Free printable resource
Weekly Senior Dog Observation Log
One week is a snapshot. Repeating the same eight notes over several weeks can make a gradual change easier to see.
Gradual changes can be hard to notice from one day to the next. A brief weekly note, recorded in the same way each time, gives you a clearer comparison across several weeks without turning observations into a diagnosis.
Who this is for: Owners of dogs roughly seven years and older, and anyone sharing care of one.
How to use it
Choose one day each week and record the check at roughly the same time, whether or not anything unusual happened.
Record what you observed rather than naming a cause. "Left half of breakfast twice" is more specific than "seemed depressed."
Add one short sentence about the week alongside the marks. Those notes can add useful context when you compare several weeks.
The weekly eight
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appetite: finished / most / some / little | ||||||
| Water: usual / more / less | ||||||
| Weight (same scale) | ||||||
| Getting up: easy / slow / needs help | ||||||
| Longest walk, minutes | ||||||
| Nights woken and unsettled | ||||||
| Toileting: usual / accidents / straining | ||||||
| Engagement: usual / quieter / withdrawn | ||||||
| One sentence about the week |
Measure only what you can measure safely
Never restrict water to find out how much a dog drinks. Measure what you put in the bowl and what is left.
Do not repeat stairs, provoke a limp, manipulate a painful joint or wake a deeply resting dog to take a reading. A short video of something that happened naturally is worth more than a number you forced.
Take the resting breathing rate while the dog is genuinely at rest or asleep, never after activity.
Sources
Written against published veterinary guidance. These are the sources behind the urgency and observation guidance on this page.
- Your Senior Pet: Home Monitoring Tips, American Animal Hospital Association
- Senior Dogs, Part I: The Signs of an Aging Dog, Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
- WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines and Toolkit, World Small Animal Veterinary Association
Buddylio helps you notice and organize what you see. It doesn't diagnose or treat anything, and it isn't a substitute for your veterinarian. If you think your dog is unwell, in pain, or in danger, call your vet or an emergency clinic.
Free to use and free to share. Veterinary teams, shelters and rescues are welcome to link to this page or print it for clients.