Dog Quality of Life Checklist: Questions for Your Vet

A quality-of-life checklist cannot make an end-of-life decision for you. It can turn scattered observations into a pattern you and your veterinarian can discuss. Complete it at the same time each day, and compare several days rather than letting one unusually good or bad hour decide everything.

Seven areas to observe

The veterinary HHHHHMM framework groups observations into seven areas: hurt, hunger, hydration, hygiene, happiness, mobility, and more good days than bad. A VCA explanation of the scale describes how these categories can support end-of-life conversations.

Ask practical questions:

1. Hurt: Is pain controlled at rest and during movement? Is breathing comfortable?
2. Hunger: Can your dog eat enough willingly, and is nausea managed?
3. Hydration: Are they drinking or receiving safe veterinary support?
4. Hygiene: Can they stay clean and dry without distress?
5. Happiness: Do they still seek or enjoy any favorite contact or activity?
6. Mobility: Can they reach water and toilet safely, with help they tolerate?
7. More good days: Over the last week, were comfort and connection more common than crisis?

Record evidence, not just a score

Beside each rating, add one sentence: “ate half breakfast without coaxing,” “panted for 40 minutes after standing,” or “wanted to sit in the garden.” Photos and short videos can help your veterinarian see breathing, posture, and movement that may not appear in the clinic.

Questions to bring to the appointment

• Which symptoms are reversible, and which are likely to progress?
• What would successful pain or nausea control look like?
• What is the emergency plan overnight?
• Which change should trigger a same-day call?
• What options exist for euthanasia at home or in the clinic?

Do not wait for a perfect certainty

End-of-life choices often happen with uncertainty. Ask the veterinarian to explain the likely best and worst case of waiting. Include your dog’s tolerance for handling, hospitalization, and medication—not only whether a treatment is technically possible.

Seek urgent veterinary care for severe breathing difficulty, uncontrolled pain, collapse, repeated seizures, major bleeding, or inability to urinate. A checklist is for shared decision-making; it is not an emergency triage tool.