How to tell if a dog is in pain

The most universal sign of pain or discomfort in dogs is a change in their behavior. Barking, whining, or simply an increased level of vocalization tells you that something about a dog’s day-to-day experience is off. From this, paying closer attention to other signs in this list could help confirm or rule out a pain problem.

Common pain-related behavior changes included disrupted sleep. As anybody who’s suffered back or muscle issues can attest, pain and pressure that might be ignorable during the day is more apparent at night—and the same goes for your pup. Spending long periods in their bed can put pressure on joints, making your dog regularly shift position as they redistribute their weight for more comfort.

Whatever the behavior change might be, it’s likely that you as owner are best placed to recognize it. Unless your dog has a very close relationship with them, vets are rarely able to diagnose such patterns, because they take place at home and over the longer term.

With the vast majority of dogs being easy-going, peaceful creatures, a sudden turn to aggression is often one of the more marked symptoms of underlying pain. Aggressive behavior might present itself as snapping or yipping when a dog is touched in a particularly tender place, or positioned in an uncomfortable way.

Other pain-related aggression-tendencies include defensive barking or biting, where a dog may fear being touched or picked up, due to the pain it causes them. If a high fever or infection has a pup feeling disoriented and confused, they may also be more likely to lash out.

Any time a dog refuses their dinner, owners pause for thought! It’s true that a decreased appetite can be a signal of pain for some dogs. But many larger breeds including retrievers will happily eat no matter their internal condition, so don’t use appetite as the sole marker of your pet’s health. Of course, any dramatic and sudden change in eating is always worth a trip to the vets—and a treat!

As this informative article from VCA hospitals notes, “many dogs will instinctively hide their pain as a survival mechanism.” While this can make it hard for us to spot signs of pain in a dog’s active behavior, studying their posture and movements can yield greater clues as to how they’re feeling.

This is particularly true for the most common source of discomfort in dogs: pain in the back legs. Dog’s experiencing hind pain might try to avoid climbing stairs or walking on more slippery surfaces. They may also decrease their activity levels, and frequently hold their ears flat against their head. More generally, look out for stiffness, rigidity, and an increasing jerkiness to their movements.

Another mobility-related pain indicator is circling before lying down. It’s normal for a dog to circle their bed a few times before picking the best spot—the fussy ones might even take a minute or so! But as pain increases, dogs are likely to take longer and longer to decide how best to reach the ground. Eventually, a dog in significant pain may try to lie down, only to get straight back up and resume circling.

Shaking, trembling, or convulsing is a possible symptom of severe pain in dogs, but it may be more likely to suggest your dog is suffering from fever or sickness. Just like humans, dogs shiver to regulate their body temperature, so an infection, a disease, or a bad meal could all be the cause of non-weather-related shaking.

On the more serious side, shivering and trembling could be a symptom of poisoning or kidney disease. Therefore, if your dog suddenly starts trembling or shivering, it’s important to watch for signs of diarrhea, vomiting, or limping, and talk to your vet—as soon as it becomes clear that shivering is not a temporary thing.

It’s a sad topic, but owners of old dogs at the end of happy lives are often particularly concerned with understanding when their pets are experiencing pain or discomfort. In well-trained dogs—or those who have lived for years with age-related conditions—it may be even harder to spot those signs. Many older dogs will begin to exhibit a kind of forward lean, called a hip dysplasia stance. The front legs move back, underneath the chest, helping them to take weight off their hind quarters. If your dog is demonstrating this stance, check them for knee, hip, or lower back problems, which many, if not most, older dogs begin to suffer with.

An audio-visual signal of pain in dogs is the way that they breathe. If a dog is uncomfortable, they often take shallower, faster breaths, which may or may not be accompanied by panting—as well as changes to their nose (significantly wetter/drier/discolouration). Thanks to their posture, you can also notice changes in a dog’s breathing by looking carefully at their chest, where larger muscles will be more active in times of vascular stress.

Likewise, an obvious and unexplained rise in heartbeat is a common sign that a dog is feeling sick or is suffering an injury.