When Pain Hides in Plain Sight
Understanding How Pain Affects Your Dog’s Behaviour
An important and hot topic in the R+ training community right now is pain. How an animal feels is going to influence how they act, so pain will affect behaviour and a dog’s capacity to learn. For the wellbeing of our dogs it is our ethical responsibility to address any possibility of pain. Often pain is easy to miss or dismiss.
We tend to think that if a dog is in pain, they’ll limp, cry, or stop doing the things they love. But dogs are incredibly good at hiding discomfort. They’re masters of adaptation, and many will keep pushing through pain because that’s what their instincts tell them to do.
Think about it this way: a wild dog with a sore shoulder can’t afford to show weakness. They still need to run and hunt to survive. For certain breeds and personalities, a releasing stimuli will trigger them to employ a certain natural behaviour and pain will not necessarily prevent that pattern from occurring. Think about terrier seeing a squirrel dart up a tree: nature tells that dog to chase and grab (or try to) whether they’re in pain or not. Our dogs may live in comfortable homes, but these instincts are still part of who they are.
That’s why a dog often will still chase the rabbit, fetch the ball, jump on the couch, or go for a walk even when something hurts. For some dogs the pain will amp them up, causing over excitement, hyper arousal, or an inability to settle. The presence of enthusiasm doesn’t mean the absence of pain.
How Pain Shows Up in Behaviour
You might see:
A dog who growls/snarls/snaps/bites when being approached, groomed, handled, or when being moved from a resting position
A once-social dog who now avoids other dogs or people
A training regression — suddenly “forgetting” cues they used to know
Subtle changes like slower movement, hesitation on stairs, or reluctance to jump into the car
Growling when someone approaches them at rest or when someone tries to move them from a resting place
Noise sensitivity
Hyper arousal / over excitement
These behaviours are the dog’s way of saying, “Something doesn’t feel right.”
Some Examples:
My own dog, Marlowe, has been dealing with some knee issues. I think because of my background in horses I am very sensitive to subtle changes in movement and posture. So when I noticed Marlowe shifting a little bit of weight off of a hind leg I knew something was wrong. Long story short, she got booked in for TPLO. She had one knee done in Sept 2024 and the second one done just a few days ago as I write this (Oct 2025).
You can see here how Marlowe is weight shifting. She has 4 paws on the ground but you can see that she is putting more weight on her left hind leg vs her right hind. Look at how her toes are more splayed out on her left hind as it takes more weight, compared to her right.
The day before her first surgery I took her to the agility arena so we could have some fun before she was laid up recovering for a few months. She eagerly ran through tunnels and played tug with me. Had I let her, she would have happily jumped her usual 16” jump and attacked the contact equipment. The day before her second knee surgery I let her loose on our acreage. She ran around, played with one of our other dogs, spent time digging, chasing squirrels… she looked so good it had me questioning whether she really did need surgery. But that evening she was a little bit stiff, and that morning she was still weight shifting.
Day of surgery, once under anesthetic, the surgeon phoned me and said upon exam Marlowe’s knee feels stable (a torn cruciate causes instability). He repeated her x-rays, which a month ago showed fluid around the joint indicating a problem, now looked clean. He asked if I would like to delay surgery and see how things go. My gut knew something was off so I asked him to proceed with arthroscopy, a minimally invasive procedure, to look at the joint and see what is going on. Turns out she had about a 20% tear in that ligament. That must have been causing her some pain. But apart from that very subtle weight shift, you just would not have thought anything was off. Despite the pain of a torn cruciate ligament, Marlowe never complained, didn’t limp, and didn’t stop doing any of the things she loves to do.
Another example, there is a video that circulated around the dog training community not too long ago. It is quite sad to see, but a good example of pain not stopping a dog from doing what instinct tells them to do. It is of a Border Collie whose hind leg looks to be dislocated/deformed/not usable, yet the dog is out herding sheep with as much gusto as a Border Collie with 4 functional legs. Enthusiasm does not mean there is no pain.
Why It Matters for Training
When we’re working on behaviour issues — reactivity, aggression, reluctance, or even overexcitement — it’s essential to ask: Could pain be part of the picture?
Vet behaviourists estimate that 80% of aggression cases they see are rooted in pain or discomfort. That is a massive number! We must consider pain first.
No amount of training will override discomfort. A dog who’s hurting might not be able to focus, respond predictably, or learn effectively until that pain is addressed. Think about when you have a headache. How is your attitude towards others? I know my temper is very short and I have minimal patience for anyone. Can you focus on a task just as well? Unlikely. We can train until we’re blue in the face but if there is pain present, we are unlikely to make much progress. And of course from an ethical standpoint we have a responsibility to ensure our dogs' medical needs are met.
I often tell clients: Before we ask the dog to do better, we need to make sure they feel better.
What You Can Do
Watch for subtle shifts — energy, posture, gait, or mood. Any change in behaviour, especially sudden, warrants a vet visit first.
Keep up with regular vet checkups, especially as your dog ages.
Work with professionals who understand the link between physical and emotional wellbeing — veterinarians, veterinary behaviourists, physiotherapists, and force-free trainers/behaviour consultants
Trust your gut: if your dog just doesn’t seem like themselves, there’s probably a reason.
Remember that a dog will hide pain, especially when stressed. Adrenaline and cortisol will mask pain perception, so often a vet exam or x-ray will not show anything. It can be helpful to tell your vet what behaviour changes you have noticed, show them any videos you have demonstrating these behaviours or how your dog usually moves at each gait, mention if these behaviour changes are not your dog’s usual self, or suggest they connect with your trainer or bodyworker to discuss what they are noticing too.
Discuss the possibility of a pain medication trial with your vet to see if that changes your dog’s behaviour. See a massage therapist or physiotherapist who can assess your dog’s gait, address changes in hair pattern (yes, hair patterns can be an indicator of pain), and feel for subtle signs of discomfort.
Dogs don’t always limp or whine when something’s wrong — but they always show us, if we know how to look.
Professionals I recommend:
Veterinarians: Edmonton Holistic Vet, Town Centre, Brintnell, Companion Vet, and Currents Vet.
Physiotherapists/Bodyworkers: Penny with Edmonton Holistic Vet, Bailey with Summit Canine Physio, Gaylene with Noble Bodyworks, Sarah with SitSquatStay
Chiropractors: Connexions Animal Chiropractors