | Baseline; small puppies need closer watching |
| Weights to 2 weeks | Grams, every day at the same time; twice a day if you can | Not gaining like its littermates is an early fading sign |
| Weights to 8 weeks | Every 3 days to one month, then weekly | Spots a puppy falling behind before placement |
| ID | Collar colour, marking, microchip number | (AKC) Each puppy identifiable, ID recorded |
| Dewclaws | Date, if removed | Some standards require them kept; check yours first |
| Vaccines | Date, product, lot number, who gave it | Goes in the buyer's packet; their vet continues from it |
| Deworming | Date, product and dose, usually at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks | The buyer's vet continues the schedule |
| Vet checks | Date and findings | Health status at each stage |
| Temperament | Notes from handling and testing | Matching puppies to homes |
| Registration | Litter number; each puppy's registered name and number | (AKC) Required |
| Placement | Date, buyer's name and address, papers supplied and when, contract | (AKC) All but the contract required; if a puppy dies, record the date |
Sources: AKC Rules, Section VII; Merck Veterinary Manual; VCA Animal Hospitals; CAPC.
In the first two weeks, poor weight gain is an early warning sign. VCA lists failure to gain weight at the same rate as littermates among the signs of a fading puppy, and once a puppy looks ill it is often too late. A good weight doesn't rule out illness, so keep watching that each puppy is warm and nursing too.
Merck's minimum is a weight every day for two weeks, then every 3 days to a month. Deworming at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks follows CAPC. The Weight Tracker keeps each puppy's line on one chart. See newborn puppy weight charts for expected ranges and fading puppy syndrome for what to do.
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Two tools behind the puppy records
A scale fine enough for daily weigh-ins in grams, and collars so every record is the right puppy's.
MINDPET-MED Pet Scale (11 lb / 5 kg, 0.1 g)
0.1 g steps · daily weigh-insThe weight rows above ask for grams every day for two weeks. This pet scale reads in 0.1 g steps up to 5 kg (11 lb), fine enough for a toy-breed newborn's daily gain to show. Use it while each puppy fits in its 11 × 7 in tray.
GAMUDA puppy ID collars (set of 12)
12 colours · one per puppyEvery weight, vaccine and buyer entry is only as good as knowing which puppy it belongs to. Twelve colours of soft adjustable collar, with two record charts in the pack. The maker sizes them for puppies from 2 weeks to 8 months, so mark newborns another way until they fit, and check the fit every couple of days.
Health-test records: keep the certificates
Every breeding dog should have a documented health-testing history. Breed clubs and puppy buyers increasingly expect it, and it protects you and your program.
| Record type | What to keep | Where to store |
|---|---|---|
| OFA certificates | Hip, elbow, cardiac, eye (CAER), patellar — varies by breed | OFA.org online database + your own copies |
| DNA panel results | Breed-specific panel (Embark, Wisdom Panel, or your breed club's lab) | Digital copies from the lab + your own backup |
| Specialist exam reports | Heart echo, eye exam (CAER), orthopedic exam | Copies from each specialist, and OFA |
| Annual health checks | General vet exam, bloodwork, urinalysis | Your records; the vet's office keeps copies |
| Brucellosis | A bitch before each breeding, a stud at least once a year | Copies for you and the other dog's owner |
Brucellosis timing: AKC; Merck Veterinary Manual. See our guide on health testing before breeding for breed-specific tests.
AKC and Merck both advise testing a bitch for brucellosis before each breeding and a stud at least once a year. For which tests suit which breeds, see our guide to health testing before breeding. Understanding age limits for breeding also shapes long-term record keeping and program planning.
Paper, browser or app: where to keep them
The best system is the one you'll keep up. Here's what each option really does.
Paper
A binder by the whelping box is the fastest way to log a delivery as it happens, and AKC accepts paper records.
This site's free tools
Our Weight Tracker saves to this browser on this device: clearing your browser data or losing the device deletes it. Use its export button often, and keep a printed or spreadsheet copy of anything a registry needs, because AKC wants electronic records in a standard format such as Excel or PDF, printable on request and backed up.
The Heat Cycle Calculator predicts her next heat but stores nothing, so write down the real day 1 when it comes. The Pedigree Chart prints a pedigree for the litter file, and the Whelping Date Calculator works out due dates.
An app
If you'd rather keep every dog's heats, litters, weights and health records in one place, synced across your phone and computer, that's what the BreedTools app is for.
BreedTools App
Keep every dog's records in one place
The free plan of the BreedTools app holds heat history, whelping logs, puppy weights and health records for up to 10 dogs and your first litter, synced across your devices.
- Vaccination, deworming and OFA records
- Vaccine and deworming due dates from the whelp date, with reminder emails
- CSV export of everything, on every plan
What we'd do
Keep daily notes wherever is fastest. After each heat and each litter, put a one-page summary on paper or in a backed-up spreadsheet: it's what an inspector, your vet and your next breeding plan will all ask for.
Breeding record-keeping FAQs
1What is the minimum I should record for each heat cycle?
Four dates: day 1 (the first swelling or bloody discharge), the first and last days she stands for a male, and the day the signs stop. Across several heats, the gap from one day 1 to the next is the number that predicts her next season, so record every heat, bred or not. If you plan to breed her, add every progesterone result with its date and lab: vets time a mating on the progesterone rise, not on changes in discharge colour.
2Should I use a digital tool or paper records?
Either, as long as you keep it up. AKC accepts paper or electronic records, but electronic ones must be in a standard format such as Word, Excel or PDF, printable as soon as AKC asks, and backed up regularly. BreedTools' free Weight Tracker saves to this browser on this device only, so clearing your browser data or losing the device deletes it: export it often and keep a printed or spreadsheet copy. The Heat Cycle Calculator predicts dates but doesn't store a history. Many breeders log on paper during a whelping, because it's faster than a phone, and type it up later.
3Do kennel clubs require breeding records?
If you register litters, yes. AKC rules require records for every dog you own, every mating and every litter: for matings, the date and place, who handled it, and the other dog's registered name and number and its owner's name and address; for litters, the whelping date, the puppies by sex, colour and markings, and for each puppy who it went to, when, and which papers went with it. Every dog must be identifiable by a tag, tattoo, microchip or marking that is recorded, and AKC can inspect the records and refuse to register a litter they don't support. The UKC's breeder code of ethics asks for records of stud services, pedigrees, every litter, breeding and whelp dates and every puppy sold, shown to the UKC on request. If you register with another club, check its rules.
4How long should I keep breeding records?
AKC requires records to be kept for at least five years after the dog dies, is sold or is given away. Keep health-test results, pedigrees and your own litter records for longer: they matter for every generation you breed from that line.
5What records should I give to puppy buyers?
Puppy buyers should receive: a copy of the puppy's health record (vaccinations, deworming, vet visits), parents' health testing results (OFA certificates, DNA panel results), the puppy's birth date and birth weight, a pedigree, registration papers or application, and any microchip information. Some breeders also provide a weight tracking chart from birth to placement. This information is typically compiled in a go-home packet.
Related Tools
References & sources
- American Kennel Club. Rules Applying to Registration and Discipline, Section VII: Regulations for Record Keeping and Identification of Dogs. — The records required for each dog, mating and litter; paper or electronic (standard format, printable on request, backed up); made at the time and kept five years after a dog dies, is sold or is given away; identification; inspection; refusal to register.
- American Kennel Club. Inspection FAQs. — AKC's right to inspect records; the written emergency plan; on-dog identification.
- American Kennel Club. What to Expect During an AKC Inspection. — Records for matings, litters and ownership; a handwritten binder does the same job as a computer.
- American Kennel Club. AKC Breeder Toolkit. — Printable record forms for the five-year record-keeping requirement.
- American Kennel Club Answer Center. Litter registration. — What the litter application asks for; register within six months of birth.
- United Kennel Club. Registration policies: Breeder's Code of Ethics. — Records of stud services, pedigrees, litters, breeding and whelp dates and dogs sold, available to the UKC on request.
- American Kennel Club. Brucellosis: Dog Breeders Shouldn't Skip Testing. — Test bitches before each breeding and stud dogs every year.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. The Breeding Soundness Examination in Dogs and Cats. — Screen bitches for brucellosis before each planned breeding; test studs at least annually.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Breeding Management of Bitches. — The initial progesterone rise (usually 1.5–2.5 ng/mL) correlates with the LH surge; no single value fits every stage; whelping 64–66 days after the LH peak; breeding dates predict whelping less closely; vaginal cytology.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Pregnancy Determination in Dogs and Cats. — Palpation from about day 21; ultrasound best at 25–35 days; X-ray after day 55 is the best count.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Dystocia in Small Animals. — No whelping within 24–36 hours of the temperature drop; more than 30 minutes with contractions or 2 hours without between puppies; more than 24 hours in all; rear-first normal, true breech abnormal.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Labor and Delivery in Dogs and Cats. — Placentas can be eaten, passed unnoticed or passed within 24 hours.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Metritis in Small Animals. — Retained placentas or puppies as causes; signs including fever, poor appetite, lethargy, vomiting, less maternal care and poor milk; normal discharge resolves within three weeks.
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Breeding for Pet Owners: Whelping in Dogs. — Temperature below 99°F in the last 24 hours; call after 30 minutes of intense straining or 2 hours without straining between puppies; afterbirths are often eaten; a retained one usually passes in 24–48 hours.
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Management of the Neonate in Dogs and Cats. — Weigh daily for the first 2 weeks, then every 3 days until 1 month.
- VCA Animal Hospitals. Fading Puppy Syndrome. — Failure to gain weight like littermates as a sign; often too late once signs appear.
- Companion Animal Parasite Council. Ascarid guidelines. — Deworm puppies at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks.
This article is for educational purposes and does not replace professional veterinary care. If your bitch or a puppy seems unwell, contact a veterinarian straight away.