How to Track Pet Good Days vs Bad Days: Journal Template

When we were caring for Baxter during his final months, one of the most challenging aspects wasn’t just watching him decline. It was about determining whether we were making the right decisions about his care. Some days he seemed almost like his old self, and on others he was clearly difficult. The emotional weight of those ups and downs made it nearly impossible to see the bigger picture. We found ourselves asking the same questions over and over: Is he having more good days than bad? Are we keeping him here for us, or for him? How do we know when it’s time?

If you’re asking yourself these same questions right now, we want you to know that tracking your pet’s good days versus bad days can provide the clarity you desperately need during this heartbreaking time. It won’t make the decisions easy, but it can make them clearer. We’ve created a simple daily journal template that helps you observe patterns rather than getting lost in the emotional fog of individual moments. This isn’t about cold data collection. It’s about honoring your pet’s quality of life with the attention and love they deserve.

Key Takeaways

• Tracking good and bad days turns “I think it’s getting worse” into clarity. It helps you notice patterns, changes, and trends you can actually act on.
• It makes vet conversations way more productive. Instead of trying to remember everything in a stressful moment, you can share specific notes and data.
• Use a simple, repeatable system. The template is designed to be quick, consistent, and focused on quality-of-life signals that matter.
• It supports the hardest decision with less doubt. When the “bad days” start outweighing the good, the tracker helps you feel more grounded in what you’re seeing and why.

Why Tracking Your Pet’s Good Days and Bad Days Matters

The process of watching a beloved pet decline is emotionally exhausting in ways that are difficult to describe to anyone who hasn’t experienced it. Your heart breaks a little more each day, yet you’re also desperate to hold onto hope. You might find yourself clinging to the good moments, like the way they perked up when you came home, or how they ate their favorite treat, while trying to minimize the struggles you’re witnessing.

This is completely natural, and it’s part of how we protect ourselves emotionally. But it can also cloud our judgment when we’re trying to make end-of-life decisions that are truly in our pet’s best interest.

Tracking your pet’s daily experiences creates a record that exists outside of your immediate emotional state. When you’re having a particularly hard day and feeling like you can’t bear to let go, your journal might show you that your pet has been struggling more than you realized. Conversely, when guilt tells you you should have already made the decision to say goodbye, your tracking might reveal that your pet is still experiencing genuine joy and comfort more often than not.

We’ve worked with countless veterinarians who emphasize that one of the most valuable things pet parents can bring to end-of-life consultations is a written record of their pet’s daily quality of life. These journals help families move from “I feel like it might be time” to “The pattern shows us it’s time.” That shift from feeling to knowing can provide profound peace during an impossibly difficult decision.

How to Define Good Days vs Bad Days for Your Senior Pet

Before you can track good days and bad days, you need to understand what those terms actually mean for your specific pet. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all definition, because what constitutes quality of life varies greatly depending on your pet’s personality, condition, and what they’ve always loved about being alive.

Physical Comfort Signs in Senior Pets

Physical comfort is often the most visible aspect of your pet’s daily experience, though it can be challenging to assess accurately. Animals are remarkably good at hiding pain, a survival instinct that doesn’t turn off just because they’re safe at home with you.

On a good day, your pet should show signs of basic physical comfort. This doesn’t mean they’re pain-free or moving as they did in their youth. It means their pain is managed well enough that they can rest peacefully, move without obvious distress, and engage in basic activities without struggling excessively. Look for steady breathing, the ability to find a comfortable resting position, normal eating and drinking behavior, and manageable bathroom habits.

Bad days from a physical comfort perspective include visible signs of pain like whimpering, panting when not hot, inability to get comfortable, refusal to eat or drink, incontinence that distresses them, or difficulty with basic movements like standing or walking. If your pet is on pain medication and still showing these signs, that’s especially significant information to track.

For example, fourteen-year-old Golden Retriever Murphy had arthritis and early-stage kidney disease. On his good days, he could walk to the backyard without assistance, eat his meals with appetite, and settle comfortably on his bed. On bad days, he needed help standing, left his food untouched, and shifted positions every few minutes trying to get comfortable. His pet parent’s journal helped show that Murphy went from having mostly good days in August to mostly bad days by October, which guided the decision-making process.

Emotional Wellbeing Indicators in Declining Pets

Your pet’s emotional state is just as important as their physical comfort, though it can be harder to quantify. You know your pet better than anyone else, and you can recognize when they seem content versus when something is wrong.

Good days include moments when your pet shows interest in their surroundings, responds to your voice or presence, seeks out companionship or affection in their usual way, and displays their personality even if it’s muted compared to their younger years. A senior cat who has always been aloof doesn’t need to suddenly become cuddly for a day to be good. They just need to show they’re still themselves.

Bad days might show your pet as withdrawn, unresponsive to things they normally care about, or anxious, with behaviors like pacing, hiding, or excessive vocalization. When seventeen-year-old cat Muffin stopped greeting his human at the door and began hiding under the bed for hours at a time, it was a significant departure from his lifelong habit of supervising every activity in the house.

Engagement with Activities Your Pet Loves

This category focuses on whether your pet can still participate in the activities that have always brought them joy, even if that participation looks different from how it used to.

On a good day, your pet engages with life in some meaningful way. Maybe your dog can’t go for long walks anymore, but they still show excitement when you grab the leash for a short trip around the block. Perhaps your cat can’t jump to their favorite windowsill, but they still settle into the bed you’ve placed near the window to watch the birds. The key is that they’re still finding moments of genuine pleasure or purpose.

Bad days are characterized by complete disinterest in the things that once mattered to them. Your dog doesn’t lift their head when you come home. Your cat ignores the food that used to make them come running. They’re simply existing rather than living, going through the motions of survival without any spark of engagement.

Twelve-year-old Beagle Chester still got excited about mealtime and greeted the kids when they got home from school, even on days when his mobility was limited. But when those responses stopped, when Chester didn’t even acknowledge the kids or turn his head toward his food bowl, his family knew the balance had shifted.

Daily Journal Template for Tracking Pet Quality of Life

We’ve developed a straightforward template that takes just a few minutes to complete each day but provides invaluable information over time. You can use a notebook, a notes app on your phone, or print out copies of this template, whatever works best for you.

Morning Assessment for Your Senior Pet

Start each day with these observations, ideally completed within the first hour or two after your pet wakes up. These morning checks help you consistently track your pet’s good and bad days.

How did they sleep? Note whether they seemed restful or restless, if they changed positions frequently, or if they vocalized during the night. Sleep quality often reflects overall comfort levels and can indicate whether pain medication is working effectively through the night.

Mobility check: Could they stand and walk without assistance? Did they need help? How steady were they? Morning mobility often reveals arthritis pain or neurological decline, and tracking these patterns helps you understand whether your pet’s condition is stable or worsening.

Appetite and thirst: Did they eat breakfast? Drink water? Show normal interest or refuse? Changes in eating and drinking patterns can indicate pain, nausea, organ dysfunction, or declining interest in life.

Bathroom status: Were they able to urinate and defecate normally? Any accidents or signs of distress? Incontinence and bathroom difficulties can significantly impact your pet’s quality of life and dignity.

Pain indicators on a scale of 0 to 3: 0 means no visible signs of pain; 1 means mild signs like slight stiffness or slower movement; 2 means moderate signs like whimpering, reluctance to move, or panting; and 3 means severe signs like crying, shaking, or an inability to find comfort. This simple pain scale helps you track whether pain management is effective.

Observations Throughout Your Pet’s Day

These are brief notes you can jot down as you notice them. You don’t need to write paragraphs, just quick observations that capture important moments or concerns.

Moments of engagement: Record any time your pet showed interest in something, whether that’s a visitor, a favorite toy, watching out the window, or seeking affection. Even small moments count and help you remember that good moments existed on days that felt predominantly difficult.

Distress or discomfort: Note any episodes of pain, confusion, anxiety, or struggle. Include the time and what was happening. Patterns in when distress occurs can help identify triggers or times when additional medication might be needed.

Meals and water intake: Track whether they ate lunch or any treats, and if they’re drinking adequate water. Dehydration and malnutrition can accelerate decline, so these observations help you know when to intervene.

Rest quality: Are they able to rest peacefully, or are they restless and unsettled? Pets who can’t find comfortable rest are experiencing diminished quality of life that deserves attention.

Evening Reflections on Your Pet’s Day

At the end of each day, take five minutes for these reflections. This is when you synthesize everything you observed into a clear assessment of whether this was a good day or a bad day for your pet.

Overall day rating: Good day, bad day, or somewhere in between. Trust your gut on this because you know your pet better than anyone. Don’t overthink it or second-guess yourself. Your instinct, combined with your observations throughout the day, will guide you to an honest assessment.

Best moment of the day: What was one moment, even if brief, when your pet seemed comfortable or content? On hard days, this helps you remember that your pet still experienced some quality of life. On good days, it reinforces that your pet is still finding joy.

Most concerning moment: What worried you most today? This helps you identify emerging problems or worsening symptoms that you should discuss with your veterinarian.

Summary note: Write one or two sentences capturing the essence of the day. Something like “Bella seemed comfortable most of the day and perked up when I got home from work, but struggled to get up from her bed several times.” Or “Max refused all meals and barely lifted his head all day, even when his favorite person visited.” These summaries become incredibly valuable when you review patterns over time.

Weekly Review of Your Pet’s Quality of Life Patterns

Every Sunday, or whatever day works for you, review the past week. This is where the real clarity emerges and where tracking your pet’s good days versus bad days provides the most valuable insight.

Count good days vs bad days: Simply tally how many days were predominantly good versus bad. If any days fall in the middle, note them separately. The ratio of good to bad days is one of the most important indicators of your pet’s overall quality of life.

Identify emerging patterns: Are you seeing new symptoms? Is something that was occasional becoming daily? Are good moments becoming rarer? Pay attention to the trajectory, not just the current state. A pet who had five good days this week but seven last week is on a downward path.

Assess medication effectiveness: If your pet is on pain medication or other treatments, is it still helping? Are you needing to give rescue medications more frequently? Is the current pain management plan still adequate for your pet’s comfort?

Evaluate quality of life trajectory: Overall, is this week better, worse, or about the same as last week? Look back at previous weekly reviews if you’ve been tracking for a while. The long-term trend matters more than week-to-week fluctuations.

This weekly review is where patterns become undeniable. You might be surprised by what the data reveals, especially if your day-to-day emotions have been clouding the bigger picture.

Using Your Journal to Make End-of-Life Decisions for Your Pet

The journal isn’t meant to give you a precise formula for when to say goodbye. No chart or checklist can do that. But it can illuminate your pet’s experience, helping you make decisions from a place of love rather than fear or denial.

Many veterinarians and pet hospice professionals reference the guideline that when bad days begin to outnumber good days, it may be time to consider euthanasia. This doesn’t mean one bad week requires immediate action, but it does mean paying attention to the trend. Is the ratio shifting from mostly good days with occasional bad days to mostly bad days with occasional good moments?

Your journal becomes an invaluable communication tool when you consult with your veterinarian. Instead of trying to remember details from the past few weeks during an already emotional appointment, you have a clear record. Saying “She’s had eight bad days and three good days over the past two weeks, and the bad days are becoming more severe” is much more useful than “She seems to be declining.”

We also encourage you to share this journal with family members who are involved in the decision-making process. When everyone can see the same information, it’s easier to reach a consensus about what’s best for your pet, even when emotions are running high. It shifts conversations from “I think” to “The pattern shows us.”

Trust the patterns more than individual emotions. There will be good days that fill you with hope and make you think maybe you have more time. There will be bad days that make you panic and wonder if you should rush to the emergency vet immediately. The journal helps you zoom out and see the bigger picture. Is your pet’s overall quality of life declining despite the occasional good day? Are the good days becoming the exception rather than the norm?

Sixteen-year-old Labrador Bruno was tracked by his family for six weeks. Some days were genuinely wonderful, and they’d think he wasn’t ready yet. But their weekly reviews revealed a clear pattern. Week one had five good days, week two had four good days, week three had three good days, and by week six, Bruno had only one day that could be called good. The journal didn’t make their decision painless, but it made it clearer. They could see that Bruno was losing his battle, and the most loving thing they could do was let him go before his suffering became overwhelming.

Common Challenges When Tracking Your Pet’s Good and Bad Days

As helpful as tracking can be, it’s not always straightforward. Here are some challenges you might encounter and how to work through them so you can continue gathering the information you need.

When you can’t tell if a day is good or bad: Some days genuinely fall in the middle, and that’s okay. You can mark them as “neutral” or “mixed” in your journal. What matters is the overall pattern. If you’re having many days where you can’t decide, that itself is information. It might mean your pet is in a plateau period, or it might mean their quality of life is becoming inconsistent in ways that warrant discussion with your veterinarian.

Managing guilt about evaluating your pet’s quality of life: Many pet parents tell us they feel guilty about rating their pet’s days, as if they’re being coldly analytical about someone they love deeply. Please know that this tracking is an act of love. You’re paying close attention to your pet’s experience because you care about their wellbeing more than anything. You’re not judging them. You’re honoring their experience and ensuring you make the most loving decision possible when the time comes.

Involving family members in the tracking process: If multiple people care for your pet, consider having each person do their own brief daily notes, then comparing observations. Different people might notice different things, and this can provide a more complete picture. However, make sure everyone understands that the purpose is to gather information, not to prove a point about which decision should be made. Keep the focus on your pet’s experience, not on who’s right about what that experience means.

When emotions override what the data shows: There may be times when your journal clearly shows a pattern, but your heart isn’t ready to accept what it’s telling you. This is completely understandable and deeply human. The journal isn’t meant to force you into a decision before you’re ready. It’s meant to ensure that when you are ready to make a decision, you have the information you need to make it with confidence. Trust your love for your pet to guide you toward the right timing, and trust your journal to keep you grounded in reality.

Maintaining consistency when you’re exhausted: Caring for a declining pet is exhausting, and there will be days when sitting down to fill out your journal feels like one more impossible task. On those days, even a few quick notes are better than nothing. A simple “bad day, wouldn’t eat, seemed in pain” captures essential information. Don’t let perfectionism stop you from tracking at all.

Dealing with fluctuating conditions: Some chronic conditions cause dramatic day-to-day variations in how your pet feels. This can make it hard to see patterns because every day feels different. In these cases, tracking becomes even more important because it helps you see whether the good days are becoming less frequent or less good over time, even if the bad days aren’t necessarily getting worse.

Tracking your senior pet’s good days and bad days is one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do, but it’s also one of the most loving. It requires you to bear witness to their decline with clear eyes and an open heart, which takes tremendous courage. We know this firsthand from our own experience with Baxter and from the countless pet parents we’ve supported through this journey.

This journal isn’t about reaching some predetermined threshold that tells you exactly when to say goodbye. It’s about staying present with your pet during their final chapter, understanding their experience as fully as possible, and making decisions based on their quality of life rather than your own fear of loss. Your pet deserves that level of attention and care, and you deserve the clarity that comes from truly understanding what they’re going through.

As you fill out your daily journal, remember that you’re doing something profoundly important. You’re honoring your pet’s life by ensuring their final days, weeks, or months are about their comfort and dignity, not about your ability to let go. And when the time comes to make that final decision, whenever that may be, you’ll be able to do so knowing you paid attention, you gathered information, and you made the choice that put your beloved companion’s wellbeing first.

That’s what love looks like at the end of life. We’re here to support you through every difficult day, and we’re honored to be part of your journey. If you need additional support, our grief counseling directory and community support groups are here for you, whenever you’re ready.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tracking Pet Good Days vs Bad Days

Q: How do I know if my pet is having a good day or a bad day?

A: Good days are when your pet shows signs of basic physical comfort including steady breathing, ability to find a comfortable resting position, normal eating and drinking behavior, and manageable bathroom habits, along with emotional wellbeing indicators like showing interest in their surroundings, responding to your voice or presence, seeking companionship or affection in their usual way, and displaying their personality even if muted compared to younger years. Your pet should also engage with life in some meaningful way, participating in activities they’ve always loved, even if that participation looks different than it used to. Bad days include visible signs of pain like whimpering or panting when not hot or inability to get comfortable, refusal to eat or drink, incontinence that distresses them, difficulty with basic movements, emotional withdrawal with unresponsiveness to things they normally care about, and complete disinterest in the things that once mattered to them. The definition varies depending on your pet’s personality, condition, and what they’ve always loved about being alive. Trust your gut because you know your pet better than anyone, and your instinct, combined with your observations, will guide you to an honest assessment.

Q: When does the ratio of bad days to good days mean it’s time to consider euthanasia?

A: Many veterinarians and pet hospice professionals reference the guideline that when bad days begin to outnumber good days, it may be time to consider euthanasia. This doesn’t mean one bad week requires immediate action, but it does mean paying attention to the trend and trajectory. Is the ratio shifting from mostly good days with occasional bad days to mostly bad days with occasional good moments? Trust the patterns more than individual emotions because there will be good days that fill you with hope and bad days that make you panic. The journal helps you zoom out and see the bigger picture by asking whether your pet’s overall quality of life is declining despite occasional good days, and whether those good days are becoming the exception rather than the norm. Weekly reviews where you count good days versus bad days and assess the trajectory over time provide the most valuable insight. If you’re seeing a pattern where good days are becoming less frequent week after week, that information helps guide difficult but loving end-of-life decisions.

Q: How long should I track my pet’s days before making a decision?

A: There’s no set timeframe because every pet’s situation is different. Some pet parents track for just a couple of weeks before a clear pattern emerges, while others track for several months as a gradual decline unfolds. The key is to look for patterns and trajectory rather than focusing on a specific duration. Weekly reviews become particularly valuable where you count good days versus bad days and compare each week to the previous one. Ask yourself if this week is better, worse, or about the same as last week, and look back at previous weekly reviews if you’ve been tracking for a while, because the long-term trend matters more than week-to-week fluctuations. Start tracking as soon as you begin questioning your pet’s quality of life, and continue until you feel you have enough information to make an informed decision with your veterinarian. The journal provides valuable information at veterinary consultations regardless of how long you’ve been tracking, and even a few weeks of data is much more useful than trying to remember details during an emotional appointment.

Q: What should I do if I can’t tell whether a day is good or bad?

A: Some days genuinely fall in the middle, and that’s okay. You can mark them as neutral or mixed in your journal, and what matters is the overall pattern rather than having a definitive rating for every single day. If you’re having many days where you can’t decide, that itself is information. It might mean your pet is in a plateau period where their condition is relatively stable, or it might mean their quality of life is becoming inconsistent in ways that warrant discussion with your veterinarian. Don’t let perfectionism stop you from tracking. Even a few quick notes on uncertain days are better than nothing. A simple “mixed day, ate breakfast but struggled with mobility, seemed comfortable in the afternoon” captures essential information without requiring you to force a good or bad classification. The purpose of tracking is to gather information about patterns over time, not to achieve perfect daily categorization. Trust your observations and note what you see, and the patterns will emerge through weekly reviews, even if individual days feel ambiguous.

Q: How can tracking help me communicate with my veterinarian about end-of-life decisions?

A: Your journal becomes an invaluable communication tool when you consult with your veterinarian because instead of trying to remember details from the past few weeks during an already emotional appointment, you have a clear record. Saying “She’s had eight bad days and three good days over the past two weeks, and the bad days are becoming more severe” is much more useful than “She seems to be declining.” The journal helps you identify emerging patterns, such as new symptoms or something that was occasional becoming daily, assess medication effectiveness, including whether pain management is still adequate, and evaluate the trajectory of quality of life, showing whether this week is better, worse, or about the same as last week. Many veterinarians emphasize that one of the most valuable things pet parents can bring to end-of-life consultations is a written record of their pet’s daily quality of life. These journals help families move from “I feel like it might be time” to “The pattern shows us it’s time,” shifting from feeling to knowing and providing profound peace during an impossibly difficult decision. The journal also helps when involving family members in decision-making, because when everyone can see the same information, it’s easier to reach a consensus on what’s best for your pet.