Recognising chronic pain at home

Dogs rarely cry from long-term pain. They change habits instead, which is why AAHA's 2022 pain guidelines say the owner's observations are central to assessing chronic pain, and why most validated questionnaires focus on arthritis¹. Two are free and short. The Canine Brief Pain Inventory asks eleven questions about pain severity and how much it interferes with daily life; in a placebo-controlled trial, owner scores on it changed with treatment and not with placebo². The Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs questionnaire has 23 questions and agreed with force-plate gait measurements in 222 dogs³.

Using one of these every month or two gives you and your vet a repeatable number instead of a feeling. Watch for reluctance at stairs or the car, shorter walks, restlessness at night, licking one spot, a change in temperament, or less interest in play¹. Oldie's care history is a good place to keep the scores.

If a score climbs, or your dog seems worse on the current plan, that is the moment to book a visit rather than wait for the next checkup¹.

This is general information, not a diagnosis. Your vet knows your dog.

Sources

1. 2022 AAHA Pain Management Guidelines: Chronic Pain Assessment in Dogs. American Animal Hospital Association. Accessed 2026-09-22.
2. Ability of the Canine Brief Pain Inventory to detect response to treatment in dogs with osteoarthritis (Brown DC et al.). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 233(8):1278-1283, 2008 (peer reviewed). Accessed 2026-09-22.
3. Evaluation of Construct and Criterion Validity for the Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs (LOAD) Clinical Metrology Instrument (Walton MB et al.). PLoS One 8(3):e58125, 2013 (peer reviewed). Accessed 2026-09-22.