You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Recognising pain is not as easy as you think !

It is important to recognise the signs of pain that your pet may show. In some cases it is obvious, for example following an injury a dog may be is severely lame and any attempt to walk on it or to move the leg causes the dog to yelp - because it has broken its leg. In other situations the signs may not be obvious, particularly if the animal does not make a sound,  but it is important that you get veterinary treatment as soon as possible to relieve the pain and treat the underlying cause.

Some common signs of pain include :

1. Vocalisation - whimpering, yelping, groaning
2. Reluctance to move
3. Reluctance to go up stairs
4. Difficulty getting up from a lying position
5. Stiffness
6. Lameness
7. Listlessness, dullness and general depression - not easily excited or stimulated
8. Restlessness - getting up and down all the time. Unable to settle.
9. Holding parts of the body rigid to avoid movement - eg dogs hold their neck rigid when they have disc pain
10. Guarding of the abdomen - tensing of the abdominal muscles
11. Lying on the floor in a praying position - head down on the floor between the forelegs and rear end elevated.
12. Seeking out cold surfaces to lie on
13. Change in behaviour - eg aggression if approached or touched
14. Reluctance to defaecate
15. Reluctance to urinate
16. Reluctance/inability  to eat eg dental pain
17. Reluctance/inability to swallow
18. Very shallow breathing - chest wall pain eg broken ribs

Pain can be sudden, sharp and acute, or it can come on gradually and be dull. Pain can be present all the time, come and go intermittently, or be precipitated by a normal physiological act such as coughing, defaecating, moving, swallowing or urinating. The pain associated with cancer is often gradual in onset, but persistent once it is present and only subtle signs of pain may be seen.

Localising the site of origin of pain can be difficult - for example moving a dogs head may cause a yelp, but the pain can be occuring in the lower back region where it has a "slipped"  disc. Animals with peritonitis, pancreatitis or other inflammatory pain in the abdomen often tense their abdominal wall muscles so much that it is impossble to feel internal organs to localise the pain.

You should seek veterinary advice if your pet shows any of the signs listed above.

Updated October 2013