Recognising Pain in Dogs: Small Signs with Big Meaning

Signs of pain in dogs can go unrecognised or even worse ignored, either through misunderstanding or lack of knowledge. 

Signs like avoidance from your dog when you reach to stroke them. The reluctance to go on walks they used to love. Sudden sound sensitivity. The change in how they hold themselves.

These are pain signals and for many dogs we're missing them.

Research shows guardians easily recognise acute pain but often fail to identify chronic pain. The subtle behavioural changes that precede physical symptoms go unnoticed for months, sometimes years.

By the time we see the limp, the pain may have been there for a long time.

Dogs hide pain. It's survival instinct. In the wild, showing weakness makes you vulnerable. Domestication hasn't changed that biology.

Some dogs will wag their tails and greet you whilst in significant pain. Others become stoic, maintaining that survival mechanism that causes them to hide any sign of weakness.

The signs are there. We're just not looking for the right things.

We wait for obvious symptoms. Crying out. Limping. Refusing to move. But pain doesn't always announce itself that way. Especially chronic pain. The kind that develops gradually over months or years.

Behavioural changes due to pain often develop so slowly we don't notice until they're severe.

Research confirms guardians are the best observers of their dogs' altered functioning because of familiarity with normal patterns. But that same familiarity can work against us. Changes happen gradually and we adjust without realising.

The dog who used to bound to the door now walks slowly. We think they're just getting older. The dog who loved being stroked now moves away. We think they want space. The dog who was confident now startles at sounds. We think they're becoming anxious.

We explain away the signs rather than recognising them as pain.

Pain in dogs shows up in behaviour long before it shows up in obvious physical symptoms.

Grumpiness and irritability. A dog who was tolerant becomes snappy. They don't want to be touched. They growl when approached. They react when you reach for their collar or lean over them.

We call it attitude. It's pain.

Resisting walks or exercise. They slow down. Take longer to get up. Hesitate at stairs. Refuse to jump in the car. Lag behind on walks they used to pull you through.

We call it laziness. It's pain.

Changes in how they rest. They can't get comfortable. They shift positions frequently. They struggle to lie down or stand up. They avoid lying on one side.

We call it restlessness. It's pain.

Not wanting to be touched. They move away when you reach for them. They tense when stroked. They pull back from areas they used to love having scratched.

We call it preference. It's pain.

Coat changes. Their coat becomes dull, matted, or develops bare patches. They stop grooming. They lick or chew at specific areas obsessively.

We call it poor grooming. It's pain.

Sound sensitivity. They startle at noises they used to ignore. They become hypervigilant. They can't settle. Their nervous system stays on edge.

We call it anxiety. It's pain.

Because pain and fear are neurologically connected. Research on noise sensitivity shows dogs experiencing musculoskeletal pain are significantly more likely to develop sound sensitivity. A dog hurting physically has a nervous system already overloaded. Add a loud noise and they tip into panic more easily.

The nervous system can't cope with both pain and environmental stress at once. Remember also that environmental stress can include slippy floors, unexpected noises and a dog forced to jump up onto things or take the stairs in pain. 

Chronic pain is a multidimensional experience that affects gait, movement, sleep, cognitive function, affective function, and behaviour.

Research shows chronic pain alters how the nervous system processes information. The brain changes. Pain pathways become hypersensitive. What shouldn't hurt does hurt. Pain sensations spread beyond the injury site.

A dog in chronic pain isn't experiencing the world the same way a comfortable dog does.

Everything is harder. Everything takes more effort. Everything is coloured by discomfort.

They become less tolerant because they have less capacity. They become more reactive because their nervous system is already at threshold. They become withdrawn because engaging with the world costs too much energy.

We label these changes as behavioural problems. We think they need training. We get frustrated when they don't respond to our usual approaches.

They don't need training. They need pain relief.

Pain doesn't just make dogs uncomfortable. It makes them reactive.

Research on dogs referred for behavioural complaints found that pain was a significant underlying factor in aggression, fear responses, and what guardians described as "behaviour problems."

A dog who snaps when approached. A dog who lunges at other dogs on walks. A dog who can't settle, constantly scanning for threats. These aren't always training issues or temperament problems.

Sometimes they're pain.

Here's what happens: pain creates tension in the body. Muscles tighten to protect the painful area. That tension increases discomfort. The increased discomfort heightens the nervous system's threat response. The dog becomes hypervigilant, reactive, unable to regulate.

Then something triggers them. Another dog appears. A loud noise happens. Someone reaches towards them.

The nervous system, already overloaded by pain, has no capacity left. The dog reacts. Barks, lunges, snaps. The reaction itself creates more physical tension. The tension increases the pain. The pain reinforces the fear response.

It's a loop. Pain causes fear. Fear causes tension. Tension causes more pain. More pain causes more fear.

Research shows this pain-fear-tension cycle significantly impacts dogs' ability to cope with environmental stressors. Dogs experiencing chronic pain demonstrate increased reactivity to stimuli they previously tolerated. Their window of tolerance narrows. What used to be manageable becomes overwhelming.

Sound sensitivity isn't always about noise.

Sometimes it's about pain.

Research has established a clear link between musculoskeletal pain and noise sensitivity in dogs. In one study, 10 out of 10 noise-sensitive dogs experiencing pain showed fear responses to loud noises, compared to 6 out of 10 noise-sensitive dogs without pain.

Dogs in pain become sound sensitive because their nervous system is already overloaded.

Think about it. Pain is a constant stressor. A constant drain on the nervous system's resources. The body is in a state of alert, managing discomfort, guarding against movement that might hurt more.

There's no capacity left for anything else.

Then a loud noise happens. A door slams. A lorry goes past. The smoke alarm beeps.

A comfortable dog's nervous system handles it. Startle, assess, recover, move on.

A dog in pain? Their nervous system tips straight into panic. They were already at threshold. The noise pushes them over.

If your dog has developed sound sensitivity later in life, or if existing sound sensitivity has suddenly worsened, pain should be one of the first things you investigate. Not the last resort after everything else has failed.

Because treating reactivity to sound whilst ignoring underlying pain is like trying to bail out a boat without fixing the hole. You're managing symptoms whilst the real problem continues.

If you're reading this and recognising your dog, don't panic. But don't wait either.

Book a vet appointment. Not a quick check-up. A thorough assessment focused on pain. Take notes beforehand about what you've noticed. The behavioural changes. The movement changes. The small things that don't seem quite right.

Guardians' observations are crucial in the diagnostic process. You know your dog better than anyone. Trust what you're seeing.

Be specific. "He seems grumpy" is less helpful than "he growls now when I reach for his collar, which he never did before" or "she takes three minutes to stand up in the morning when it used to be instant."

Video evidence helps enormously. Film your dog moving, resting, getting up, lying down. Film how they respond to touch. Film what happens when they hear unexpected sounds.

Pain assessment in dogs is primarily subjective and based on behavioural signs. Your vet needs your observations to see what they can't see in a ten-minute consultation.

At home you can put rugs down on slippy floors, get steps to the sofa or bed, look into a good ways to create mental exercise and stimulation that will support your dog instead of taxing long walks. 

Consider everything you ask of your dog, along with all that they live with, through the eyes of a sore dog. Then adapt environment and lifestyle accordingly. 

Here's something that still makes me angry: we dock tails for aesthetics, and dogs pay for it with chronic pain.

The research is clear. When you cut through a tail, you're severing nerve endings that don't just heal quietly. They form into painful bundles called neuromas at the amputation site. These nerve endings can fire randomly for years, sending pain signals through a tail that isn't even there anymore.

Phantom limb pain isn't just a human thing.

Studies show that 70-80% of human amputees report phantom sensations within six months. Dogs experience the same - they just can't tell us. 

But it gets worse.

Research from 2018 shows that docking during the first week of life remodels a puppy's central nervous system, creating heightened pain sensitivity that lasts their entire life. We're not just causing acute pain in that moment. We're changing how their nervous system processes pain forever.

And then there's the communication piece.

Dogs use their tails to signal everything - their emotional state, their intentions, whether they're safe or threatened. Take that away and you've removed a primary communication tool. Docked dogs struggle to communicate clearly with other dogs, which leads to more miscommunication, more aggression, more social anxiety.

A 2024 review found that roughly 500 healthy tails must be removed to prevent a single serious tail injury. 500 dogs in chronic pain to prevent one injury. That's not welfare. It can't possibly be called welfare!

For years, I was absolutely convinced that Chips losing his tail before he came to me was at the centre of his anxiety. His sound sensitivity, his reactivity, his struggle to regulate - it all made sense with research. 

The phantom pain, the neuromas, the heightened pain sensitivity from docking created a nervous system that was already maxed out before any other stressor entered the picture.

When your pain baseline is a 6 out of 10, you've got no capacity left for fireworks. Or traffic. Or the neighbour's dog barking.

This isn't about judging guardians who have docked dogs - most had no idea this was happening. But we need to talk about it. Because until we understand the full cost of these procedures, we can't properly support the dogs living with the consequences.

When dogs in chronic pain finally get appropriate treatment, the change can be dramatic.

The tense dog relaxes. The reluctant walker energises. The sound-sensitive dog settles. The dog who flinched from touch leans into strokes.

It wasn't their personality. It was pain.

And when the pain is managed, the real dog emerges. The one who was there all along, just buried under discomfort we didn't recognise.

Not all pain can be eliminated. But even when pain can't be completely resolved, it can usually be managed better than it is currently.

Pain medication. Physiotherapy. Hydrotherapy. Acupuncture. Weight management. Exercise modification. There are options. More options than most people realise.

The goal isn't always pain-free. Sometimes it's just less pain. But less pain can mean a massive boost to a dog's quality of life.

Here's what I want you to take from this.

You don't need to wait for your dog to cry out or refuse to move before you consider pain. You don't need a limp or visible injury to justify investigation.

Behavioural changes are enough reason to ask the question: could this be pain?

If your dog is grumpier than they used to be, ask. If they're resisting activities they used to enjoy, ask. If they're suddenly sound sensitive when they weren't before, ask. If their coat looks different, their rest looks uncomfortable, their movement looks stiff, ask.

Ask your vet. Push for thorough assessment. Trust your observations.

Because small signs have big meaning. And recognising pain early doesn't just prevent suffering. It can prevent the nervous system changes that make chronic pain so much harder to treat later.

Your dog can't tell you they're hurting. They're showing you instead. The question is: are you watching? 

If you live with an older dog and need some support you can get my eBook on senior dog wellness here. 

If you're discovering that behaviour you thought needed training might actually be pain, or if you're supporting a dog with chronic pain, you're not alone.

In Skool For Dog People, we explore how pain affects behaviour, nervous system regulation, and wellbeing. We look at trauma-informed approaches, supportive strategies, and how to advocate for dogs whose pain isn't being recognised.

Join for free below. 

Pain Recognition in Dogs - References

1. Malkani, R., et al. (2023). Owner recognition of chronic pain in their dogs. Veterinary Record. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3456
2. Kwik, M., et al. (2025). Behavioural signs precede physical symptoms in canine osteoarthritis. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
3. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine - Pain recognition research: guardians are best observers but often miss chronic pain signs
4. Fagundes, A.L.L., et al. (2018). Noise sensitivities in dogs: An exploration of signs in dogs with and without musculoskeletal pain using qualitative content analysis. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 5, 17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00017