Pain and Behavior: Preparing For a Vet Appointment

Pain can have a major impact on your dog’s behavior, and it doesn't always show up as a limp or a whine. For many dogs, pain can make them anxious, fearful, or even aggressive.

Instead of clear signs, you might notice inconsistent behavior where the dog acts fine one day and shows aggression the next without a clear reason. Their behavior might also seem out of proportion to a situation, like a mild growl that turns into a full bite.

Pain can also be tied to a dog’s emotional state. Emotional stress, like anxiety, can make minor pain feel much worse. It can even be the other way around: a dog with chronic emotional stress can develop what appears to be physical pain, even if nothing is structurally wrong.

This is why behavior and physical health are so connected. If you see unusual or new behaviors, it's always a good idea to rule out a physical cause with a vet.

How to Help the Vet

The most valuable information you can provide can't be sees in the exam room.

• Your Dog’s Behavior History: Including when the behavior first started, the situations in which it occurs, what you've tried so far, and any recent changes in the behavior, such as frequency, intensity, or a change in triggers. Just the facts! Stick to the things you have observed and avoid interpreting your dog's thoughts or motivations.
  

• Videos: Take slow-motion videos of your dog's gait—from the front, back, and side while they are walking normally. Going up and down stairs is also recommended, if you have access. These are especially helpful to your veterinarian.

  
  

• Your Observations: Pay attention to any subtle signs of discomfort, such as an inconsistent or out-of-proportion behavior, an unusual gait, a lack of interest in food or exercise, new anxieties, or differences in your dog’s behavior in the morning vs evening.

• DNA Results: If you have them. Brands like Embark don't just test for dog breeds, but also health conditions. A mixed breed dog can still inherit predispositions for genetic conditions like hip dysplasia, disc disease, and more.

  
  

What to Expect at the Vet

It's common for a veterinarian's physical exam and standard diagnostics, like X-rays, to come back as unremarkable, meaning they don't show anything wrong. Don't get discouraged. The diagnostics have helped to rule out other causes.

In medicine, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.  Just as doctors won't find the cause of a migraine on an MRI, there are many causes of pain in dogs that won't show up on x-rays, or in bloodwork.

Pain Trial

If the initial exam is unremarkable, the vet may suggest a pain trial, which involves prescribing a specific pain medication to see if your dog's behavior improves. This is a crucial step in the diagnostic process. Pain trials typically last for at least six weeks and require you to carefully monitor your dog's behavior to see if there are any changes.

Monitor for Side Effects: In addition to behavioral changes, you should monitor for adverse effects of the medication, such as nausea or lethargy and report these to your vet right away.

Monitor for Behavior Change: Identify a behavior that you can measure is increasing, decreasing, or staying the same during the pain trial. An example might be the number of days your dog avoids their harness. If the avoidance decreases, the pain medication is likely having a positive effect on their behavior.

If you are working with a behavior consultant, they will also communicate with the vet before the appointment and during a pain trial, providing the information they've gathered and their observations. This will help the vet determine whether or not the pain trial is effective.

Whether for pain or anxiety, you should never stop giving your dog medication without consulting your vet first.

While there are no quick fixes for aggressive behavior, when pain or discomfort are suspected, behavior change can be even slower and happen in small increments. In most cases, there isn’t a clear illness or injury that can be fully resolved but, as with humans and chronic pain, there is a lot we can do to manage their discomfort and give your dog a better quality of life.