Canine Pain Study Shows Pet Parents are Fairly in Tune with Their Fur Babies

Researchers at Ankara University in Turkey conducted a pain study recently to learn more about the ways dogs present when they are in pain and what their pet parents had picked up on. Their efforts included surveying 124 dog owners and inquiring about any pain-related behaviors they may have observed if/when they believed their dog was in pain.

Before we get into their findings, it should be noted that animals tend to try to hide their pain or illnesses as part of a survival technique. This can make it a lot harder to determine if they’re injured or suffering from things like arthritis. Oftentimes, it has to progress to the point of being chronic and they’re no longer able to mask the symptoms before we know something is really up with them.

It was discovered that 13 of the 35 behavioral indicators were identified with increased frequency by owners of canines believed to be suffering from chronic pain.

Some of them include a delay in welcoming their human at the door, displaying aggression for protecting body parts, reduced general activity, excessive licking of body parts, resistance to walking and getting up or difficulty doing so, an inability to turn onto both sides while lying down, stiffness while walking, stopping in the middle of a walk, abnormal sitting positions, panting without exertion, wincing/crying/whining during movement, and a decrease in tail wagging.

Another indicator noted by pet parents was dogs that lowered their tails and ears when jumping on or off furniture. The earlier we can identify these pain-indicating behaviors in our pets the sooner we can have them examined and treated.

The study, published on Science Direct for Elsevier Journal of Veterinary Behavior, wanted to get a better understanding of what pain-related gestures and behavioral changes pet owners notice most.

The majority of dog owners whose pets were in pain reported reduced general activity (70.3 percent) and excessive licking of body parts (64 percent). While senior dogs most frequently presented with resistance to walking and getting up, difficulty turning on both sides while lying down, and stiffness while walking, behavioral changes were mostly noted in young adult dogs, which researchers suggest might be because having difficulties are highly unexpected at this age.

The study group noted that a basic knowledge of pain-related behaviors could assist pet parents when describing changes they’re seeing in their dogs to their veterinarians.

Ultimately, they hope the results could be used one day to create a chronic pain scale for dogs using behavioral indicators to better recognize and treat animals suffering.