When we talk about reactivity and aggression, we often focus on triggers – other dogs, strangers, or specific situations. But what if the underlying cause is pain?
A dog in pain is living in a constant state of stress, making them more likely to react defensively. Pain has a big impact on dog behaviour (read our article on the weird ways in which dogs display they’re in pain).
Imagine a dog with undiagnosed arthritis. Every time he moves, he experiences discomfort. Now, imagine a stranger approaching and trying to pet him. That touch, though well-intentioned, could be excruciating. The dog might growl, snap, or even bite – not because he’s aggressive, but because he’s desperate to avoid further pain.
What is confusing about pain is that you can fix the pain, and the dog still reacts, because it has learnt it needs to use aggression to keep people or other dogs away, in order to be safe.
Sometimes it can just be down to that the pain makes the dog feel generally rubbish and grumpy, so puts it in a negative mental state where everything it sees in the world is a negative or scary thing – combine that with a dog who might be slightly reactive and you end up with a bigger problem.
Aggression from pain can sometimes show up as:
- Sudden and unpredictable: The dog might seem to have a “Jekyll and Hyde” personality, switching between friendly and aggressive seemingly without warning.
- Aggression when touched if resting or sleeping: The dog may not want touch or cuddles when resting and guard its bed.
Why we can’t start reactivity training until pain issues have been sorted
Many dog owners turn to training to address issues such as reactivity or barking. While training is essential for a well-adjusted dog, attempting to train a dog who is suffering from underlying pain is not only ineffective but also cruel. Many trainers don’t look for the slight oddities in gait, or ask about gut issues or investigate other odd behaviours that could be a red flag for pain – many more are starting to but we need to do more to ensure people are aware of the huge impact even slight pain can have on animal behaviour.
- Pain Interferes with Learning: When a dog is preoccupied with pain, they can’t focus on learning new commands or behaviours and may be labelled as ‘stubborn’ or ‘difficult to train’.
- Training Can Exacerbate Pain: Certain exercises (like lunging on the lead) or activities might worsen existing pain, creating negative associations with training and potentially leading to setbacks.
- Masking Pain Doesn’t Solve the Problem: Even if training temporarily suppresses pain-related behaviours, the underlying discomfort remains, leading to potential relapses or worsening of the condition.
Why we shouldn’t address a medical issue with training
The reason why good trainers and behaviourists spend a lot of time gathering information in your first consultation is because we’re looking for some tell tale signs that pain is at play.
For example, here are some red flags that I look out for:
- Growling or snapping when being disturbed when sleeping
- Growling at people approaching them on the sofa, or on their bed
- Stomach upsets and runny poos
- Eating unusual items such as stones or grass a lot
- Previous injuries or operations
- Inability to settle and relax
If pain turned out to be at the heart of the reactivity, then it’s unfair for us to try and treat that with training. That’s because it’s not something the dog can control – if they’re reacting from pain, or pain is making it worse, then we owe it to our dogs to fix that first before we start any behaviour modification and training.
The problem with pain and behaviour
So, you fix the pain and then the behaviour is instantly sorted? Right? WRONG!
This is the problem with pain. Pain is complicated.
If a dog has been experiencing pain for some time, then they may have got so used to reacting a certain way that it becomes learnt, so we can take the pain away, and the problem behaviour still exists.
It’s frustrating, but addressing the pain has to be the first step, as solving their reactivity will be much easier if we get the pain out of the way and work with a clean slate.
So if you’ve taken your dog to the vet and identified the pain is at play, and sorted medication or another solution, don’t be disheartened if your dog is still reacting. The effects of pain go beyond the feeling of pain, they can have long term behavioural effects but we can only work on them, once we know that pain is out of the way.
So how do I check about pain?
I always recommend consulting with your vet, and taking additional information in to your vets to get the most out of your consultation. This is what I recommend to give your vet lots more info to help diagnose if something is wrong:
- Videos of your dog walking or running
- Videos of any odd behaviours your dog is doing
- Photos of any coat disturbances, such as their fur going in an odd direction in some areas
- Photos of your dog in sitting, standing and lying down positions
- Information about your dogs’ behaviour – outside of just reactivity – do they do any other odd things like circle lots before they go to the toilet? Or do they growl if you sit next to the them on the sofa?
- Toilet diary – detailing how often they go to the toilet, stool consistency (yes, really!)
- Food diary
Once pain has been resolved
Once you’ve got to the bottom of any pain issues and your vet is happy that your dog is as pain-free as possible, then you can start exploring training and behaviour change options. Be sure to let your trainer know about any medical history or previous pain issues so they can factor this in to your training plan!
