Chronic pain in dogs is profoundly underdiagnosed — behavioural and physiological changes are often attributed to ageing rather than treatable pain conditions, causing unnecessary suffering.
Chronic pain in dogs is a hidden welfare emergency. Affected dogs show subtle behavioural changes — reduced activity, altered sleep, decreased social interaction — that owners and even vets misattribute to normal ageing. Validated pain scales (CBPI, Liverpool OA score) dramatically improve diagnosis. Untreated pain causes sustained suffering that degrades quality of life for years. Early diagnosis and multimodal treatment significantly extends comfortable, active life.