Dog owners are missing subtle signs their pet is in pain

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-04-02 05:00

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Dog owners are no more likely to identify some of the more subtle signs that a dog is in pain than those who don't own a dog, according to international research. The researchers recruited 530 dog owners and 117 non-owners and gave them an online questionnaire aimed at assessing their ability to recognise 17 potential signs of pain in a dog. The researchers say dog owners were more likely than non-owners to identify overt signs of pain - where a dog's movement was clearly hampered - but when it was a more subtle sign of possible pain such as excessive surface licking, they were no more likely than a non-owner to pick it up. The researchers say dog owners who had experience with painful problems in their dogs likely to identify more signs of pain, while dog-owners often missed signs of pain that could also be signs of stress or fear.