Animals do not behave like humans when they are in pain. It is worth remembering that they have a fairly high pain threshold, that they will hide their suffering until the last moment (it is nature’s nature not to show weakness) and that they will not point a clawed finger at a ripening abscess.
Often, owners do not understand why, during illness, their pet behaves differently than usual, for example, it becomes withdrawn and unsociable, may bite, or goes away and hides. Just as often, owners attribute changes in behavior to something, such as the weather or a “bad mood,” when the animal is simply in pain. There are, of course, manifestations of pain that cannot be confused with anything, for example, lameness. But otherwise, it’s unlikely that your dog will come up and say: “Master! My back hurts around the kidneys! I need to see a doctor!”, no, she will sit tense with a hunched back and suffer in silence.
Pain is one of the most obvious symptoms, so owners usually notice it first. Pain is a reason to contact your veterinarian immediately. External manifestations often depend on the intensity and location of the pain, but after living a little with a dog and getting to know the pet better, everyone sooner or later begins to understand its body language.
So, let's look at the main signs of pain:
1) The dog barks, whines, howls, growls. May do this in conjunction with some action (for example, growling at a sore paw) or simply lie/sit/stand, stare into space and whine. This also includes whining and squealing when trying to be picked up. Many dogs even in their normal state vocally accompany their behavior, for example, barking when they are happy or whining when begging. This is fine. BUT if your pet makes sounds more than usual or accompanies them with atypical behavior, this is a reason to be wary.
I have a patient who barks when he has colic and stomach pain. He's already a loud enough dog, but if it hurts... he doesn't shut up.
2) Excessive grooming. Dogs try to clean their wounds, so cuts, abscesses, broken claws, and abscesses are actively licked. If a dog frequently or continuously licks a certain place, then you need to look for a problem there. This also includes a few other situations:
- if the eyes hurt or itch, the dog rubs them with his paw or rubs them against various objects in the house.
— some dogs bite the place where it hurts. The more it hurts, the more intense it is.
- if teeth hurt or problems in the mouth or throat - the dog puts its paws into its mouth, tries to gnaw hard objects, scratch, rubs its muzzle on hard surfaces.
- if there are problems in the genitals (especially in males), this area is also subject to active grooming.
3) Sleep disturbance. The dog begins to sleep a lot or, on the contrary, cannot sleep for a long time and constantly wakes up. It will be the first or the second, depending on the nature of the pain.
4) Violation of food and water intake. If a dog has pain in the mouth, throat, or stomach, it may refuse to eat food, and sometimes even water. Also, refusing to eat can mean nausea and excessive pain in other areas. In some inflammatory processes, the amount of water consumed increases.
5) Shortness of breath, heavy and/or shallow breathing- the most obvious sign of severe pain. Sometimes, the only one.
6) Forced posture and restlessness. If the dog constantly changes position, lies down and immediately gets up, walks, looks for a place, lies down and gets up again, then something is bothering him. It happens that when there is pain in certain areas, dogs take a forced position: for example, a hunched back is a sign of pain in the abdominal cavity. Walking in circles and chaotic movements can also be a sign of anxiety. The dog may have difficulty or be reluctant to lie down or get up, or refuse to jump on the sofa.
7) Unmotivated aggression. Often, a dog may show dissatisfaction if you touch a sore spot, sometimes going so far as to growl and bite if the owner puts too much pressure on a sore paw or stomach. Before looking for a psychological aspect in a dog’s aggression, we need to understand whether the dog is telling us that we don’t need to touch it in this place. Aggression can also be a sign of constant irritation against a background of pain; pain sometimes causes inappropriate behavior in both people and animals.
8) Sociability. Every dog reacts differently to feeling unwell. One will hide away so as not to be touched, and the other, on the contrary, will constantly stay close and put the place that hurts under the arm so that it can be stroked (this does not apply to all types and places of pain). An attentive owner who has known his pet for a long time will immediately notice that the dog’s behavior has changed.
9) Lameness, abduction or curling of the paw. Lameness is the most visible symptom of pain. Just remember that if an animal limps or stretches its paw, this does not always mean problems with the limbs; sometimes lameness is a sign of pain in some abdominal organs or pain in the spine. This also includes the so-called “wooden gait”, any changes in gait.
10) Unusual urination and bowel movements. An attempt to move during urination and defecation, to find a different position, an atypical position, frequent urges, vocal accompaniment - all this indicates that there is a problem.
11) Other signs of pain:
- Frequently or closely looking at the disturbing part of the body. Sometimes surprised, sometimes aggressive.
- Tilt the head to one side. It may be a sign of neurological problems, as well as pain in the ears, any part of the head, otitis media.
- Cramps. Especially in brachycephalic breeds. For example, seizures in a French bulldog is a reason to find an orthopedist and examine the dog for a sphenoid vertebra.
Doctor Davydov V.B.
One of the common reasons for an urgent visit to a doctor (orthopedic traumatologist or neurologist) is attacks of acute pain in dogs. An animal exhibits pain in a variety of situations and for a variety of reasons. The first question facing the owner and the doctor is what is its location, or more precisely, where exactly does it hurt. To understand the cause of pain, observation is very helpful, since often it is the characteristics and conditions of pain that often or in most cases lead to a correct diagnosis rather than an examination. It is important to understand that dogs squeal only if the pain is acute and intense; with chronic, constant and less pronounced pain, animals show it differently: they become less active, lie down more, refuse to make previously performed movements (but these symptoms no longer too specific, like a sharp squeal).
Let's consider the most typical scenarios for the manifestation of squealing as a sign of acute pain.
Dogs yelp when rising from a lying or sitting position. After standing up and doing some activity, the pain may not appear. Often this type of pain occurs at night when the dog lies motionless for some time and periodically changes position, which is accompanied by pain. The opposite situation is when a dog walks and cannot lie down or sit down, this occurs due to the complexity and painfulness of changes in the curvature of the spine.
The dog squeals when picked up. This feature applies more to small breeds of dogs, which are picked up much more often than others. Moreover, dogs can squeal even if you lightly touch it (this could be the head, lower back, thoracic region). In this case, the pain is not caused by your light touch, but in the dog’s motor reaction to this light touch, as well as an increase in the sensitivity of skin receptors due to neurological diseases (so-called hypersthesia). The dog may walk with its head hanging down and not raise its head due to neck pain.
All of the above situations of acute pain and squealing in their external manifestations are associated with diseases of the spine and/or spinal cord. And much less often in other disorders, such as kidney, liver, and heart diseases.
Diseases most often manifested by squealing and acute pain:
1., discospondylitis (usually bacterial inflammation of the intervertebral disc and adjacent bone tissue of the bodies of two adjacent vertebrae), (lumbosacral syndrome, occurs as a result of a congenital anomaly of the sacral spine). It is more common in large dogs and causes pain when standing up and lying down.
2. Instability of the first and second cervical vertebrae (atlanto-axial instability and other types of malformation of the occipital bone and first vertebrae). Typical for small and miniature breeds of dogs (Yorkshire terrier, Chihuahua, toy terrier, etc.). As a rule, the pathology manifests itself in dogs up to one year old.
3., as a rule, of the first type (according to Hensen I). Pain occurs when the animal moves or when picked up. Typical for dog breeds prone to chondroid disc metaplasia (dachshund, French bulldog, spaniel, poodle, Pekingese, etc.). Type II hernias (Hensen II) rarely cause pain, but more often cause slowly developing neurological damage.
4. . Typical for small and miniature breeds of dogs (Yorkshire terrier, Chihuahua, toy terrier, etc.). As a rule, the pathology appears after 2 years of age, but it also occurs in young dogs.
5. Myelitis, often in combination with encephalitis. The same as with the diseases indicated in paragraph 4, it is typical for small breed dogs (Yorkshire terrier, Chihuahua, toy terrier, etc.).
6. Tumors and other compression and inflammatory diseases of the spine and spinal cord.
Sometimes other reasons such as gallbladder disease or intestinal problems can lead to this, but this is very rare.
It is important to understand that most of the listed diseases require, if not emergency surgical care, then the attention, first of all, of a neurologist. And with complete paralysis of all four or only the hind limbs, in which the pain often disappears, help is required in the coming hours.
The main methods for diagnosing the above diseases, which make it possible to detect spondylosis and discospondylitis, are a set of methods such as myelography, MRI, CT, radiography (allows us to detect spondylosis, vertebral neoplasms). The most informative method is MRI with a contrast agent. The sequence, methods and area of examination for diagnosis are determined by the doctor. A visit to the doctor is necessary before the examination, since it is very important to determine the area in which the pathological process is localized and, if you independently decide to perform an MRI, there is a danger of examining an unaffected area, which means that a diagnosis will not be made.
Many of us suffer from arthritis, back pain or frequent headaches. But you will not notice that the person standing next to you is in pain, unless the pain is sharp or sudden. The same goes for dogs.
Labrador Retriever Labelex De-De Bakkara. Nursery "Labelex"
Sometimes during a conversation the interlocutor may snap back and allow himself to be rude towards you. Later, he apologizes and explains his behavior by feeling unwell. Pain can cause inappropriate behavior in people and animals.
For example, your old dog (sometimes this applies to dogs of any age) began to snap at you for no reason. She had never behaved this way before. First of all, you and the veterinarian should find out whether there are physical reasons for this behavior, and then look for the problem in psychology or education. The fact that your dog growls/snarls when touched may mean that it is causing him pain. It can also mean "Don't touch me in this place!"
Dogs can't tell you they're not feeling well, at least not verbally.. Therefore, a veterinarian must be able to determine from the dog’s behavior what he wants to say.
All of the following signs could mean your dog is in pain:
- Lameness
- Scratching
- Licking any part of the body
- Unusual mouth movements
- The dog often turns its head to look at some part of the body
- Walking in circles
- Chaotic movements
- The dog snaps at people and dogs
- Reluctant to get up or lie down
- Reluctant to climb stairs or get into cars (usually affects older dogs)
- Sighs for no particular reason
- Sometimes just a strange look in the eyes indicates illness.
Remember that most often a dog will not whine or bark if it is in pain.. You should pay attention to all signs of illness.
When a person adopts a dog, he takes full responsibility for its future. This is not only about proper nutrition and regular walks, it also means assistance in the treatment and prevention of diseases. It should be noted that dog diseases, the symptoms of which are varied and numerous, have become a common cause of premature death in dogs in recent years. The problem with dog diseases is that a pet, unlike a person, cannot tell others what hurts and where it hurts, so the owner is called upon to treat the pet with trepidation and increased attention.
General information about dog diseases
Main groups of diseases:
- endocrine diseases;
- infectious diseases;
- diseases of the circulatory system;
- diseases of the mouth, ear, nose and throat;
- eye diseases;
- skin diseases;
- diseases of the digestive system;
- diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
Endocrine diseases arise from various dysfunctions of the endocrine glands that do not have excretory ducts, releasing hormones directly into the blood. These glands include the thyroid gland, pineal gland, pituitary gland, parathyroid glands, thymus gland, adrenal glands, gonads and secretory parts of the pancreas. Endocrine diseases in dogs can occur in two forms: with an increase in the amount of hormones released into the blood and with a decrease. Such diseases are difficult to diagnose; pets are often diagnosed in the final stages, when there is very little chance of curing the dog.
Infectious diseases are associated with the direct entry of a pathogenic microbe into the pet’s body. Let us note that infection and development of the infectious process is possible only if the dog’s body is susceptible to the microbe. Otherwise, nothing will happen.
Therefore, dogs with weakened immune systems, puppies and old dogs get sick. Sometimes an infectious process is layered on top of another, which aggravates the course of each disease. In the vast majority of cases, diseases occur quickly and threaten the dog with death. Spread through the air or through direct contact. There are frequent cases of epidemics among dogs.
Diseases of the circulatory system are divided into heart diseases and blood vessel diseases. Typically observed in adult dogs.
Diseases of the ear, throat, nose and mouth are divided into traumatic, infectious and inflammatory diseases. Similar diseases occur in dogs more often than others; these organs are the first to come into direct contact with various agents. The complexity of such diseases lies in their secrecy: in the initial stages, identifying the disease is problematic, the dog does not show signs of the disease.
Eye diseases are not uncommon among dogs, but are observed in adult pets. The main eye diseases include cataracts (clouding of the lens), iridocyclitis (inflammation of the iris and ciliary body), keratitis (inflammation of the cornea) and conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva).
Skin diseases differ according to the causes of occurrence and the location of the pathological focus (on the skin, in the hair, on visible mucous membranes).
Diseases of the digestive system are the result of improper and irrational feeding of the dog, although sometimes the cause of such diseases is banal poisoning with bad water or food.
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system are considered especially dangerous after the age of 8 years and during puppyhood. With such diseases, the body suffers: the dog’s bones, internal organs.
It should be noted that kidney diseases, in particular urolithiasis and liver diseases, are considered common pathologies among dogs. It is important to know the symptoms of distemper, which is sometimes called canine distemper.
Dog diseases: distemper - symptoms
It is a viral disease, characterized by damage to the skin, digestive and respiratory organs; in rare cases, the development of meningitis and encephalitis is noted. The virus affects dogs of all ages, although dogs between one month and two years of age are predominantly affected. Even marine animals are susceptible to the disease. Terriers are considered relatively resistant to canine distemper and humans do not get sick.
Clinical signs of plague are varied:
Asymptomatic virus carriage or a lightning-fast, violent course occurs. The duration of the disease can range from several days or weeks to several months. When the clinical picture of the disease is dominated by symptoms of damage to the respiratory system, they speak of a pulmonary form of the disease, when the nervous system is extensively affected, they speak of a nervous form. This division is arbitrary; symptoms of damage to the digestive organs often prevail in the clinical picture. Sometimes there is a combination of damage to the respiratory organs and skin, the nervous system becomes the final stage of the development of the disease.
Canine distemper begins to manifest itself with the appearance of a pustular or macular rash on the inner surfaces of the thighs, with a runny nose, diarrhea, depression of consciousness, temporary refusal to feed, and redness of the conjunctiva. As a rule, there is an increase in body temperature, although, for example, in dwarf poodles or some other breeds of dogs, the plague occurs against a background of normal temperature. At the same time, the animal hides in dark places and refuses to walk. The dog's skin becomes dry.
It is possible to develop hyperkeratosis on the elbows and small focal baldness. There are discharges from the nose, which are transparent in the first stages of the development of the disease, but become mucopurulent over time. Sometimes there is clouding of the cornea, sticking or redness of the eyelids, shortness of breath appears, and wheezing is heard. The intestinal form of the disease is characterized by the development of diarrhea and vomiting.
Symptoms of damage to the nervous system include the appearance of tics, which begin in the muscles of the head. At the first stages it is not intense, but later it spreads to the limbs and becomes pronounced, as a result the animals do not sleep at night and often whine. Paralysis, paresis, and hyperkinesis gradually develop. At the last stage, meningoencephalitis develops, which is accompanied by severe intoxication and ends in death.
Treatment is prescribed only by a veterinarian.
Liver disease in dogs: symptoms
Liver diseases in dogs can occur in acute or chronic form. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of diagnosed liver diseases in dogs, which is directly related to violations of the feeding regime of pets and the widespread prevalence of autoimmune diseases. Sometimes the cause of liver disease in dogs is iatrogenic lesions (caused by a veterinarian).
Symptoms of liver disease in dogs are conventionally divided into a number of syndromes, among which are usually distinguished:
- cholestatic syndrome;
- cytolytic syndrome;
- mesenchymal inflammatory syndrome;
- hemorrhagic syndrome;
- dyspeptic syndrome;
- portal hypertension syndrome;
- hepatolienal syndrome;
- hepatodepressive syndrome;
- liver shunt syndrome.
Cholestatic syndrome involves a violation of the secretion and release of bile, which is manifested by skin itching, jaundice, a tendency to eczematous skin lesions, and stool discoloration.
Cholestatic syndrome is a consequence of the destruction of liver cells and leads to fever (increased temperature), enlargement and tenderness of the liver, and an increase in liver enzymes is observed in blood tests.
Mesenchymal-inflammatory syndrome is characterized by damage to the stroma and mesenchyme of the liver, which is manifested by an increase in the level of immunoglobulins.
Hemorrhagic syndrome is manifested by various bleedings and hemorrhages, anemia.
Portal hypertension syndrome is manifested by an increase in the size of the abdomen and dilation of the veins on the skin of the abdomen.
Dyspeptic syndrome is manifested by lethargy, depression, vomiting, defecation disorders and weight loss.
Hepatolienal syndrome is manifested by an enlargement of the liver and spleen.
Hepatodepressive syndrome is manifested by a violation of the protein-synthesizing, antitoxic and excretory functions of the liver; the symptoms are very numerous.
Liver shunt syndrome allows life-threatening substances to enter the dog's general bloodstream, causing damage to the central nervous system.
Symptoms of kidney disease in dogs
Kidney diseases are reported more often in dogs than in other animals, and their frequency increases over the years. According to scientists, in dogs over 8 years of age, in almost fifty percent of cases, pronounced symptoms of kidney damage are revealed during studies. With histological examination, the number increases to eighty percent.
The main syndromes of kidney damage include:
- nephrotic syndrome;
- uremic syndrome;
- pain syndrome;
- osteorenal syndrome;
- renal eclampsia syndrome.
Pain syndrome is manifested by the dog's desire to lie in a cold place, frequent arching of the back, the need for frequent urination, pain when urinating, soreness of the back muscles (can be checked by pressing with fingers), swelling and transient paresis.
Nephrotic syndrome is manifested by edema, proteinuria, hypoproteinemia, oliguria and cylindruria, detected during laboratory tests.
Uremic syndrome is manifested by apathy, lack of appetite, vomiting, persistently recurrent diarrhea, urine odor from the mouth, anemia and anuria.
Osteorenal syndrome is characterized by bone deformation and osteoporosis, hypocalcemia and osteodystrophy.
Renal eclampsia syndrome manifests as tonic-clonic seizures, nephrotic syndrome, and episcleral vascular injection (red eyes).
Urolithiasis in dogs: symptoms
Urolithiasis in dogs is a disease characterized by the formation of stones in the kidneys, bladder or their retention in the ureters or urethra.
This disease is considered a relatively rare disease for dogs, in contrast to cats, in which urolithiasis is often recorded. It is common for dogs to develop bladder stones.
Predisposing factors to the development of urolithiasis in dogs are:
- age (usually found in dogs aged 2-8 years);
- gender (occurs equally often in both sexes, urethral obstruction occurs more often in males);
- breed (large breeds are less susceptible to the disease than small ones);
- diet (food rich in protein, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium provokes the development of the disease);
- indoor maintenance and exercise (the list includes infrequent walks, a small amount of water in the bowl and low physical activity).
The main symptoms of urolithiasis in dogs include:
- vomiting and pain;
- frequent urination;
- tension when urinating;
- blood in urine;
- weakness;
- depression;
- constant leakage of urine in drops;
- loss of appetite.
The disease is registered at the moment when the stone begins to leave the place of formation and becomes wedged in a narrow place in the urethra, causing urinary retention. Such a situation in veterinary practice is considered urgent, requiring immediate and adequate treatment, otherwise there is even a risk of death of the dog.
In veterinary practice, the maximum period of acute urinary retention is taken to be two days; as the duration of urine retention increases, the chance of saving the dog is extremely small. In such a situation, the dog tries to urinate, but to no avail, urine is released in rare drops. The animal strains and sits down. Signs of intoxication gradually appear - convulsions, vomiting, lethargy and refusal to feed.
In rare cases, the disease is diagnosed during a timely and regular preventive examination of the pet, during which urine tests are taken, where relevant changes are detected (sand, crystals or cylinders).
This situation of diagnosing urolithiasis in dogs is due to the fact that dog owners do not bring their pets for examination on time.
Doctor Davydov V.B.
One of the common reasons for an urgent visit to a doctor (orthopedic traumatologist or neurologist) is attacks of acute pain in dogs. An animal exhibits pain in a variety of situations and for a variety of reasons. The first question facing the owner and the doctor is what is its location, or more precisely, where exactly does it hurt. To understand the cause of pain, observation is very helpful, since often it is the characteristics and conditions of pain that often or in most cases lead to a correct diagnosis rather than an examination. It is important to understand that dogs squeal only if the pain is acute and intense; with chronic, constant and less pronounced pain, animals show it differently: they become less active, lie down more, refuse to make previously performed movements (but these symptoms no longer too specific, like a sharp squeal).
Let's consider the most typical scenarios for the manifestation of squealing as a sign of acute pain.
Dogs yelp when rising from a lying or sitting position. After standing up and doing some activity, the pain may not appear. Often this type of pain occurs at night when the dog lies motionless for some time and periodically changes position, which is accompanied by pain. The opposite situation is when a dog walks and cannot lie down or sit down, this occurs due to the complexity and painfulness of changes in the curvature of the spine.
The dog squeals when picked up. This feature applies more to small breeds of dogs, which are picked up much more often than others. Moreover, dogs can squeal even if you lightly touch it (this could be the head, lower back, thoracic region). In this case, the pain is not caused by your light touch, but in the dog’s motor reaction to this light touch, as well as an increase in the sensitivity of skin receptors due to neurological diseases (so-called hypersthesia). The dog may walk with its head hanging down and not raise its head due to neck pain.
All of the above situations of acute pain and squealing in their external manifestations are associated with diseases of the spine and/or spinal cord. And much less often in other disorders, such as kidney, liver, and heart diseases.
Diseases most often manifested by squealing and acute pain:
1., discospondylitis (usually bacterial inflammation of the intervertebral disc and adjacent bone tissue of the bodies of two adjacent vertebrae), (lumbosacral syndrome, occurs as a result of a congenital anomaly of the sacral spine). It is more common in large dogs and causes pain when standing up and lying down.
2. Instability of the first and second cervical vertebrae (atlanto-axial instability and other types of malformation of the occipital bone and first vertebrae). Typical for small and miniature breeds of dogs (Yorkshire terrier, Chihuahua, toy terrier, etc.). As a rule, the pathology manifests itself in dogs up to one year old.
3., as a rule, of the first type (according to Hensen I). Pain occurs when the animal moves or when picked up. Typical for dog breeds prone to chondroid disc metaplasia (dachshund, French bulldog, spaniel, poodle, Pekingese, etc.). Type II hernias (Hensen II) rarely cause pain, but more often cause slowly developing neurological damage.
4. . Typical for small and miniature breeds of dogs (Yorkshire terrier, Chihuahua, toy terrier, etc.). As a rule, the pathology appears after 2 years of age, but it also occurs in young dogs.
5. Myelitis, often in combination with encephalitis. The same as with the diseases indicated in paragraph 4, it is typical for small breed dogs (Yorkshire terrier, Chihuahua, toy terrier, etc.).
6. Tumors and other compression and inflammatory diseases of the spine and spinal cord.
Sometimes other reasons such as gallbladder disease or intestinal problems can lead to this, but this is very rare.
It is important to understand that most of the listed diseases require, if not emergency surgical care, then the attention, first of all, of a neurologist. And with complete paralysis of all four or only the hind limbs, in which the pain often disappears, help is required in the coming hours.
The main methods for diagnosing the above diseases, which make it possible to detect spondylosis and discospondylitis, are a set of methods such as myelography, MRI, CT, radiography (allows us to detect spondylosis, vertebral neoplasms). The most informative method is MRI with a contrast agent. The sequence, methods and area of examination for diagnosis are determined by the doctor. A visit to the doctor is necessary before the examination, since it is very important to determine the area in which the pathological process is localized and, if you independently decide to perform an MRI, there is a danger of examining an unaffected area, which means that a diagnosis will not be made.
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