An episode log has one reader who matters: your veterinarian, reviewing the sequence later with clinical questions in mind. Memory after a frightening event edits itself ruthlessly, swapping the order of phases and stretching or shrinking durations. A log written the same way every time, using the same fields, protects the details a clinician will ask about and stops you having to reconstruct a distressing evening from fragments at the appointment.
The Eight Fields, Identical for Every Entry
Record these fields for every episode, in this order: date and time, duration, what happened just before, what happened during, what happened after, video note, medicines as recorded, possible triggers noticed. Write the entry as soon as your dog is settled and safe, ideally the same evening while timings are still honest. Use a timer or a clock glance for duration during the event if you can do so without leaving your dog unattended; otherwise estimate and label it an estimate, because a labelled estimate helps a clinician more than a confident guess. Plain words beat technical vocabulary at every point: "legs paddling, head turned left, drooling" tells a veterinarian more than a label you are unsure of.
Before, During and After: The Three Phases
The phase fields carry the diagnostic weight. For what happened just before, note the previous hour honestly: excitement, a walk, visitors, missed sleep, a thunderstorm, nothing unusual at all. For what happened during, describe what it looked like from the outside: falling or staying upright, stiffening or paddling, awareness or absence, vocalising, toileting, and whether the whole body or one side or one limb was involved. For what happened after, record the post-episode phase in equal detail: confusion, bumping into furniture, clinginess, pacing, hunger, deep sleep, and how long before your dog seemed fully back. Owners often log the dramatic middle carefully and the recovery vaguely, yet the length and character of that recovery is exactly what a clinician may use to distinguish one kind of episode from another.
Video, Medicines and Triggers Without Guesswork
The video note field records whether a video exists, who filmed it and where the file is kept; film only when another adult can stay with your dog, or when filming genuinely does not delay you helping, and never restrain your dog for a clearer shot. In medicines as recorded, write what was given that day exactly as it stands on the current prescription label, including anything missed or given late, without commentary or adjustment. The log never adjusts anything: doses, timing changes and action plans belong to your veterinarian alone. For possible triggers noticed, list candidates neutrally, such as heat, missed sleep or a house full of guests, and mark them as noticed rather than proven; a pattern across many entries may suggest a link, while a single pairing usually suggests coincidence.
Bring the Log, and Record the Vet's Own Guidance
Take the log to every related appointment and send it ahead where the practice allows, so the consultation starts from data. At the appointment, ask your veterinarian which episodes should prompt an urgent call, write that guidance into the front of the log in the veterinarian's own terms, and follow it rather than any general rule: that threshold is individual guidance to record, not a line this article can set for your dog. Between episodes, keep the log somewhere the whole household can reach, since the person home when an episode happens may not be the person who usually writes it. Pet Passport in KinsLe keeps the finished log filed with medicine lists and visit summaries between appointments.