'Pain is never just ‘in the mind’ or ‘in the body’, but is a complex mix involving our whole being and how our brain interprets these signals. It changes from one day to the next.'
‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Documents: Long-term conditions practical guide.’
Pain in our animals is often very difficult to see. We all think that we would know if our animals were in pain; as we all want the very best for the animals in our lives.
We have to remember that dogs are very stoic creatures, and hide their pain extremely well. They also speak a different language 'dog', so we can only try to interpret the physical and behavioural signs. In the wild, hiding signs of pain or weakness is a survival tactic, which our domesticated dogs have naturally inherited.
It is important to remember that we are all individuals, some of us have a higher pain threshold than others and not all typical symptoms are present; our dogs are no different.
Physical signs can include:
Behavioural signs include:
All of this is just our dogs way of protecting themselves from further injury.
IF YOUR DOG SHOWS ANY OF THESE SIGNS, A VETERINARY APPOINTMENT IS ADVISED.
You can help your vet by providing a diary of your observations and any short video clips of the physical and behavioural signs observed.