How to spot pain in a dog.

I feel pain in dogs has been overlooked in many areas. Why?? I guess dog owners in general don’t understand dogs are emotional beings and they feel pain just like we do but don’t show it how we would. We feel dogs are robust animals because they continue to run and chase the ball or the birds. They will still pull on your leash. They still jump up for cuddles. They can’t be in pain?….. Can they?    Yes is the answer.

What do we as owners need to look for?

What could be some signs remembering some are very subtle and some dogs are stronger and more resilient than others and won’t show pain as easily.

Some signs may be but not limited to are:

• Increased Sleeping
• Changing of position during sleep
• Avoidance of activities including play
• Decreased endurance
• Decreased appetite
• Not wanting to be touched or rubbed
• Pulling away as you put lead or collar on
• Dropping kibble when they may not have in the past
• Head tilt. This can also be for taking treats from the owner.
• Increased aggression.
• Dog sitting on the side
• Dog hopping as they run
• Constant licking or chewing on a particular location.

Dog sitting on the side. This can be a relaxed sit but if the dog goes straight to that side sit then it may not be normal. Dogs hopping as they run. An example is if the dog lifts one leg as it runs. Constant licking or chewing on a particular location on the body. My boy Hunter will lick his front forearm if sore. Another boy Scooby will chew his rear leg if nerves give him an issue. He had a major break in his leg prior to us getting him.

Dogs learn to adjust their body to counteract pain the best way they can.  They may begin to use their shoulders and front legs to pull rather than push from their back legs in motion but doing this and altering their body can create muscle wastage in the rear end and also affect their shoulders with lots of extra tension placed on the shoulder muscles and neck location.  There are also nerves that get affected or even blood flow creating a dog to have lots of sensitivity. Their nervous system becomes overloaded which means they may fire up in response very quickly just like we would if we were not feeling well. Inflammation will increase pain responses. This can also create gut issues as they hold the tension in their bodies. 

If owners do nothing about getting help for their dogs it can compromise the immune function, slower healing promotes other areas of ill health and big changes to the motor function over time.

When a dog has pain, it can be just in certain movements or even certain activities. We also can have this. If we are sitting down, we may feel ok but the minute we start walking or turning pain creeps in. I often see a dog with his neck carriage staying low down except if they hear something that is arousing to them and they lift their necks with what looks like “ease” and again we think no there can’t be any pain association there.

What help is available?

I have found there is also limited education out there to advertise that there is alternative help available. This is what I personally have experienced during my work over the last 10 years.

Here is a list of some help available.

• Dog physiotherapists
• Animal chiropractors
• Bowen therapy
• Emmet therapy
• Pool therapy
• Muscle release
• Acupuncture, just to name a few.

There is some wonderful help available that is not too costly. I would say at least 80% of dogs that I see have pain.

Is this pain enough to create behavioural changes? Absolutely

Confusing signals from your dog.

I hear a lot of times that the dog cannot be in pain because he still runs around madly, chases the ball or has fun chasing the birds. That just means that the dog has gone into a different “drive”. The dog is in prey drive. Wants the ball or wants the chase. Have you ever seen a dog in a cast with a broken leg still want to run? I have!

Pain is stress. If nothing is done and it gets worse it can lead to chronic stress.

I believe in a lot of the cases that we see it is a combination of both behavioural and pain related.

My goal for this post is to try and get the word out there that dogs need us to know them better. To know how they should sit. How they should walk. Their head position. Everything matters when it comes to our beloved pooches. Let’s start spreading the word more.

Here are a couple of dogs I have had who were in extreme pain. I want you to see these photos so you can see the change in just their facial expressions alone without tension.

All the above dogs showed increased fear and increased aggression not just toward other dogs but toward humans as well. In lots of cases, these dogs are reacting out of fear. Fear of potential hurt to their bodies.

Bob: Began circling after trauma to his head.