Pain Relief Treatments for Dogs

There are a few different pain relief treatments for dogs out there and the type of treatment your dog will receive will be dependant on the vet’s analysis of the pain and what is causing the pain. Vets can often decide not to provide your pet with pain killers or other medication because the complete relief of pain can lead to the dog causing more damage to the injury by not resting properly and being too playful in the absence of the pain.
If your vet is prescribing you with pain relief treatments for dogs it will most likely be pain killers and an anti inflammatory. They may also recommend diet and exercise management.

It can be difficult to determine the level of pain your dog is suffering, just like it is difficult to understand how much pain a human is suffering as people have different thresholds of pain. You can imagine, how incredibly difficult it is to determine just what your pet is feeling, especially for a vet who is not attuned to your animal’s normal behaviour. That makes it even more important for you to discuss your dog with your vet in as much detail as you can with regards to the pain they are feeling, how they are behaving and how that differs from his or her usual self.

Working dog breeds can be more resistant to pain and when taken in to see a vet dogs in general can become more concerned and nervous about the visit then the pain they are suffering and will often hide or ignore the pain more effectively. This can be distressing for owners who noticed a significant difference at home as they can feel as though they are being judged by the vet and are merely being over protective owners.

Vets are animal lovers too, and they understand how owners are more finely attuned to their dog’s behaviour and are more likely to pick up on behavioural changes and warning signs. This is why it’s important to explain the situation thoroughly to your vet as your vet understands that your dog’s behaviour will be different at home and needs you to explain the situation, to be able to understand the full impact of the condition.

If your vet doesn’t provide you with any pain relief treatments for dogs there are other ways in which you can help to ease your dogs suffering. Ensure the injury or painful area is kept warm by supplying warm towels or a wrapped hot water bottle for his recuperation area. If you feel he is still in too much pain you may wish to purchase a copper dog collar or other copper band which has become increasingly popular recently for effective pain relief especially long term conditions such as arthritis.  Feeding your dog a little more fish in his diet has also been observed to aid in pain relief as it is claimed that the Omega 3 found naturally in fish helps reduce chronic pain.