Osteoarthritis affects the majority of older dogs, causing chronic pain that significantly impacts quality of life, yet remains massively undertreated due to owner and veterinary underrecognition.
Arthritis in dogs causes daily, continuous pain that profoundly shapes their quality of life. The gradual onset means owners adapt to a slowly worsening baseline, not recognizing that their dog's reduced activity reflects pain rather than normal aging. Dogs in pain show changes in temperament - increased irritability, reduced tolerance for handling, withdrawal from interaction - that are often misattributed to aging or personality rather than chronic pain. The welfare transformation possible through appropriate multimodal pain management is often dramatic - owners report dogs regaining activity levels and engagement they had assumed were gone.