Is my dog in pain?
Are you worried if your dog is in pain? Maybe you think it’s stomach hurts? Or do you consider what symptoms a dog with a hurting back has? Do you know if the dog’s paw is hurting, if the shoulder is in pain or maybe the back part?
We understand your worries because it is not easy to see whether the dog is in pain.
Acute pain is easiest to discover; nobody is in doubt if the dog is in pain if it’s leg is in an awkward position, or it has a big wound.
The sneaking pain is the hardest pain to discover and assess.
Pain is a discovery and not an objective, physiologic reaction. What hurts on one dog may not give another dog pain.
Your dog’s behavior reveals pain
Pain assessment and treatment of animals’ pain is an area that has developed a lot in the latest years. There are different methods to assess if a dog is in pain.
Even though the methods are developed for vets that assess whether your dog is in pain after ex. an operation, we also believe they can be useful for you as the dog owner. These methods can help you assess when you should take your dog to the vet.
Hereby, you as the dog owner can help the vet assess the dog’s pain because you know the dog’s daily routine. Ex. maybe your dog sits differently when it begs for goodies.
This can be a sign that your dog has an illness that means its physiological and physical functions are changed or impaired.
How to assess if your dog is in pain
Look at your dog’s position without approaching your dog.
Does it seem to be:
- Stiff
- Relaxed
- Tense
- Neither of the above
Look from a distance at your dog’ s behaviour. Does it seem to be:
- Restless
If your dog makes a sound when approaching is it:
- Barking
- Howl
Now try to approach your dog and call the dog. While you do it keep an eye on its behavior and especially see if it acts differently than normal. Does your dog seem to be:
- Aggressive
- Depressed
- Not interested
- Nervous, anxious or scared
- Quiet or indifferent
- Happy and satisfied
- Happy & lively
Next step is to assess how your dog react when you put th lease on, walk the dog and ask for sit and to get up. Assess if your dog:
- Has stiff movements
- Is slow or unwilling to get up and to sit
- Lags
- Non of the above
The last step is to assess how your dog reacts when you touch it, optioonally where you think it has pain. What did your dog do when touching it:
- Beebed
- Shaked
- Snapped after you
- Growled
- Tried to protect it self
If you think your dog is in pain, please see the vet.