Is your dog in pain?

[Lucy]

Thanks to Tracy for posting this fab site!

Orginal article found here:
ivapm.evetsites.net/site/view/121680_Dogs.pml

What are signs of pain in the dog?

A dog’s behavior and interactions can be unique to the type of pain it is experiencing. A dog’s reaction to pain is dependent upon its personality and the degree of pain it is experiencing. The characteristics listed below do not include everything that you may see, but the list gives you a general idea of what to look for if you think a dog is in pain. Some of these characteristics (marked with an asterisk *) are also things you will see when a dog is anxious or nervous or in poor health. Remember that there is no substitute for being familiar with an individual dog in order to recognize how it shows pain.

Posture

Hunched back
Guarding (protecting) the painful area
“Praying” position (front legs and head on floor, hindquarters in the air)
Sitting or laying abnormally
Attempting to rest in an abnormal position
Head hanging down *

Movement

Stiff
Bearing no or partial weight on affected limb
Any degree of limp
Thrashing Restless *
Trembling or shaking *
Weak tail wag or low carriage of tail *
Limited or no movement when awake *
Slow to rise *

Vocalization

Screaming
Whining
Crying
Barking or growling *
Lack of vocalization (no greeting bark or noise) *

Behavior

Agitated *
Poor or no grooming *
Decreased or absent appetite *
Dull *
Inappropriate urination or defecation, or not moving away from it *
Acts out of character (gentle dogs may bite or become aggressive) *
Licking wound or surgical site *

Adapted from: Mathews KA. Pain Assessment and General Approach to Management. In: Vet. Clin. Of N. Amer. Sm. Anim. Pract. Ed: Mathews KA. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, July 2000. Dobromylskyj P et al. Pain assessment. In: Pain Management in Animals. Eds: Flecknell P and Waterman-Pearson A, WB Saunders, London, 2000.

What causes pain in the dog?

Just like in people, different kinds of stimuli or injury can cause different levels of pain in the dog. Below are some examples of things that may cause pain. These items are listed according to what level of pain characterizes them. This list does not include all things that cause pain, but it will give you an idea of what to look for when you are working with dogs. Remember that not every dog reacts the same way, and these categories are not concrete separations of how pain is felt. We can only try to anticipate, based on clinical experience, what the dog is feeling.

Irritating or mild pain

Dried blood or urine scald
Clipper burns or cuts
Intravenous (IV) catheterization
Full bladder, needing to urinate or defecate
Minor cuts or scrapes
Anal gland evacuation
Surgery or other procedures on the eyelid (eyelash removal, entropion)

Mild to moderate pain

Endoscopy with biopsy
Dental cleaning with or without tooth extraction
Arterial catheterization (A-line)
Muscle biopsies
Stabilized fractures of smaller leg bones (tibia/fibula, radius/ulna)
Surgeries of the lower abdomen (castration, spay, cystotomy)

Moderate to severe pain

Small areas of burns or ulcerations
Corneal ulcers
Eye removal
Surgery of the mid and lower spine, including disc surgery
Declawing procedures (dewclaw removal)
Stabilized fractures of larger leg bones (femur, humerus) or pelvis
Mastectomy (breast tissue removal)
Surgeries of the upper abdomen (diaphragmatic hernia, abdominal exploratory)

Severe pain

Large areas of burns or ulcerations
Infections within the abdomen (peritonitis, pancreatitis)
Surgeries of the neck, including disc surgery
Procedures in the nose (endoscopy)
Leg amputations
Surgery of the chest (opening the chest cavity)

[brodysmom]

Thanks for making this a new thread Lucy. I thought the information at that site was really informative too. Especially the "prayer" position where they are in a play bow but aren't playing. That indicates a very sore tummy. That's something I wouldn't have known, so good information to have in case it's ever needed.

[Kristi]

This is excellent information...I did not realize many of these things until a good year or so into dog ownership and still learned new things from the article.

[Lucy]

I can come out and say I didn't know half of this lol. Just goes to show we can always learn new things and again Tracy, thanks so much for sharing. I think its an invaluable piece of info!

[Chilove1103]

I actually didn't know most of this, even after all the research I've been doing for a few years on dogs. I'm definitely going to have to bookmark this page in my browser. Thanks!