Should I bring my dog in right away if they are in pain?
It depends on the degree of pain and how long they've been in pain. My rule of thumb is if it's something simple, usually the dog is going to work out of it within 3 to 5 days. Obviously, if you can't touch them in a certain area or they're not weight-bearing on a certain area, then I really think they should be seen. Just like us, they can pull a muscle or bruise a muscle, and so that might be something where a day or two later, they're back to normal, and there's no treatment needed.
What are some symptoms and signs that a dog is in pain?
Sometimes they'll vocalize; they'll tell you, "Hey, you touched me there, I'm going to cry out." Other times, it will be carrying the leg, or sometimes it'll be, "Well, I touched you there, and you snapped at me or reacted in a way that's out of character for you." Sometimes they can just be depressed and not want to be touched. So again, it kind of depends on the dog, and then obviously, it depends on the degree of the pain and what's actually causing it.
How might my veterinarian determine if my dog is in pain?
We're going to look at them, do an exam, and talk to you to get a history. Okay, he's limping on his left front leg; that obviously tells me that's where I want to focus my exam. But we're going to check other things. Okay, are you having issues down the midline along the back? Are there other issues, such as moving your neck, or if I push over your ribs, do you cry out? Does that hurt? So again, we start with an exam and try to localize where the pain is, and then determine if it's what we call hard tissue bone origin or soft tissue, which is like a pulled tendon or a bruised muscle.
What are my options for dog pain relief? Is medication the only option?
No, certainly massage, cold pack therapy, warm pack therapy, and therapy laser can all be used. Probably the mainstay that we use the most are non-steroidal drugs like carprofen or Deracoxib, which are in that kind of semi-aspirin class like for us, but they're approved for dogs. We use those quite a bit. Sometimes we'll use steroids depending on what the cause is, and other times we will use narcotics like hydrocodone and tramadol.
What are the differences between acute and chronic pain in dogs?
Acute pain would be kind of similar to you or I slamming our finger in a door. It's going to hurt for a bit, and then it goes away. Chronic pain is more of the pain associated with, like, osteoarthritis or, say, a damaged hip joint—something that isn't really readily fixable or quickly repaired by the body, and so it prolongs and lingers, causing immobility or issues with quality of life.
Are human pain pills like Tylenol or Advil okay to give my dog?
Generally not. Advil in dogs can cause kidney issues. Tylenol, sometimes if they have existing liver issues, can cause problems. So we generally don't recommend those. Again, there are specific medications such as carprofen and deracoxib that are made and generally safe for dogs.
How do I know what medications are safe to give my dog?
The best thing is to contact your veterinarian, and we can kind of go through some options with you. Any of the medications—there's no free lunch, so to speak—everything can have side effects, but certainly, some have quite a bit less than others.
What are the medications used for pain management?
As I alluded to earlier, we could use narcotics like tramadol or hydrocodone. We can use something that modifies the pain impulse in the spinal cord called gabapentin, which is also used in humans. And then, of course, there are the non-steroidal drugs like carprofen and deracoxib. So those are kind of the three benchmarks, and like I say, we can adjust or intermix them depending on what we need to get the response that we would like.
How can I track my dog's pain to see if there is improvement with the treatment?
For example, if they're limping on their right rear leg and we start them on, say, carprofen or some other medication, we generally want to see some type of improvement within 48 hours. Now, we don't expect that the dog will be 100% weight-bearing by that time, but we do expect to see 40 to 50% improvement. That's what we're looking for, and if we go down that path, then we're on the right track. Obviously, if things do not improve, then we've got to re-evaluate; maybe we need to take X-rays or maybe we need to change some medication.
When will my dog need a pain management plan?
Kind of depends on, again, what the source is and how long it lasts, how much of a chronic problem this is. Obviously, for dogs with osteoarthritis, which is chronic, we're going to talk about using these drugs long-term, and it may be a combination of drugs long-term. For short-term things like, say, breaking a nail, they're going to be on pain medication for about 3 to 5 days, and then they're off, back running in the backyard, having a good time.
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