A vaccine leaves a card behind. Deworming leaves nothing. What to ask at the appointment, and what to write down so the next date doesn't depend on your memory.
Ask anyone what date they last dewormed their dog.
Almost nobody knows. "Not long ago" is the most common answer in Mexico, and it means nothing.
What's interesting is that the same person does know where the vaccination card is. They know it exists, they know roughly where they put it, and if they open it there are dates written by somebody else.
It isn't that people care less about deworming. It's that there's nowhere to write it down.
For vaccines there's a piece of paper. Someone signs it, stamps it, and a date stays there that you can look up two years later.
Deworming leaves no trace. You do it, the dog takes it, and the only copy of the record is in your head — where it fades in a few weeks. Then comes the doubt: "was that before or after the holidays?". And from there, either it gets repeated unnecessarily, or it gets skipped.
It isn't carelessness. There was never anywhere to write it.
This is the other common misunderstanding, and it's worth being clear on before the appointment.
There are two different things: internal deworming (the parasites inside) and external (fleas and ticks). Different products, against different parasites.
Plenty of people assume that what they use covers both. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't — it depends on the product, the dog and where they live.
That's a thirty-second question for the consultation. It isn't something to settle by searching the internet, and it's certainly not something we can answer for you.
A schedule.
We're a pet history app, not a clinic. We don't have vets and we don't give medical recommendations — not how often, not with what, not how much. We could copy the intervals from the international guidelines (they're cited at the bottom, and they're public), but a number copied from a European guideline doesn't know your dog's age, how much they're out on the street, who they live with, or what climate they're in.
The person who can answer that is your vet, in an appointment that takes less time than you've spent reading this.
What we can do is get you there well prepared — and make sure what you're told doesn't evaporate. That part is our job.
Put them in your phone's notes before you go. There are four and they're answered quickly:
The fourth is the one most people skip and the one that changes the answer most.
Before you get in the car, receipt still in hand:
Then an alarm on your phone for that date. That's the entire system. A notebook works. Phone notes work. What doesn't work is memory.
Some intestinal parasites of dogs also affect people, and the CDC treats this as ordinary household hygiene: washing hands, picking up faeces, and — in their own words — having a veterinarian examine and treat the animal, especially if it's young or spends time outdoors.
In other words: the official recommendation isn't a calendar you download. It's going.
Maskotis comes out of exactly that gap: a place where your pet's care history lives, so the next date doesn't depend on your memory or on a receipt that got lost.
Today you can register your pet and keep their care events there. What comes next — and what we're working on — is telling you when the date your vet gave you is approaching, so you don't have to be the one who remembers. It isn't open yet.
What Maskotis won't do, even when it's ready, is tell you what to give your dog. That's decided by whoever can examine them.
In the meantime, the phone alarm works. Use it today.
Published veterinary guidelines, in case you want to read them yourself or take them to the appointment. None of them replaces your vet, and their intervals are written for populations, not for your dog.
Maskotis does not give medical recommendations and this article is not a substitute for a veterinary consultation. The interval, the product and the dose for your dog are decided by whoever can examine them. Take them to the vet you trust, or to the nearest clinic — they'll help you there.
It sounds like a step backwards and it isn't. There are four specific moments where paper wins, which is why printing is part of the product rather than an accessory.
Feature lists don't help you decide. Seven questions that do — including the three no app answers on its home page. And yes, we're one of them.
You're going to post the photo anyway. These five take exactly as long, and in three years they'll be worth far more than the photo.