Animal Behavior
Your Dog Can’t Be In Pain As He Runs and Plays? Think Again!
Pain, whether obvious or unapparent, can lead to behavior problems.
Posted February 1, 2016
By: Emily D. Levine, DVM, DACVB, MRCVS; Animal Emergency and Referral Associates of New Jersey
Meet Cairo! This is just one my patients for whom pain played a significant role in his behavior problems. Pain is one of the most common medical conditions that can cause or exacerbate behavior problems (e.g. aggression, anxiety, or house soiling).
Keep in mind that, if an animal is in severe pain and holding up a limb and or limping around, I would not be seeing that patient. The owners would take that pet to the regular veterinarian’s office with clear indicators that there is something physically wrong with the pet. I am often looking for more subtle indicators of pain by watching the pet walk around the room, watching as it offers a sit position on its own (not being asked to sit by the owner), and following up with a physical exam, while taking into consideration the behavioral and medical history.
In two recent cases, one for aggression and one for anxiety, both animals did well for the physical exam until I palpated a certain muscle group not commonly palpated as part of a routine exam (i.e. illiopsoas muscle around the hip). When I examined this region, one animal cried out in pain and the other became so aggressive I could not continue with the exam. Once these animals received proper treatment for a muscle strain/sprain their behavior issues improved considerably.
Pain can be very difficult to assess in our pets. Dogs and cats will not always show pain in “obvious” ways. So, we should not assume pain isn’t a component simply the pet is not overtly painful. Most of the patients I diagnose as having an issue causing pain, have been walking, jogging, playing, etc… After all, sometimes WE are in discomfort yet push through with an activity if we are motivated enough to do so. I will walk through my chronic foot pain (i.e. neuromas and plantar fasciitis) to get to a plate full of chocolate or to go take a nice walk in nature! However, if someone were to walk too close to my feet – and I feared they might step on them, I might just growl and snap to keep them away!
Unfortunately, finding overt pain on a physical exam does not always happen. There are valid reasons for this. If I still suspect pain is playing a role, I may elect to do a pain medication trial. Think of this as a way to ask our pets if they are in pain. If they respond favorably to the pain meds, the answer is yes!
Emily Levine DVM DACVB
