OUCH! | Pain Identification and Management in Dogs

Sep 8, 2018

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OUCH!

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Pain Identification and Management in Dogs

[/trx_title][trx_title type=”4″ align=”center” color=”#434544″ weight=”700″ bottom=”mini”]by Dr. Eileen Savier CVA, CVCH[/trx_title][vc_column_text]

What if you couldn’t communicate or express your discomfort to those around you? What if you couldn’t tell your doctor where it hurt? Dogs suffer pain the same way people do, but they lack the ability to verbalize it. Pain can present in different ways and can often be difficult to interpret. There are two primary categories of pain in the veterinary world – acute and chronic. Acute pain is the easiest to identify because it is obvious and distressing. These injuries and subsequent pain occur when you break a bone or tear a ligament. Chronic pain – such as arthritis or long term ear infections – can cause more subtle signs and is often attributed to “slowing down” or “getting older”.

Common signs of pain include – but are not limited to – withdraw from social activities or preciously enjoyable experiences (such as playing fetch or hiking), decreased appetite, decreased mobility, submissive or anxious behavior, self-inflicted wounds, anxious/guarding behavior, growling or biting. Each dog will react differently to pain – different pain tolerances, different coping strategies, different activity levels, different disease severity. Just like people, the treatment plan for pain in dogs should be tailored to the patient.

 

Treatment Options

Acute and chronic pain conditions are treated differently and there are generally a combination of options used to manage pain and discomfort depending on the patient’s pain level, lifestyle, and overall health status.

  1. Food Therapy – There are a variety of prescription diets that are designed to be anti-inflammatory and improve arthritis and joint disease.
  2. Joint Supplements – There are several (okay, thousands) of joint supplements available over the counter or as a prescription from your veterinarian. As a vet, when I make a recommendation on a joint supplement, it is based on clinical experience and scientific data. Often times, I cannot advise you supplements that are purchased over the counter because I just don’t have experience or information on them. As a consumer or pet owner, please remember that there are NO required regulations on supplements in veterinary medicine and what is on the label isn’t always what you get in the bag or bottle. Cosequin, Dasaquin Advanced, and Adequan are joint supplements that I tend to recommend to pet owners.
  3. Traditional Medication – Traditional pain medications can be prescribed by your veterinarian and the appropriate type and amount will be determined by many different factors including size, tolerance, pain level, disease severity, etc. There are several classes of medications usedto treat pain in dogs. Common groups NSAIDS (Rimadyl, Previcox, or Metacam), GABA analogs (Gabapentin), Opiods (Tramadol), or even non-traditional medication classes like Dopamine Agonist (Amantadine).
  4. Acupuncture – Not all veterinarians are trained acupuncturists, but if you can find one in your area, it can potentially improve your pet’s comfort level dramatically. These treatment sessions vary in timing  and what time of modalities are used (dry need, aqua acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, etc.)
  5. Other Modalities – Rehabilitation therapy, laser treatment, targeted pulse electromagnetic field (Assisi Loop).

If you are concerned about your pet, please talk to your veterinarian. If you are looking for an integrative considerate approach regarding pain management for your pet, the IVAPM (International Veterinary Association for Pain Management) website is a great resource and can be used to locate local veterinarian members.[/vc_column_text][/trx_section][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1533135180690{margin-top: 40px !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1533134942241{background-color: #d9ae4c !important;}”][trx_title type=”2″ align=”left” color=”#f6f2e4″ left=”20″ right=”20″]About Dr. Eileen Savier[/trx_title][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1533135315368{padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”]Dr. Eileen SavierBarks & Recreation is proud to feature Dr. Eileen Savier CVA, CVCH as our Veterinary Blogger in our “From the Vet” Series. Currently part of the team of doctors at Keystone Veterinary Clinic, Dr. Savier is a 2012 Graduate of the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, She completed her clinical experience at The Ohio State University and after veterinary school she pursued further education and certification in Veterinary Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, and Fear Free veterinary visits. Dr. Savier has a special interest in integrative medicine, animal behavior, and internal medicine and is committed to improving animal health care by integrating Eastern and Western philosophies. She enjoys working with fearful & aggressive dogs and cats and she has had additional training in low stress handling techniques and encourages positive reinforcement during exams and procedures. Her clinical interests include pain management, animal behavior, geriatric patient care, and internal medicine. Dr. Savier is a member of the following associations:

Dr. Savier shares her home with two (soon to be three) dogs, two cats, and a toddler. She lovingly refers to her two dogs as Coconut Retrievers as they were rescue dogs she brought home from the island of St. Kitts. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, going to the beach, and planning her next Disney vacation.

Join us every month for Dr. Savier’s “From the Vet” series to get more information related to the health and welfare of your furry family members![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]