When you adopt a dog from a shelter or rescue, the dog comes home with you — and so, ideally, does an entire packet of information that the shelter has accumulated about that dog over weeks or months. Most adopters don't realize how much information actually exists, don't know to ask for it, and don't know how to use it once they have it. This post is the adopter-side guide: what records you should receive, what they contain, and how to use them to make the first 30 days at home dramatically smoother.
The short version: the better your records, the fewer surprises in the first month, the faster your dog settles, and the cheaper and easier your first vet visit will be. The records are doing real work for you. Use them.
What records you should be getting
Every shelter is a little different, but a thorough adoption packet should include all of the following. If you didn't receive these at adoption, ask. Most shelters will gladly send what they have — they just don't always remember to.
Medical records:
- Complete vaccine history with dates and what's due next
- Spay or neuter date and any complications
- All medications given during the shelter stay
- Any chronic conditions the shelter identified (allergies, joint issues, dental, skin, ear)
- Any acute illness treated during the stay and how it resolved
- Heartworm test result and date
- Flea and tick prevention status
- Microchip number, microchip registry, and the registration status at adoption
- The diet the shelter was feeding (brand, type, amount per day)
- Weight at intake and at adoption
Behavioral records:
- Formal behavior evaluation, if one was done
- Daily observations from staff who worked with the dog
- Known triggers (loud noises, specific people types, other dogs, vehicles)
- Resource guarding observations and the specific items involved
- Response to handling, vet exams, nail trims, baths
- How the dog responds to being alone in the kennel
- Stress signals the staff have observed in this specific dog
- Any incidents during the stay, with context
Background:
- Where the dog came from (stray, owner surrender, transfer)
- How long the dog has been at the shelter
- Whether the dog has been in a foster home, and what the foster reported
- The shelter's specific notes about what kind of home is and isn't a good fit
If the packet you received is much thinner than this, it's not a sign that the shelter doesn't care — it's usually a sign that no one taught them to share more. Email or call and ask: "Could you send me the full medical and behavioral file you have on her? I want to make sure I'm setting her up well." Almost every shelter will say yes.
Why these records matter so much in the first 30 days
The first 30 days at home are the period when a new adoption succeeds or starts to fail. Most preventable issues in that window aren't surprises to the shelter — they're things the shelter already knew and that weren't communicated clearly. The medical record tells you what to feed and what to watch for. The behavioral record tells you what's going to be hard and how to scaffold around it.
Three concrete examples of the records doing real work:
1. Food and digestion. Shelter dogs almost always have GI sensitivities in the first two weeks home — new environment, new stress, new water. If you know what the shelter was feeding (brand, type, amount) you can keep them on that food for the first two weeks and transition slowly to your preferred food after that. Skipping this step is the single most common cause of week-one diarrhea and a panicked first vet visit.
2. Noise sensitivity. If the behavioral notes say "startles at loud noises and recovers slowly," you can do small things in the first week — closing the blinds during garbage truck day, avoiding fireworks-adjacent walks, keeping the TV at a lower volume — that prevent a stress event that would otherwise reset your dog's decompression progress. Knowing in advance is everything.
3. Resource guarding. If the records note even mild resource guarding around food, the right move in week one is to feed your dog in a quiet space, not approach the bowl, and not test it. By week three the dog will be much more settled, and you can begin gentle counterconditioning if needed. Without the heads-up, the first time you reach for the bowl can produce a snap that scares everyone and damages trust.
The records are not warnings to scare you. They're a head start.
The first vet visit
You should plan a first vet visit within two to four weeks of adoption. The shelter's records make this visit dramatically better.
Bring (or send ahead) the complete medical record. Most vets will accept a PDF emailed in advance and have it in your dog's file before you arrive. This saves repeat tests, prevents missed-vaccine confusion, and gives the vet useful context. If you adopted from a shelter using PawMates Pro with the VetPetz integration, you may have been offered the option to forward records directly to your vet practice at adoption — that's the easiest path.
Bring the microchip number. Your dog's microchip was registered to the shelter; you need to transfer it to your name (most shelters help with this, but verify). The universal AAHA chip lookup tool shows you which registry the chip is on and the registration status. A chip registered to the wrong contact is a chip that doesn't help if your dog is ever lost.
Bring questions framed by the records. "The shelter noted she had a kennel cough episode in March — should we be doing any follow-up?" "Her behavioral notes mention she pulls back when her ears are touched — can we check for an ear infection?" These are vastly better first-visit conversations than "I just adopted her, what should I be doing?"
Confirm the food and feeding plan. Show the vet what the shelter was feeding. Decide together whether and when to transition to a different diet. Most vets will recommend keeping the shelter food for the first two to four weeks regardless.
Discuss the heartworm and flea/tick prevention plan. The shelter usually has the dog on a prevention schedule at adoption; coordinate with your vet on continuation. Gaps in prevention are common in the adoption transition and worth catching.
How to use the behavioral record in the decompression period
The first two to three weeks at home are the decompression period — a time when your dog is recovering from the chronic stress of shelter life and gradually showing you who they actually are. The behavioral record is most useful in this window, where it tells you what to expect and what to watch for.
The two-week shutdown approach, recommended by most experienced trainers, is to keep your new dog's world small and predictable in the first 10-14 days: same room, same routine, same handler, no visitors, no dog parks, no exciting outings. The behavioral record helps you tune this — if the dog has noted noise sensitivity, the shutdown room is the quietest one; if the dog has noted separation distress, you stay nearby more in week one; if the dog has noted reactivity to strangers, you skip the early visitors entirely.
The full decompression playbook is in The Decompression Period: What to Expect in Your New Dog's First Two Weeks Home. For more on how to read the behavioral evaluation itself, see What Are Behavior Evaluations And Why Should I Care?
What to do when your dog shows you something the records didn't predict
The records are a starting hypothesis, not a verdict. Shelter dogs often show behaviors at home that the shelter never saw — separation distress, leash reactivity, sound sensitivity, food guarding that wasn't present in the kennel. These aren't shelter failures. They're real behaviors that the shelter environment was masking.
When this happens:
Call the shelter. A good adoption coordinator wants to hear from you. "She's been doing this thing with X and it wasn't in the records — does that match anything you saw?" Often the shelter has additional context (a foster home noted it, a daily-care staff member observed it, etc.) that didn't make it into the formal packet. The call also signals to the shelter that they should add that observation to the file if the dog is ever returned to them or transferred.
Don't rush to interpret it. Many "behaviors" in week one are stress responses that will moderate as the dog settles. Watch for two to three weeks before deciding it's a training problem versus a decompression artifact.
Get a trainer if it persists. Force-free positive-reinforcement trainers (look for CCPDT or KPA-CTP credentials) are the right call for any behavior that's still problematic at week three or four. The shelter often has trainer referrals; ask.
Don't return the dog without calling the shelter first. The shelter almost always has options that don't involve returning the dog — a foster swap to give you a break, a trainer recommendation, a behavioral consult. Returns are sometimes the right answer, but they should be the answer after a conversation, not before.
Keeping the records useful over time
The medical and behavioral records the shelter gave you are most useful in the first 30 days, but they continue to matter throughout your dog's life.
- The vaccine history determines when boosters are due and reduces the chance of duplicate vaccinations.
- The behavioral baseline is the comparison point for noticing changes years later (a dog who suddenly starts guarding food at age 10 needs a different workup than one who's done it from day one).
- The microchip and registry information is what brings your dog home if they ever get lost — keep your contact information current on the registry.
- The medical history travels with you if you ever move, switch vets, or board the dog.
Save the packet somewhere durable. If your shelter used PawMates, the records may already be in your adopter account, accessible from any device. If not, scan the printed packet, store it in cloud storage you actually use, and forward a copy to your vet's office.
The bottom line
The records your shelter accumulated on your new dog are doing real work for you. They make the first 30 days smoother, the first vet visit better, the decompression period gentler, and the long-term care more informed. Ask for the complete file if you didn't get it. Use it actively in the first month. Save it durably. Call the shelter when you have questions.
You're not on your own with a new dog. You're on the second leg of a relay race the shelter has been running for weeks. Take the baton.
For the decompression playbook, see The Decompression Period. For how to read the behavioral evaluation, see What Are Behavior Evaluations And Why Should I Care?. For the universal chip lookup tool and registry directory, see Microchip Lookup. For the shelter-side view of why honest records sharing matters, see What Are the Benefits to Sharing Pet Medical and Behavioral Records?.
FAQ: getting and using pet medical and behavioral records
What if my shelter only gave me a one-page packet?
Call or email and ask for the complete medical and behavioral file. Most shelters will send it — they just default to the short version. Ask for everything: vaccine history, all medications, any conditions diagnosed, the formal evaluation if one exists, daily-care notes, and food details.
Do I need to bring records to my first vet visit?
Yes — or send them ahead by email. The vet's first visit is dramatically better with the shelter's records in hand. Most practices accept PDF email in advance and have your dog's file ready when you arrive.
Should I transfer the microchip registration to my name?
Yes, immediately. The shelter's registration is fine for the adoption itself, but only your contact information will bring your dog home if they're ever lost. Use the AAHA universal chip lookup to find your dog's registry and follow that registry's transfer process. Most shelters will help with this at adoption.
What if I find inconsistencies between the records and what my dog is actually doing?
Call the shelter. Inconsistencies are normal — shelter environments mask some behaviors and amplify others. The shelter may have additional context. Either way, the call helps you understand what you're seeing, and it helps the shelter improve their records for future adoptions.
How long should I keep the records?
For the life of the dog. The vaccine history is reference data forever. The behavioral baseline becomes the comparison point years later if anything changes. The microchip and registry info is what brings your dog home if they're lost. Scan everything, store it in cloud storage, and don't lose it.
More on the PawMates adopter blog.