Immune-mediated polyarthritis causes painful joint inflammation in dogs across multiple joints, requiring immunosuppressive treatment and careful welfare monitoring.
Immune-mediated polyarthritis causes severe acute welfare compromise through simultaneous inflammation of multiple joints that restricts normal movement and causes significant pain. Affected dogs may be reluctant to rise, show shifting lameness that affects different joints each day, and have obvious joint swelling and warmth. The fever and systemic inflammation contribute to lethargy and malaise. Immunosuppressive treatment typically provides rapid relief with most dogs showing dramatic improvement within days of starting corticosteroids. However, long-term management requires careful dose tapering to minimize side effects while preventing relapse. The welfare management success in IMPA is the transformation from severe acute pain to near-normal quality of life with appropriate treatment - making prompt diagnosis and treatment critically important.