Chronic pain in dogs is systematically underrecognised and undertreated. Validated assessment tools and owner education enable better detection and treatment of long-term pain conditions.
Chronic pain recognition is one of the most important welfare skills for dog owners and veterinarians. Dogs with longstanding osteoarthritis do not cry in pain — they simply do the activities they can and avoid the activities they cannot, adapting so gradually that owners often attribute reduced activity to normal ageing. The dog that no longer jumps onto the sofa, sleeps more than previously, or is grumpier when touched has been in pain, often for months or years, before these signs are recognised as pain indicators rather than personality or ageing. The welfare cost of this delayed recognition — sustained, undertreated chronic pain across millions of dogs — is enormous. Systematic annual pain assessment using validated owner questionnaires would identify and enable treatment of pain in countless otherwise undetected cases.