This is the final article in VetHelpDirect’s series on the five animal welfare needs. This article is looking at the need for our pets to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease and why this isn’t always very easy to achieve.

Table of contents

As a recap, the five welfare needs are to:

  • live in a suitable environment
  • eat a suitable diet
  • exhibit normal behaviour patterns
  • be housed with, or apart from, other animals
  • be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease

Why this welfare need isn’t as easy to meet as it seems

So whereas the four other animal welfare needs are a bit more nuanced in their meanings, for most of us, it’s quite obvious why protecting animals from pain, suffering, injury or disease is good for their welfare. 

For example, it’s quite obvious that an animal that has been injured after being hit by a car should be provided with pain relief as soon as possible in order to protect its welfare. 

However, there are examples of where this welfare need is not being met in regards to many of our household pets. These examples usually involve animals that are in chronic pain. And either their owners don’t realise, or they underestimate the pain, and therefore the pain is not appropriately treated. 

Why do we sometimes miss signs of pain, suffering, injury or disease?

Animals respond to pain, injury and disease very differently to humans. For example they are much more likely to hide pain. This can make it difficult to spot, or sometimes where we do spot signs of pain, we don’t think it’s a big deal, because the animal is not obviously in distress. 

However in many cases this is causing the animal to suffer poorer welfare. I’m going to share some examples below of some commonly under-recognised conditions that can cause poor welfare. In fact, research from VetCompass in 2019 showed that these conditions had the highest overall welfare impact on dogs presenting to UK veterinary practices. My focus for this article is going to be on dogs and cats, but of course,  these conditions can affect other common household pets such as rabbits. 

Example – Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis, sometimes known just as “arthritis” is a common condition of senior dogs and cats. But it can also affect younger dogs and cats with joint conditions. I am going to talk about it from the perspective of dogs here, but remember that cats are also affected and need treatment to help with their pain and mobility. 

Osteoarthritis affects up to 80% of older dogs. It is particularly under-recognised in dogs because they do not show obvious signs of pain. Many owners believe that signs such as slowing down on walks, stiffness, reluctance to jump or even sometimes limping do not mean their pet is in pain, but it simply is a result of old age. 

This isn’t true. If you ask any human with osteoarthritis what the condition feels like they will tell you that on the worst days it can be extremely painful. And it’s the same for our pets, even though they may only show subtle signs. This means that many dogs are ‘suffering in silence’ and are experiencing poor welfare, and their owners don’t realise.

Signs of osteoarthritis include:

  • Decreased interaction with people/other dogs
  • Personality change/unusual behaviour
  • Slowing on walks
  • Stiffness (especially after rest)
  • Hesitant to jump
  • Doesn’t like being touched in certain areas
  • Pacing
  • Difficulty sitting or cannot get comfortable
  • Sleeping more
  • Changing posture for example arching the back
  • Passing urine and faeces in abnormal places
  • Licking joints
  • Weight loss/muscle wastage
  • Limping

It is important to remember that dogs aren’t good regulators of their own bodies. The urge to chase a ball or to keep going on a walk will be too strong to resist. But they will often suffer the consequences later on or the next day.

There are a number of different approaches to managing osteoarthritis in your dog and these should be discussed with your vet. Common approaches include weight management; making changes to their home environment e.g. by using anti-slip matts and orthopaedic beds; changing exercise routines; complementary therapies e.g. hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and acupuncture; anti-inflammatory medications and pain relief medications.

Example – Dental Disease

Dental disease is common in dogs and cats. Results from The Royal Veterinary College’s Vet Compass project have shown that dental disease is the most commonly presented problem of cats in UK practices and the second most commonly presented problem of dogs (behind ear canal disease). 

Owners will often miss dental disease because they expect their pets to show obvious signs such as stopping eating or crying in pain. But in actuality, cats and dogs will only show these types of behaviours when the dental disease is at its most severe. 

Cats and dogs tend to hide chronic dental pain. Although owners might notice things like a preference towards softer food, eating food on one side of the mouth, increased salivation and bad breath.

There are a number of causes of dental disease and dental pain including:

  • Feline Resorptive Lesions – these are common, painful lesions found in cats that can occur at any age
  • Periodontal Disease – occurs when plaque builds up on the tooth surface and below the gum line causing inflammation and pain
  • Tooth Fractures – fractured teeth need to be removed as they can expose the pulp of the tooth (which is sensitive) and lead to periodontal disease and/or infection
  • Tooth Root Abscess – this is when a tooth becomes infected, it’s painful and may cause the animal to feel unwell

Many of these lesions won’t be noticeable to owners at first glance because (1) it’s difficult to get a good look into the mouth of a dog or cat and (2) they can be difficult to spot when teeth are covered in plaque. 

This is why it’s a good idea to get your dog or cat’s mouth checked by a vet every year at a minimum. If your vet notices any of these issues, they will most likely recommend a dental procedure so that they can inspect the teeth and remove any source of pain, inflammation or infection.

Example – Obesity

Unlike with osteoarthritis and dental disease, obesity is not a direct cause of pain. But it does cause poorer welfare by increasing the susceptibility of dogs and cats to other diseases such as arthritis, diabetes and cancer. It also makes existing conditions, such as arthritis or Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome worse. It can generally impact negatively on an animal’s quality of life as it can decrease their ability to exercise or move about freely. Animals with obesity tend to live shorter lives than animals of a healthy weight. 

Obesity is a common problem for our pets, but again, it’s commonly under recognised by owners. Several studies have shown that owners are particularly bad at recognising when their pet is overweight or obese. This might be because the problem is so common, that people start to think certain body shapes (especially in certain breeds) are normal – when in fact they aren’t.

If you are not sure if your dog or cat is overweight then the best way to establish this is via body condition scoring. This involves both visualising and feeling a dog or cat’s ribs and waist to grade their condition on a scale. A vet or vet nurse will be in the best position to do this as they do this as routine everyday and are used to dealing with animals of different shapes and sizes. 

Vets and vet nurses commonly body condition score on a scale of 1-9, however some use a 1-5 scale instead. Based on your pets body condition score, a vet or vet nurse will be able to advise on what you can do to achieve any weight loss required, this might include things like weighing out food for meals, cutting down on treats or increasing exercise. 

Conclusion

I don’t think many will need convincing of how important it is to protect animals from pain, suffering, injury and disease in order to ensure good welfare. But hopefully I’ve convinced you that it isn’t always as easy as it seems. And we all need to stay alert for conditions that can cause poorer welfare such as chronic pain conditions. 

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