The 8-Point Senior Dog Home Check: Quiet Signs Worth Noticing as Your Dog Gets Older
- Hilltop
- Jul 6
- 5 min read
Older dogs rarely make a fuss when something changes. They show us in small ways — a slower rise from the bed, a half-finished bowl, an extra trip to the water dish. Because conditions like arthritis, dental disease and kidney changes tend to develop gradually, the early signs often look like "just getting old."
The pattern we see again and again at Hilltop is this: several small changes usually appear before any single obvious symptom. Owners who know their dog's normal are the ones who catch things early — and early is when we can do the most to keep a dog comfortable, active and well.
That's the whole idea behind our 8-Point Senior Dog Home Check. It isn't a diagnostic tool, and none of these signs means something is wrong on its own. It's simply a few quiet minutes, once a month or so, spent noticing the eight areas that change most with age.
Most dogs are considered "senior" from around seven or eight years old — earlier for large and giant breeds. If that's your dog, this check is for you.
1. Weight and body shape
Run your hands along your dog's ribs, spine and hips. Does the body feel bonier than it used to, or rounder? Has the collar loosened or tightened without a change in diet?
Gradual weight loss can accompany dental pain, kidney or liver changes, and other age-related conditions, while gradual weight gain often reflects a slowing metabolism or reduced activity — sometimes because moving has become uncomfortable. Either direction, a steady drift in body shape over a month or two is worth mentioning at your next visit.
Worth a call sooner if: weight changes noticeably over a few weeks despite normal feeding.
2. Eating and drinking
Watch how your dog eats, not just whether the bowl is emptied. Eating more slowly, approaching food eagerly then hesitating, or leaving harder pieces behind can all be quiet signs — often of mouth pain rather than a fussy appetite.
Drinking is just as informative. Noticeably increased thirst is one of the more useful early flags in older dogs, because it can accompany kidney changes, diabetes and some hormonal conditions. You don't need to measure every millilitre — just notice if you're refilling the bowl more often than you used to.
Worth a call sooner if: thirst has clearly increased, or appetite drops for more than a day or two.
3. Mouth and teeth
Dental disease is one of the most common — and most under-recognised — problems in older dogs, partly because dogs are very good at eating around a sore tooth.
Lift the lip and look, if your dog will let you. Signs worth noting: bad breath (not just "dog breath" — a strong or foul smell), red or bleeding gums, heavy tartar, dropping food while eating, or chewing only on one side. Dental pain is real pain, and it also affects appetite, weight and overall comfort.
Worth a call sooner if: the mouth smells foul, gums bleed, or your dog stops chewing on one side.
4. Movement and comfort
Stiffness after rest, slowing down on walks, hesitating at stairs, or no longer jumping onto the couch or into the car are among the most common changes owners notice — and among the most commonly dismissed as "just age."
Age isn't painful; arthritis is. These signs usually mean joint discomfort, and the encouraging part is that arthritis is one of the most manageable senior conditions. Weight management, home adjustments, and modern pain relief can make a genuine difference to how comfortable and active a dog stays.
Worth a call sooner if: your dog is reluctant to rise, limps, or has stopped doing something they used to do easily.
5. Toilet habits
Changes here are easy to notice and easy to feel awkward mentioning — please mention them anyway. Urinating more often or in larger volumes, straining, accidents indoors from a previously reliable dog, or changes in stool are all useful information, not bad behaviour.
Increased urination often travels with increased drinking (see point 2), and house-training "lapses" in an older dog usually have a physical or cognitive cause.
Worth a call sooner if: there's straining, blood, or your dog seems unable to hold on.
6. Lumps and skin
Older dogs commonly develop lumps, and many are harmless — but there is no reliable way to tell what a lump is just by looking or feeling. Size, softness and slow growth are not proof that a lump is benign.
Make lump-checking part of a weekly pat-down: run your hands over the whole body, including armpits, belly, and around the tail. Note anything new, and keep an eye on anything existing that changes in size, shape or texture. Coat changes — dullness, thinning, flaky or greasy skin — are also worth noting, as they can reflect underlying conditions.
Worth a call sooner if: you find a new lump, or an existing one grows or changes. Checking a lump is quick, and peace of mind either way is worth it.
7. Sleep and behaviour
Behavioural change in an older dog is a health sign, not a personality quirk. Restless or disturbed nights, pacing, more daytime sleeping, staring at walls, getting "stuck" in corners, confusion in familiar places, or withdrawing from the family can reflect pain, sensory decline, or age-related cognitive change.
Cognitive decline in dogs is real and reasonably common in the senior years — and, like arthritis, it responds best when addressed early rather than once it's advanced.
Worth a call sooner if: night-time restlessness, confusion or anxiety appears or worsens over a few weeks.
8. Breathing and energy
Notice how your dog handles the same walk they've always done. Tiring sooner, lagging behind, sitting down mid-walk, or losing interest in walks altogether can reflect heart or lung changes, joint pain, or other conditions.
A cough deserves particular attention in an older dog — especially one that's worse at night, after rest, or after exercise. Coughing is never just an "old dog thing."
Worth a call sooner if: a cough persists more than a few days, breathing seems laboured, or exercise tolerance drops noticeably.
How to use this check
Do it monthly.
Pick a regular, quiet moment — a Sunday evening pat on the couch is enough.
Write it down.
A note in your phone ("June: slower on stairs, drinking a bit more") turns a vague feeling into a pattern you can show us. Patterns are exactly what help us help you.
Don't wait for the obvious symptom.
The whole point is that several small changes usually appear first. Two or three quiet changes together are a better reason to book a check than any of them alone.
None of these signs is a diagnosis, and this check doesn't replace regular veterinary examinations — for senior dogs, we recommend a check-up every six months, because a year is a long time in a senior dog's life. What the home check does is make you the expert on your dog's normal. That's what makes small changes easy to spot, and spotting them early is what gives us the best chance of keeping your dog well for longer.
Noticed a change?
If something on this list rings a bell — even a small something — book a senior health check with the team at Hilltop Veterinary Hospital. We'd always rather see a dog for a change that turns out to be nothing than miss one that mattered.
[Download the printable 8-Point Home Check]
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