Medical Checks and Health Records
Every dog gets a thorough weekly check plus careful, double-logged health records so we can spot recurring issues and stay on top of vaccinations and worming.
Every dog is checked thoroughly once per week by the dog manager, the person in charge of their overall health and well-being, who notes their weight, adjusts the following week's food accordingly and records their general wellbeing.
- Every dog gets a thorough weekly check by the dog manager
- Weekly checks cover weight, nails, range of movement, skin, collar, parasites and teeth
- Records kept in two places: a medical book and a weekly summary chart, plus computerised records
- Females checked for heat cycles three times a week
- Only one planned litter per year, timed for the mushing season
Weekly dog checks
We check nails, range of movement, skin (sores get cream or betadine), collar fit, exoparasites, signs of pregnancy, teeth and feet, plus kennel security, since the dogs love to burrow underneath in summer.
Everything is recorded twice, in a medical book and a weekly summary chart open to guides and visiting vets, from massage needs to daily antibiotics. Larger issues also go on each dog's computerised record.
Heat, frostbite and mosquito-bite checks
Three times a week we check where the females are in their heat cycles and monitor the results of any accidental matings. We plan only one litter a year, timed so the pups are big enough to interact with clients during the mushing season. In February 2011 we had an unplanned litter simply because a 'check with ultrasound' note was written in the wrong column of the spreadsheet, so we take our charting and record keeping very seriously.
Double records and individual charts
Any major incident, a fight needing stitches, staples or antibiotics, is logged in both the medical book and the computerised records after a thorough check in the house extension, our dog medical room.
An individual chart on the dog kitchen wall is annotated at every dose, so medications are never missed or doubled. The dog manager logs each treatment in a full-history spreadsheet, so recurring injuries stand out and can prompt fixes like a magnetic collar to strengthen a joint, and plans all vaccinations with the local vet.
Ready when you are
Real wilderness, 200+ huskies, eighteen winters in.