But it Hurts: What Your Dog’s Behavior May Be Trying to Tell You
We tend to think of pain as something that should be obvious.
A dog limps.
A dog cries.
A dog refuses to eat.
A dog holds up a paw.
Those things certainly can happen when a dog is hurting. But sometimes pain looks very different.
Sometimes it looks like fear.
Sometimes it looks like reactivity.
Sometimes it looks like resource guarding.
Sometimes it looks like a dog who suddenly doesn't want to be touched, suddenly doesn't want to be around another dog, or suddenly seems to have developed a whole new personality.
And sometimes the behavior change is the clue that tells us something is wrong.
Think about what happens when we don't feel good.
When you have a splitting headache, how patient are you?
When your back is screaming at you, how interested are you in someone climbing all over you?
When you've got a toothache, are you particularly thrilled when someone wants to have a long conversation with you?
When you're sick, exhausted, nauseated, or dealing with chronic pain, your tolerance for things can get a whole lot smaller.
You may be more irritable.
You may want more space.
You may have less patience.
You may snap at someone you wouldn't normally snap at.
You may not want to socialize.
You may be perfectly capable of doing something but simply not have the emotional bandwidth for it.
And here's the important part:
Nobody would look at you having a miserable day with a migraine and say, "Clearly, you need a behavior modification plan."
We understand that your behavior is being affected by how you feel physically.
Dogs are no different.
Pain doesn't always look like pain.
Dogs are incredibly good at compensating.
They're also remarkably good at hiding discomfort. For animals, appearing vulnerable, especially in a setting where they don’t necessarily feel safe like the Vet clinic, can have consequences, so our dogs don't necessarily walk around announcing, "Excuse me, my lumbar region is giving me some trouble today."
Instead, pain may show up as a change in behavior.
And those changes can be surprisingly dramatic.
I've seen dogs whose behavior changed seemingly overnight, only to discover that there was a very real physical reason for it.
For example, one dog suddenly began attacking another dog in the household. This wasn't a long-standing relationship problem. It was a significant and sudden change in behavior.
The dog was eventually found to have a urinary tract infection (UTI).
Think about how miserable a UTI can make a person. Now imagine being unable to explain to anyone that you're uncomfortable, you're hurting, and you really don't appreciate another dog getting into your personal space.
The behavior wasn't necessarily the problem.
The behavior was information.
Another dog suddenly became reactive toward other dogs.
Again, this was a significant change from the dog's previous behavior.
The dog was eventually found to have a broken tooth.
A broken tooth can be extraordinarily painful. Imagine having someone approach you when you've got a throbbing, painful tooth and then expecting you to calmly navigate a social interaction.
You might not be particularly interested in making friends either.
And then there was the dog who suddenly began resource guarding toys and food.
This wasn't simply a dog who had decided that their stuff was suddenly more valuable.
A veterinary workup revealed that the dog was positive for Lyme disease.
That doesn't mean that every case of resource guarding is caused by Lyme disease, of course. It means that when a significant behavior change appears, particularly a sudden one, we have to consider the possibility that something physical may be contributing.
This is where things can get tricky.
Sometimes when veterinarians are looking for a source of pain or illness, behavior changes can be treated as symptoms of the underlying problem rather than as evidence that the behavior itself may be telling us something important.
And this isn't a criticism of veterinary medicine. Diagnosing pain in another species is incredibly complicated.
Dogs can't tell us:
"My left hip hurts when I get up."
"My mouth hurts when that other dog comes near me."
"I'm feeling generally crappy and therefore my tolerance for everyone has dropped dramatically."
They communicate it through behavior.
So when a dog suddenly behaves differently, that behavioral change deserves to be taken seriously as part of the medical picture—not simply written off as a behavioral symptom.
A sudden change in behavior can be one of the most useful clues we have.
Sometimes we need a pain trial.
There are situations where it isn't immediately obvious whether pain is contributing to a behavior change.
In those cases, your trainer or veterinarian may recommend a pain trial—using appropriate pain management for a period of time and monitoring whether the dog's behavior changes along with their comfort level.
A pain trial isn't a definitive diagnostic test for every condition, and it needs to be prescribed and monitored by a veterinarian. But it can provide valuable information.
If a dog's behavior improves significantly when their pain is appropriately managed, that's an important piece of the puzzle.
And sometimes that piece changes everything about how we approach the behavior.
This is why health comes first.
If your dog has suddenly developed a behavior problem, health needs to be cleared first and foremost.
Especially when you're looking at:
Sudden aggression
Sudden reactivity
New resource guarding
Sudden sensitivity to touch
Changes in tolerance toward people or other animals
Reluctance to move or participate in activities
Changes in sleep
Changes in appetite
Increased irritability
Unusual withdrawal or clinginess
Sudden house-soiling
Any significant change from your dog's normal behavior
That doesn't mean every behavior problem is caused by a medical condition.
It doesn't mean you need to panic every time your dog does something weird.
And it certainly doesn't mean that training and behavior modification isn't important.
It means that we shouldn't assume the answer is training or behavior modification until we've ruled out the possibility that the dog is hurting or unwell.
And this matters ethically.
If a dog is behaving differently because they're in pain, treating that behavior without addressing the underlying health problem is not an appropriate solution.
We wouldn't expect a person with a broken tooth to simply learn to tolerate someone poking them in the mouth.
We wouldn't expect someone with a UTI to practice being more patient while they're uncomfortable.
We wouldn't tell someone with Lyme disease that they need to work on their resource guarding.
We would treat the medical problem.
Our dogs deserve the same consideration.
Training or behavior modification can absolutely be part of the solution—but training or behavior modification should not be used to override or suppress behavior that is communicating pain, illness, or discomfort.
That is especially important when the behavior involves fear, aggression, or other behaviors where traditional punishment-based approaches can make an already difficult situation significantly worse.
Behavior is communication.
This is one of the reasons I talk so much about looking at the why behind behavior rather than simply trying to stop the behavior we don't like.
A growl is information.
Moving away is information.
Snapping is information.
Reactivity is information.
Suddenly not wanting to interact with another dog is information.
And a dramatic change in behavior is very important information.
Before we ask, "How do I stop this?"
we should ask:
"Why is this happening?"
Sometimes the answer is training or behavior modification.
Sometimes it's environment.
Sometimes it's fear or stress.
Sometimes it's a combination of several things.
And sometimes the answer is a UTI, a broken tooth, Lyme disease—or something else that hurts.
Your dog doesn't have to limp or cry for pain to be affecting their behavior.
Sometimes their behavior is the way they're telling you something hurts.
Listen to it.
And when behavior changes significantly or suddenly, start with your veterinarian. Get the physical stuff cleared first.
Then, once we know we're not asking a dog to behave differently while they're hurting, we can start figuring out what they need from us.
Because behavior isn't happening in a vacuum.
Our dogs are whole beings—and how they feel physically can profoundly affect how they feel, think, communicate, and behave.
Sara Sokol is owner of Mr. Dog Training in Brunswick and West Gardiner Maine; A positive reinforcement dog trainer with two facilities, offering both virtual and in person classes, and a Canine Enrichment Center, and has been voted best training in Maine.
