Timed Up and Go test predicts survival but not hospitalization or mobility concerns at the end of life in a population of geriatric dogs

Objective To examine the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test in geriatric dogs as a predictive measure of survival, hospitalization, and owner concern regarding end-of-life mobility. Methods The owners of 83 geriatric dogs that had successfully completed a TUG test between April and September of 2023 were solicited to answer a survey regarding their dog, administered in June of 2025. Surveys recorded the dates (rounded to the nearest month) of deaths and hospitalizations and ranked owner mobility concerns at end of life. Data were excluded if dogs had died within 2 weeks of their TUG test or surveys were incomplete. A post hoc analysis was conducted to investigate the predictive utility of the TUG test against all-cause mortality and select morbidity measures. Results 82 surveys and paired TUG times were analyzed. The median dog age was 11 years (range, 8 to 17 years) and median weight was 26.4 kg (range, 2.6 to 46.4 kg). The TUG times ranged from 1.72 to 14.19 seconds. Dogs with a TUG ≥ 7 seconds had a shorter median survival (14 months) than dogs scoring < 7 seconds (incalculable). In multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis, only TUG demonstrated an instantaneous hazard of death risk, increasing 15% for each 1-second increase in TUG time. The TUG time failed to predict hospitalization or owner end-of-life mobility concerns. Conclusions Longer TUG times predict all-cause mortality but not morbidity in a group of geriatric dogs. Clinical Relevance The TUG test may be useful for identifying geriatric dogs at greater risk of mortality for proactive clinical intervention or quality-of-life conversations.