Dogs often hide pain as prey animals, making recognition challenging. Understanding validated pain assessment tools and treatment options helps owners and vets deliver better welfare outcomes.
Canine pain management is a central welfare challenge in companion animal care. The stoic nature of dogs — combined with owner normalizing of reduced activity as "just aging" — means chronic pain is systematically underdiagnosed and undertreated. Research using validated pain scales shows that dogs with osteoarthritis commonly score in the moderate-to-severe pain range even when owners report them as "doing fine." Multimodal pain management — combining NSAIDs, adjunctive medications (gabapentin, amantadine), rehabilitation therapy, and weight management — provides better outcomes than single-drug approaches. A new monoclonal antibody therapy targeting nerve growth factor (frunevetmab) provides effective monthly pain control for osteoarthritic dogs without NSAID side effects. Environmental modification — ramps, non-slip flooring, orthopedic beds — reduces pain without medication.