The 8-week trial tracker
An elimination trial runs for eight weeks, and the improvement you're watching for is gradual. That's exactly the situation memory handles worst. This is the log we'd want to see at the follow-up appointment.
Print it, or keep it on your phone. Free, no account.
Six things, once a day
The log that gets kept is the one that takes under a minute. Elaborate spreadsheets get abandoned in week two, and an abandoned log is worse than a simple one because it leaves a gap exactly where the comparison matters.
- Everything consumed
- Meals, treats, chews, supplements and flavoured medications. The exceptions are what break trials, so the log has room to record them honestly.
- A 0–10 itch score
- One number, same time each day. Consistency matters far more than precision, because you are reading the trend rather than the value.
- Where they scratched
- Paws, ears, face, belly, base of tail. Shifts in distribution are informative even when overall intensity looks unchanged.
- Ears and digestion
- Head shaking, smell, discharge; stool consistency and frequency. These often improve before the skin visibly does.
- Weekly photo prompts
- Same two or three areas, same light, same day each week. Skin change is visual and slow, and this is what owners judge worst from memory.
- A rechallenge section
- Weeks 8–9, with space for single-ingredient reintroductions afterwards — the step that turns "improved" into "confirmed".
Free, no account
The 8-week trial tracker, free
A printable daily log built to hand straight to your vet: meals and medications, itch score, ears and digestion, and the weekly photo prompts that make gradual improvement visible.
The tracker, and occasionally a new guide. Nothing else, and you can leave any time. How we handle your data .
- Daily meals, treats and flavoured medications
- Itch score, ears, digestion, scratch locations
- Weekly photo prompts, same spot and light
- A rechallenge section for weeks 8–9
Prefer to keep it on your phone?
The same eight-week log, kept online instead — with a one-page summary you can send your vet as a link. Free, and the guides stay readable without an account.
Start a log onlineBefore you start
The tracker records a trial; it doesn't design one. Which elimination diet to use depends on a complete history of what your animal has already eaten, and that's a conversation with your vet. Writing that history down before the appointment makes it substantially more productive.
What to bring to that appointment