series • 1 min read

Puppy Log

2026 · A puppy app for two tired people. Tap a button on one phone and it shows up on the other in about ten seconds.

The puppy log app: a countdown to the next trip outside, timers since the last pee, poop and meal, and eight big buttons.

What it is. An app on two iPhones, mine and L's. Eight big buttons: Pee, Poop, Ate, Drank, Woke, Asleep, Play, Out. One tap logs the event with the time and who tapped, and the other phone has it about ten seconds later.

The top of the screen does the math we kept doing in our heads at 3 a.m.: minutes since the last pee, poop, meal and wake-up, plus the time of the next trip outside. That countdown runs on our own rules from his first week. Out when he wakes, 15 to 20 minutes after he eats or drinks, when play slows down, and at least once an hour while he's up.

When. October 2026. I built it in two days, during his naps.

Made for. Kiko, our new puppy, and the two of us taking him out every hour.

Kiko, a small red-brown puppy, lying on a woven rug and looking straight at the camera.
Kiko, the only user who never taps a button.

Why build it. The App Store has puppy apps that log the same events. Most keep the record on one phone or charge extra to share it. We started with a shared note, and a note can't warn you it's been 50 minutes since the last pee.

What it revealed. You can now build an app for one dog, two people and a few weeks of broken sleep. No company would make software for a problem that small and that short. It took me two days, and it's on both our phones.

Further reading: No Plan Survives the Puppy.