Basics First: Identity, Vaccines and Prior Care
Bring vaccination dates, microchip number, ownership details, and the previous clinic's contact information, signing any release needed for the full notes to follow. List parasite prevention history, current medications as recorded by the previous vet — names copied from the labels rather than described from memory — and any known allergies.
Add insurance details if you have a policy, and note any surgery, hospitalization, or emergency visit at other clinics, including after-hours practices whose records will not arrive automatically with your main clinic's file.
The Weight Record Labradors Really Need
Provide weigh-ins with dates going back as far as you have them. A Labrador's weight trend is clinical information: it frames joint health, breathing during exercise, and how urgently a food plan needs adjusting. Be honest about the current diet — the exact food, measured amount per meal, treats, chews, and table extras.
Owners often under-report treats because each one feels trivial. Written into a handover, the handful of training treats, the dental chew, and the crusts from lunch explain a plateau that the measured meals alone cannot, and they let the new vet suggest realistic swaps instead of blaming the main food.
Joints, Exercise and Any Collapse Episodes
Include hip or elbow imaging and scores if done, notes on limping or stiffness and when it shows, and your dog's real exercise routine. Crucially, note any episode of sudden collapse during excitement or exercise, wobbliness that resolved with rest, or unusual fatigue — with dates and what the previous vet said. That history must be flagged, not discovered later.
Also record swimming frequency and any limping after swims, since keen water work is a common Labrador pattern that affects both joints and ears.
Ears, Skin and Things Swallowed
List ear infections and their frequency, itchy skin or hot spots, and any seasonal pattern. Then make the page unique to this breed's habits: objects swallowed or surgically removed — socks, stones, corn cobs, toys — with dates. A new vet who knows your Labrador has a history of eating indigestible objects will take a vomiting episode far more seriously on day one.
Note current ear-cleaning and coat routines and which products you use, so a working routine is continued rather than accidentally dropped in the change of clinics.
Making the New File Accurate
At the first appointment, ask for a microchip scan to confirm the number, check vaccine due dates against your card, and get today's weight recorded as the new baseline. Ask which records they still await from the old clinic, and chase any missing imaging yourself rather than assuming it arrived.
Before the visit, write a one-page cover note: your Labrador's age, current weight, main food, and the two or three things you most want checked — the ear that keeps returning, the stiffness after swims, the weight plateau. First appointments cover a lot of ground quickly, and a cover note stops your real concerns being displaced by whatever happens to be mentioned in the waiting room.
File the new visit summary with your packet that evening. A Labrador's record grows fast — vet visits, weight checks, the occasional swallowed treasure — and a packet updated each time stays trustworthy. In KinsLe's Pet Passport those weight dates, joint notes and vaccine records stay together in one packet, ready for any future handover.