Osteoarthritis is one of the most common causes of chronic pain in dogs. Recognition and management significantly improves quality of life for affected animals.
Canine arthritis represents a chronic pain condition affecting tens of millions of dogs globally, yet pain is often unrecognised or undertreated. Dogs are stoic animals — they do not vocalise pain consistently — and owners commonly attribute reduced activity, difficulty rising, or reluctance to play to normal ageing rather than treatable pain. The welfare impact of unmanaged arthritis is significant: affected dogs experience pain with ordinary daily activities including walking, rising from rest, and navigating stairs. Multimodal pain management combining medication, weight management, physiotherapy, and environmental modification can dramatically improve quality of life. Advances in veterinary pain medicine, including new targeted pain relief options, are expanding treatment possibilities for dogs that cannot tolerate traditional medications.