Pain in Dogs: Its Recognition and Alleviation

Abstract

Pain is an unpleasant but important experience. It enables an animal to identify and respond to dangerous stimuli and to learn to avoid them in the future. Pain is inevitable but in the domestic dog it should be prevented and controlled whenever possible. Assessment of pain in the dog is a controversial undertaking, comprising two major methodologies. In one method, pain is assessed by interpreting canine behaviour using a number of scales. This method depends on subjective human evaluation of pain and is influenced by individual human perceptions of pain and its expression in dogs. In the other method, the behaviours of dogs subjected to painful procedures with and without analgesia, are monitored rigorously and compared. The behaviours which indicate pain are identified and can then be used to assess the efficacy of various analgesic protocols. The use of analgesics in dogs by veterinarians is still limited but is growing as safer and cheaper analgesics become available. Preventing and alleviating pain is an important way to improve the welfare of dogs whn injured, after surgery, or suffering from chronic painful diseases.