Emotional Experience of Pain in Dogs | Tasha McNerney CVT

Is my dog depressed? If you’ve asked this question, the behavior changes you are seeing may indicate that your dog has chronic pain.

We know that humans who endure chronic pain often also experience anxiety and depression. So what about our dogs?
Vet Tech Specialist Tasha McNerney explains some of the behavioral changes you might see if your dog is experiencing chronic pain, as well as a variety of the different medications and therapies that can be used to help relieve or prevent that pain from occurring.
And while we don’t know for sure yet, it is also possible that dogs who are constantly stressed out become more sensitive to pain and experience discomfort, just like people do.
Listen in to learn how to recognize possible chronic pain versus acute pain, what conditions might cause chronic pain, and when to seek veterinary help if your dog just doesn’t seem right.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Show:
- Pain Scoring Systems from North Carolina State University: https://cvm.ncsu.edu/research/labs/cl...

Related Links:
- Pain Management PLUS: Natural Pain Relief for Dogs article - https://www.dogcancer.com/perspective...
- Pain Control for Dogs After Surgery podcast episode - https://www.dogcancer.com/podcast/sid...
- Stress in Dogs article - https://www.dogcancer.com/articles/ca...

0:00 Start
3:06 Behavior Changes Matter
7:30 Don’t Let Pain Wait
9:12 Pain Scoring
11:49 Multimodal Pain Control
15:16 Signs of Distress
19:51 Chronic Pain and Depression
22:18 Emotion and Stress
27:48 Changes in Appetite
28:43 Lack of Joy
29:53 Windup Pain
33:55 Gabapentin
40:34 Distress Causing Pain or Pain Causing Distress?

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Get to know today's guest, Tasha McNerney, BS, CVT, CVPP, VTS (Anesthesia): https://www.dogcancer.com/people/tash...

For more details, articles, podcast episodes, and quality education, go to the episode page: https://www.dogcancer.com/podcast/sid...