Dogs' tendency to hide pain means that owner education and veterinary pain assessment tools are essential for identifying and treating unrecognized suffering.
Pain recognition in dogs is a critical welfare challenge because the animals whose pain we must identify have evolved not to show it. A dog with moderate to severe osteoarthritis may appear normal to an owner who has not learned to look for subtle behavioral signs. Veterinary pain assessment using validated scales improves detection at clinical visits, but the dog is only in the clinic for minutes — owners who can recognize daily behavioral changes are essential partners in pain management. Owner education about pain signs, combined with proactive veterinary pain assessment at regular wellness visits, significantly reduces the duration of unrecognized and untreated pain. The development of new, effective pain medications further strengthens the case for proactive assessment.