How to Monitor Your Dog’s Health Over Time

In a nine‑month study of companion dogs, an AI‑generated “health score” based on wearable sensor data matched veterinarians’ assessments about 87.5% of the time.[2]That number does two things at once: it shows how much our dogs’ daily patterns reveal about their health—and how much of that information usually disappears between vet visits.

Most of the time, we see only snapshots: a limp on Tuesday, a quiet evening on Thursday, a “seems fine today” at the check‑up. Chronic conditions like osteoarthritis, heart disease, or anxiety aren’t snapshots. They’re stories told in small changes over weeks and months.

Monitoring your dog’s health over time is really about learning to read that story—using your eyes, your instincts, and, if you choose, some very clever technology—without turning daily life into a spreadsheet or a source of constant worry.

This article is about how to do that in a grounded, humane way: what’s possible, what’s still experimental, and how to track your dog’s condition without losing your mind in the process.

What “monitoring” actually means (and what it doesn’t)

When people hear “monitoring,” they often imagine hospital equipment or constant surveillance. That’s not what the research is pointing toward for everyday dog life.

In long‑term care, monitoring simply means:

• Paying attention to patterns over time, not just individual bad days

• Combining objective information (movement, heart rate, sleep) with

• Subjective observations (mood, appetite, “something’s off”)

• Sharing that picture with your veterinary team so they can adjust treatment before things become crises

For a dog with osteoarthritis, that might look like:

• A wearable sensor noticing a gradual drop in daily activity

• You noticing more hesitation on stairs

• Your vet seeing both, and adjusting pain medication or exercise before a major flare‑up

None of this replaces physical exams or your own judgment. As one veterinary review put it, activity trackers are helpful tools, not magic diagnostic oracles.[6]

The building blocks: how dogs can be monitored over time

You can think of monitoring as three overlapping layers:

1. Movement and behavior  

2. Physiological signs (what the body is doing inside)

3. Your lived experience with your dog

1. Wearable sensors and activity monitoring

Modern dog activity trackers are far more than glorified step counters.

Many use:

• Accelerometers – measure acceleration and movement

• Gyroscopes – detect orientation and posture

• Sometimes heart rate and other vitals

Placed on a collar or harness, these sensors collect tiny movement data all day. AI algorithms then classify behavior into categories like:

• Lying

• Sitting

• Standing

• Walking

• Trotting

• Playing

In one study comparing these devices to video recordings, agreement between the device and human observers was extremely high, with Cohen’s kappa values up to 0.975.[4] (For context, 1.0 would be perfect agreement.)

Why that matters in real life:

• A dog with arthritis might gradually lie down more and play less weeks before you’d call it “worse.”

• A dog with heart disease might slow their walking pace or take more frequent rests.

• A dog with anxiety might show restless pacing at night.

Sensors can pick up these subtle shifts and chart them over time, giving you trend lines instead of hunches.

A quick glossary

• Wearable sensors: The hardware (collar, harness, clip) that collects data on movement or vital signs.

• Activity monitoring: The process of turning raw movement into categories (resting, walking, etc.) and time spent in each.

• Health score: A composite number or rating generated from multiple data points (activity, rest, sometimes vitals) to reflect overall health status.

• Continuous remote monitoring: Data uploaded to the cloud so you and your vet can view trends over days to months.

2. Physiological monitoring: the emerging frontier

Movement is only part of the picture. Researchers are now experimenting with home‑use sensors that track:

• Heart rate (HR)

• Blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂)

Prototype systems using Arduino‑based platforms and optical sensors have shown that remote, real‑time physiological tracking is technically possible.[3] Commercial products like PetPace are moving in this direction for vitals tracking as well.[5]

What’s important to know:

• Promising, but early: Regular at‑home HR and SpO₂ monitoring is still largely experimental. Devices need more validation in real‑world, wiggly‑dog conditions.

• Context is everything: A single elevated heart rate can mean pain, stress, excitement, or just post‑zoomies. Trends, not isolated numbers, are what matter.

For now, physiological monitoring is best seen as a complement to, not a replacement for, your vet’s exams and diagnostic tools.

3. The data only you can provide: subjective symptom logging

No sensor can tell you:

• “She looks sad today”

• “He’s not greeting me at the door like usual”

• “She left half her breakfast, which she never does”

Subjective logging means writing down what you notice, in some consistent way. That might include:

• Pain signs: limping, stiffness, difficulty getting up

• Mobility: stairs, jumping into the car, walks cut short

• Appetite and drinking

• Sleep patterns: restlessness, nighttime pacing

• Mood: playfulness, social interest, irritability

• Behavior changes: hiding, clinginess, vocalizing

Paired with sensor data, these notes create a richer, more trustworthy picture than either could alone.

How AI turns chaos into something you can actually use

Raw sensor data is messy. AI and computational techniques are what turn it into something legible.

From movement patterns to “health scores”

In one nine‑month study, researchers combined:

• Activity data from wearable sensors

• Owner‑reported information

• Veterinary assessments

They trained an AI system to produce a health score for each dog. The result: about 87.5% concordance between this AI‑generated score and veterinarians’ diagnoses.[2]

That doesn’t mean the AI “knew” the diagnosis. It means:

• When the dog’s clinical condition improved or worsened

• The health score usually moved in the same direction

This can be powerful for:

• Flagging when “something is changing”

• Showing whether a new treatment seems to be helping over weeks, not just days

• Giving owners an objective trend to discuss with their vet

But there are important caveats.

Why your dog is not an average dog (and why that matters)

AI systems learn from data. But dogs vary dramatically by:

• Breed (a Greyhound and a French Bulldog do not move, rest, or breathe the same way)

• Age

• Size and weight

• Lifestyle and home environment

Research teams are using methods like fuzzy associative memory to tailor algorithms across diverse dog populations.[2] This is ongoing work, not a finished product.

Implications for you:

• Treat health scores and alerts as conversation starters, not verdicts.

• A “worse” score may mean “different from baseline,” not “objectively bad.”

• The most useful comparison is usually your dog vs. their past self, not vs. a generic healthy dog.

What monitoring can realistically do for you and your dog

Let’s ground this in everyday chronic care.

1. Earlier detection of problems

Continuous monitoring has repeatedly shown value in catching issues before they become crises.[1][6]

Examples:

• A dog with osteoarthritis:

  • Activity data shows a 20–30% drop in daily movement over two weeks.

  • You notice more stiffness in the morning.

  • You call your vet sooner, leading to a timely pain management adjustment.

    
    

• A dog recovering from surgery:

  • Gradual, appropriate increases in activity reassure you that healing is on track.

  • A sudden spike in restlessness or drop in movement might prompt a check‑in before a complication worsens.

2. More personalized, data‑informed treatment

Over time, monitoring helps your vet see how your individual dog responds to:

• New medications

• Dosage changes

• Physical therapy or rehab

• Diet changes

• Environmental adjustments (ramps, rugs, shorter walks)

Instead of relying on “How is she doing?” and your best memory of the last few weeks, you can both look at:

• Activity trends

• Sleep patterns

• Your symptom logs

• Any health scores your device provides

This doesn’t make decisions easy, but it makes them better informed.

3. A clearer picture of quality of life

One of the hardest parts of caring for a chronically ill or aging dog is answering questions like:

• “Is she still enjoying life?”

• “Are the good days outnumbering the bad?”

• “Am I missing signs that he’s struggling?”

Monitoring can gently anchor those questions in something more concrete:

• How many “good mobility” days did we have this month?

• Is her play time stable, rising, or falling?

• Has nighttime restlessness increased?

It will never make big decisions painless. But it can make them less haunted by doubt.

The emotional side: when data helps, and when it hurts

Continuous monitoring doesn’t just affect your dog’s care. It affects you.

The benefits many owners report

Research and clinical feedback suggest that owners often feel:[1][6]

• More confident – “I have something objective to bring to the vet.”

• More reassured – “The trend looks stable; maybe this wobble is just an off day.”

• More engaged – “I understand how her condition behaves over time.”

That sense of partnership with your vet—supported by shared data—can be deeply calming.

The hidden costs: anxiety, guilt, and overload

There’s a flip side:

• Alert fatigue: Too many notifications, or alerts that feel vague (“activity decreased”), can become background noise—or a constant source of tension.

• Data guilt: Seeing a downward trend despite your best efforts can feel like a personal failure, even when it isn’t.

• Hyper‑vigilance: For some people, access to constant data feeds worry rather than easing it.

Veterinarians also face emotional labor here: interpreting remote data, fielding worried messages, and trying to balance calm reassurance with timely intervention.

A practical mindset that often helps:

“This data is information, not judgment. It doesn’t tell me if I’m a good caregiver. It just helps us make better decisions.”

If you notice monitoring is increasing your anxiety more than your clarity, that’s important feedback—worth discussing with your vet and, if needed, scaling back how you use the tools.

Owner–vet collaboration: turning data into care

The most successful monitoring setups in studies share a common pattern: no one is left alone with the data.

What collaborative monitoring can look like

In some research on dogs with chronic conditions, systems were set up so that:[1]

• Owners used wearables plus symptom logs at home.

• Data was uploaded to a shared platform.

• Vets received alerts about significant changes.

• Owner and vet had regular (often weekly) check‑ins, in person or remotely.

This created a two‑way feedback loop:

• The device flags a change →

• The owner provides context (“We started longer walks” or “He jumped off the couch awkwardly”) →

• The vet interprets both and suggests adjustments.

Even if you don’t have a formal shared platform, you can recreate a simpler version:

• Bring printed or digital summaries to appointments.

• Email your vet clinic brief updates if they invite that kind of communication.

• Ask how they’d like you to share data (screenshots, logs, device reports).

What vets want you to know about trackers

From veterinary commentary and reviews:[6]

• Trackers are helpful adjuncts, not diagnostic tools.

• Algorithms have limitations and may misclassify some behaviors.

• No device can replace:

  • Hands‑on exams

  • Imaging (X‑rays, ultrasound, etc.)

  • Lab tests

  • A thorough history from you

The healthiest relationship with data is one where you, your vet, and the device each bring something essential—and none is expected to do everything.

Ethics and practical limits: some honest questions

The research community is openly grappling with several tensions:

1. Data reliability and false alarms

• Algorithms can be thrown off by:

  • Unusual gaits

  • Breed‑specific quirks

  • Environmental factors (e.g., dog daycare vs. quiet home)

    
    

• This can lead to false positives (seeming problems that aren’t) or false negatives (missed issues).

Practically, that means:

• Take any single alert as a signal to pay closer attention, not a diagnosis.

• Look for patterns over several days rather than reacting to every blip.

  
  

2. Access and equity

Advanced monitoring systems can be expensive. That raises uncomfortable but real questions:

• Will only some dogs benefit from early detection and personalized tracking?

• How will clinics support owners who can’t or don’t want to use these tools?

If you’re in that position, it’s worth remembering: thoughtful, low‑tech monitoring is still powerful. A notebook and a phone camera can go a long way.

3. Veterinary workload

Remote data can help vets—but it also adds:

• More information to review

• More owner messages to answer

• More decisions about when to act on alerts

Clinics may need clear policies about:

• How often data is reviewed

• What kinds of alerts trigger contact

• Whether there are fees for monitoring services

It’s fair—and helpful—to ask your vet how they handle this, so expectations are clear on both sides.

4. Privacy and data use

Sensor systems collect:

• Health‑related data about your dog

• Sometimes location and household patterns

Before using any platform, it’s reasonable to check:

• Who owns the data?

• How is it stored?

• Is it shared with third parties?

• Can you export it if you change providers?

You’re allowed to care about this. Data about your dog is, in a very real sense, data about your life.

If you decide to monitor: making it humane and sustainable

You don’t need to become a full‑time data analyst. A gentle, structured approach is often enough.

Step 1: Decide what you actually want to know

Common, reasonable goals:

• “I want to know if her arthritis is getting worse over months, not just days.”

• “I want to see whether this new medication is helping his activity.”

• “I want a clearer picture of her good days vs. bad days.”

Your goals should guide:

• Which device (if any) you choose

• What you log

• How often you look at the data

Step 2: Choose your tools (high‑tech and low‑tech)

You might combine:

High‑tech options

• A wearable activity tracker that:

  • Differentiates basic behaviors (resting, walking, playing)[4]

  • Provides trend graphs

  • Allows data export or sharing with your vet

    
    

• A vitals‑tracking collar or harness if recommended by your vet (bearing in mind this is an emerging area with varying validation).[3][5]

Low‑tech options

• A simple daily log (paper or app) with:

  • Pain/mobility rating (e.g., 0–10 scale you define)

  • Appetite (normal / reduced / increased)

  • Energy level

  • Notable events (falls, long walks, visitors, weather changes)

    
    

• Short videos of:

  • Walking on a flat surface

  • Climbing stairs

  • Getting up from lying down

    Filming the same tasks monthly can be surprisingly illuminating.

Step 3: Set a rhythm that doesn’t take over your life

To avoid both neglect and obsession:

• Daily:

  • Jot down a few key observations (pain, appetite, mood).

  • Let the device collect data passively.

    
    

• Weekly:

  • Glance at the device’s trend graphs.

  • Note any patterns in your log.

    
    

• Before vet visits:

  • Summarize the last 4–8 weeks:

    • “Average walk time dropped from 30 to 20 minutes.”

    • “More difficulty with stairs 3–4 days/week.”

    • “Health score has been stable except for a dip after we increased exercise.”

      
      

This structure keeps monitoring useful but finite—a tool, not a lifestyle.

Step 4: Share, ask, and adjust with your vet

Some questions you might bring to your veterinarian:

• “These activity trends worry me—do they match what you see clinically?”

• “What changes in this data would you want me to call about right away?”

• “Is there anything I’m tracking that isn’t very helpful? Anything I’m missing?”

• “If I invest in a tracker, which features would actually matter for my dog’s condition?”

Over time, you and your vet can refine:

• What to watch closely

• What to let go of

• How to respond when the data shifts

What we know, and what we’re still figuring out

Here’s where the science currently stands:

Aspect	Well‑established	Still uncertain / emerging
Activity sensors	Wearable motion sensors can accurately classify many dog activity states and detect changes over time.[1][4]	How best to standardize and interpret these measures across all breeds, ages, and lifestyles.
Impact on care	Continuous monitoring can improve early detection and support veterinary decision‑making, especially in chronic conditions.[1][6]	The long‑term emotional impact on owners and vets, and the best ways to communicate about data and alerts.
Communication	Real‑time or regular data sharing can enhance owner‑vet collaboration and help link daily life with clinical events.[1]	How to integrate this into already busy veterinary workflows without burnout.
Health scores & AI	AI‑based health scores can align well with veterinary assessments (around 87.5% concordance in one study).[2]	How reliably these scores reflect “overall health” across diverse dog populations, and how they should influence decisions.
Physiological tracking	Prototype systems show HR and SpO₂ can be monitored remotely in principle.[3] Commercial products are emerging.[5]	Routine, validated use of physiological monitoring at home is still experimental; best practices remain under study.
Equity & ethics	The potential benefits of monitoring are clear.	Cost‑effectiveness, access disparities, data privacy, and consent frameworks need further work.

Knowing what’s uncertain isn’t discouraging; it’s clarifying. It tells you where to lean on data—and where to lean more heavily on clinical exams, your own observations, and your dog’s day‑to‑day comfort.

Why I track mood as much as meds

If there’s a quiet theme running through all this research, it’s that numbers alone don’t tell the whole story.

A graph can show that your dog walked 1.2 kilometers today instead of 1.6. It can’t tell you:

• That she chose to sniff every flower on the way

• That he trotted to greet a neighbor he loves

• That she slept deeply and peacefully for the first time in days

When people talk about “quality of life,” they are really talking about how it feels to be that dog, in this body, in this home, with these people.

Monitoring—done thoughtfully—doesn’t replace that feeling. It supports it. It helps you notice slow changes, advocate more clearly with your vet, and make adjustments before your dog is in crisis. It can, at its best, turn vague worry into informed care.

And on the days when the charts look wobbly but your dog’s eyes are bright and her tail still thumps when you walk into the room, it can remind you of something else the science quietly confirms:

You are not supposed to control every variable. You are supposed to pay attention, ask for help when you need it, and share your dog’s life as it unfolds—imperfectly, lovingly, in real time.

The data is there to serve that relationship, not the other way around.

References

1. Maven Pet AI System Wearable Monitoring for Dogs with OA – PMC. Study of wearable monitoring in dogs with osteoarthritis, evaluating activity tracking, owner and veterinarian experiences, and clinical value of continuous monitoring. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12466750/  

2. Development of a Dog Health Score Using AI and Sensors – PMC. Research on creating an AI‑driven health score from sensor data, reporting ~87.5% concordance with veterinary diagnoses and discussing algorithm customization across breeds. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10812422/  

3. Dog Heart Rate and Blood Oxygen Monitoring System Using Arduino – arXiv. Experimental description of an Arduino‑based system for remote HR and SpO₂ monitoring in dogs, highlighting potential and current limitations. https://arxiv.org/html/2406.04466v1  

4. Comparison of Activity Trackers in Estimating Canine Behaviors – Taylor & Francis Online. Study comparing various activity trackers’ ability to classify canine behaviors, reporting high agreement (Cohen’s kappa up to 0.975) with video‑validated observations. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01691864.2024.2343080  

5. PetPace Advanced Canine Vitals Tracking – PetPace Blog. Overview of a commercial system for tracking canine vital signs, illustrating current directions in integrated physiological and activity monitoring. https://petpace.com/paws-and-pulse-exploring-advanced-canine-vital-signs-tracking-for-optimal-pet-health/  

6. Activity Monitors for Pets – Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine News. Veterinary perspective on pet activity monitors, emphasizing their role as adjunct tools, benefits for early detection and owner engagement, and limitations compared to clinical assessment. https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk/on-the-right-track-activity-monitors-for-pets/