05/09/2026
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💢September is Animal Pain Awareness Month💢
Can We Really Recognise Pain in Dogs?
This new study by Gardeweg et al. (2026) confirms something many of us working in canine therapy see regularly—pain is often recognised when a dog limps, but much less when it shows through behaviour.
In the study, 647 people were asked to identify signs of pain in dogs.
Most people easily recognised movement-related pain such as limping, stiffness, or reluctance to move.
But behavioural signs were far less likely to be recognised, including:
• changes in sleep
• reduced play
• clinginess or shadowing
• reduced sociability
• lower tolerance
• difficulty settling
• restlessness at night
• grooming changes
• personality changes
• mood changes
Even experienced dog owners were no better at spotting these subtle signs than non-dog owners.
This is important because chronic pain rarely starts with obvious lameness.
Often, the first signs are small changes in behaviour.
Things like:
❗ “He seems grumpier lately”
❗ “She doesn’t want to play as much”
❗ “He follows me everywhere now”
❗ “She struggles to settle at night”
❗ “He seems less tolerant than usual”
These are often dismissed as behaviour problems, ageing, or just “slowing down.”
But sometimes, they are early signs of pain.
By the time obvious lameness appears, compensation patterns, muscle tension, and long-term discomfort may already be well established.
Pain doesn’t always look like limping.
Sometimes it shows up in the quiet changes first.
Recognising those signs earlier means earlier support, better welfare, and better long-term outcomes.
📚 Reference:Gardeweg, S.M.A., Picard, D.E. and van Herwijnen, I.R. (2026) The abilities in dog pain sign recognition as assessed by presenting seventeen listed dog behavioural signs and three case descriptions to dog owners and non-dog owners. PLOS ONE, 21(4), e0344512.
