Read a puppy’s health papers as a set of claims you can check. Each document should name the puppy (or its microchip), the clinic or lab that produced it, and a date. If those details line up across every page and match the puppy you are buying, the papers are doing their job. If they do not, ask before you pay anything.
What should a puppy’s health papers include?
Most sellers can show you some or all of these:
- A vaccination record listing each vaccine given, the date, and who gave it. Many records include the product sticker or lot details from the vial.
- A deworming record with the product and the dates. Young puppies are usually dewormed on a repeating schedule, so expect more than a single entry.
- A recent veterinary exam: the clinic’s name, the date of the visit, and the vet’s findings on the heart, eyes, ears, skin, coat and body condition.
- Health screening results for the parents, where the breed calls for them, such as hip, elbow or eye evaluations, or DNA tests for inherited conditions.
- A microchip number, if the puppy is chipped, and registration papers if the seller is selling a registered puppy.
- A written health guarantee, if the seller offers one.
Not every puppy will have every item, and a missing document is not automatically a red flag. What matters is that the seller tells you plainly what exists and what does not.
How do I check the papers against the puppy?
Start with identity. Match the puppy’s name or description, date of birth, sex, color and microchip number on each document. A vet can scan the chip at your first visit, but you can ask the seller to scan it on a video call or at pickup and show you the reader.
Then check the dates. The vaccine and deworming dates should make sense for the puppy’s age. A record that shows care before the puppy was born, or a vet exam dated after the day you are picking it up, needs an explanation.
Finally, check the issuer. Every clinic record should name a real clinic with contact details. You can call the clinic yourself, using a number you look up independently, and ask whether they saw this puppy on that date. Many clinics will confirm a visit when the seller has given permission.
What do parent health screenings tell me?
Screenings on the parents tell you about the puppy’s inherited risks, not its current health. For a breed with known hip or elbow problems, ask for the parents’ evaluation results and the registry or lab that issued them. For DNA tests, ask which conditions were tested and whether each parent is clear, a carrier, or affected.
Breeding a carrier to another carrier can produce affected puppies, so the pairing matters more than either parent alone. If the seller says the parents were tested, ask to see the reports, not a summary.
What should a health guarantee cover?
A health guarantee is a separate written agreement between you and the seller. Read it before you commit, and look for:
- What it covers: congenital or genetic conditions, contagious illness at the time of sale, or both.
- How long it lasts, and from what date.
- What you must do to keep it valid, such as a vet exam within a set period after pickup, a particular diet, or keeping records.
- What happens if a covered problem is found: a refund, a replacement puppy, or a contribution to vet bills, and whether you must return the puppy.
A guarantee that requires you to give up a sick puppy you have already bonded with is worth understanding before you sign, not after.
What questions should I ask before I commit?
- Which vaccines and dewormings has the puppy had, and when is the next one due?
- Which clinic examined the puppy, and may I contact them?
- Were the parents health screened, and can I see the reports?
- Is the puppy microchipped, and in whose name is the chip registered?
- What does your health guarantee cover, and can I read it now?
Book your own vet visit for the first days after pickup, whatever the papers say. Your vet can look over the records, scan the chip and examine the puppy with no stake in the sale.
What should I do next?
If the price is part of your decision, compare it with similar puppies using the free price check tool, and browse breed figures in our dog price guide. For the payment side of the purchase, read buying safely before you send a deposit, and use our other free tools to plan the costs of a new dog.
Drafted with the help of an AI model from an editor’s brief, then reviewed and approved by The Everybarn Editorial Team before publishing.
Sources
- The Everybarn Standard. What is verified (a seller’s identity) and what is on file (the seller’s documents).