Ep 136 Could Pain Be Causing Your Dog’s Reactivity?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "Ep 136 - Could Pain Be Causing Your Dog’s Reactivity?"

Podcast: Help! My Dog: The Podcast. Dog Behaviour & Training Strategies that Work!
Host: Dr Tom Mitchell
Date: July 8, 2026
Episode: 136

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Episode Overview

This episode tackles a question that resonates with many dog owners: Can pain be the hidden cause behind a dog’s reactivity, even if there are no obvious signs like limping or crying? Dr. Tom Mitchell, a veterinarian, behaviourist, and trainer, addresses the complexities connecting pain and behavioural changes in dogs. Drawing on his professional and personal experience, Dr. Tom explores how subtle discomfort can alter a dog's emotional state and behaviour, often before any physical symptoms are observable.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Pain and Its Influence on Behaviour

• Subtle Signs Over Obvious Ones:
  Reactivity can be triggered by pain even when there’s no visible limp or vocalization. Emotional or behavioural changes may be the earliest and sometimes the only signs.
• Human Analogy:
  Dr. Tom likens it to human experiences:

  “We've all had times where we've had aches and pains... you probably can't acknowledge this, but on reflection, we might think, you know what, I had a bit of a shorter fuse that day.”
  — Dr. Tom (01:57)

• First Clues Are Emotional:
  Changes in how a dog perceives and reacts to the world may precede any physical symptom.

When to Suspect Pain as a Factor

• Red Flags for Pain-Driven Reactivity:
  1. Obvious pain signs: Limping, movement changes, or vocalizing when touched.
  2. Emotional or fear responses linked to touch: If a dog reacts when people or other dogs get close or attempt physical contact.
  3. Sudden, unexplainable behaviour changes:
     • New reactivity or avoidance without any clear environmental trigger.
     • Sudden resource guarding, separation anxiety, etc.
• Pain Can Be Longstanding:
  Dogs with chronic conditions (ex: hip or elbow dysplasia) may have developed altered behaviour from pain that has always been present, sometimes emerging in adolescence and returning in later years as arthritis develops.

The Pain Trial Approach

• What is a Pain Trial?
  • Temporarily treating a dog for pain to see if behaviour improves, even if no obvious injury is found on examination.
  • A diagnostic as well as a therapeutic tool, especially when pain is not outwardly apparent.
• Behaviour Plan & Pain Assessment Go Hand in Hand:

  “We don't put the behaviour plan on pause while we're working on the pain because actually there is always a behaviour component here as well.”
  — Dr. Tom (05:46)

Owner Guidance and Practical Tips

• Veterinary Assessment is Key:
  • If worried, owners should bring their concerns for assessment—even without obvious signs.
  • Bring video clips showing the dog walking/trotting in a familiar setting.
  • Reflect on any past, even sporadic, limping episodes, and document them before the appointment.
• Developmental Conditions:
  • Early-life limping or soreness may be overlooked, especially if episodes are brief and resolve. These can point to issues like hip or elbow dysplasia that may influence behaviour even when overt symptoms subside.

Addressing Listener's Situation

• Dr. Tom’s Assessment:
  From the listener’s brief, there are no strong indicators of pain in this case, but ruling it out is worthwhile.

  “It doesn't scream to me, this is definitely pain and soreness. So hopefully that should give you some comfort.”
  — Dr. Tom (05:46)

• Reassurance and Next Steps:
  • Acknowledge the listener’s thoughtful care.
  • Suggest vet assessment if concern persists, with emphasis on observation and documentation.
  • Behaviour transformation should continue in parallel with any health investigation.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Empathy for the Reactive Dog Owner:

  “I know all too well when the dream you imagined when you first got your dog is far from your daily reality.”
  — Dr. Tom (00:38)

• Dr. Tom’s Personal Story:

  “A few months ago, my little dog, Gorse, was bitten by a dog 20 times her size. And suddenly ... our life ... was replaced with reactivity and anxiety and worrying about what's around the next corner.”
  — Dr. Tom (00:44)

• On Ruling Out Pain for Peace of Mind:

  “What an awesome thing to completely rule out. And then we can pursue that behavior transformation that we are here to help with.”
  — Dr. Tom (end, ~08:20)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:44 — Dr. Tom shares his first-hand experience with sudden onset reactivity in his own dog
• 01:14 — Listener’s question introduced
• 01:56 — Analogy between human and dog pain responses; discussion on subtle emotional shifts
• 03:00 – 05:30 — Signs that pain may be associated with new/reactive behaviours
• 05:46 — Explanation of pain trial, chronic pain, and why pain assessment matters even without obvious symptoms
• 06:30 – 08:00 — Advice for veterinary visits, importance of video, and case examples (hip/elbow dysplasia)
• 08:10 – End — Reassurance, summary, and invitation to reach out for further support

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Summary & Takeaways

• Pain can underlie reactivity, even when there’s no limp or obvious injury.
• Behaviour may be the first or only signal of discomfort in dogs.
• A thorough veterinary check (with walking videos and documented history) is the best way to investigate, even if just to rule pain out.
• Chronic pain often flies under the radar—early or sporadic episodes matter.
• Pain management and behaviour modification should go hand-in-hand.
• Dog owners are encouraged to be proactive and observant, knowing their attention can make all the difference in their pet’s wellbeing.

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Dr. Tom’s gentle, reassuring approach emphasizes that asking the question is a sign of responsible ownership, and every step in understanding a dog’s mind and body moves both dog and human closer to the calm, connected bond they seek.

Transcript

[A]

A friend has just said that some of my dog's reactivity could be because she could be in pain. Is this true?

[B]

Before we dive in, a warning. The content of this podcast may not be appropriate for some young listeners. This is real life, and that means that sometimes it can be a little bit graphic. So listen on at your own peril. As a veterinarian, dog behaviorist, best selling author, and trainer over the past decade, I've had an obsession with transforming the behavior of dogs, dogs, understanding their brains and creating practical strategies that you can

[A]

implement easily at home.

[B]

I know all too well when the dream you imagined when you first got your dog is far from your daily reality.

[A]

In fact, out of the blue, a

[B]

few months ago, my little dog, Gorse, was bitten by a dog 20 times her size. And suddenly our life of stress free walks, a calm and cuddly household, and being teammates was replaced with reactivity and anxiety and worrying about what's around the next corner.

[A]

I'm Dr. Tom.

[B]

This is the Help My Dog podcast. And this is me documenting that journey of transformation, sharing my knowledge and experience with you, and having a few laughs along the way.

[A]

All right, welcome to this episode of the Help My Dog podcast. And we've got another listener's question, and that is this one. Dear Dr. Thomas. Very formal. Hi, Thomas. A friend has just said that some of my dog's reactivity could be because she could be in pain. Is this true? Just to clarify, she doesn't limp or cry. Okay, so this is a really interesting question. I'm glad you've raised it. Because when an animal is sore or uncomfortable in pain, what will happen is that might influence their emotional responses in the world, how they perceive things in the world.

[B]

And it's.

[A]

We can, we can all relate to this because we've all had times where we've had aches and pains, you know, sore back, sore knee. And often when you've got a sore back or a sore knee or a sore shoulder. Right. Often you're not limping, often you're not crying. But on reflection, probably not in the moment, you probably can't acknowledge this, but on reflection, we might think, you know what, I had a bit of a shorter fuse that day. You know what? Actually I lost my temper and I wouldn't have normally done. Maybe it was because I had a sore back. Yeah. And really what we've got to almost like get excited about is often our dog's behavior, especially the emotions that they're feeling in response to, you know, common, you know, things that crop up changes in how they are responding emotionally over time might be the first sign of them being in discomfort or being a little bit sore. Yeah. And often those changes actually come way before limping, changes in movement, vocalizing. Because the first thing that soreness will influence is actually how you perceive things that are happening to you in the day. And sometimes that can be on a really obvious level where it's like a dog might start, start to snap at other dogs when they get close and you can think, well, that's probably because they're worried about being landed on or the, the other dog playing with them too rough. But more subtle and more exciting is actually just how their, how their perception is influenced over time and just throughout the day. Right. So signs that pain might be part of the picture. I think obviously the first one is about knowledge is if there's obvious signs of, of pain otherwise, like limping, changes in movement, vocalizing when touched. Right. That could be, that could be a factor. The second one would be where emotional responses, fear responses are occurring in relation to being touched in some way. So kind of where there is physical proximity to the thing that they're reacting to. Like another dog visits them or a person leans over them or goes to stroke them. Again, you'd be thinking, could this be, you know, could there be soreness here? Third is if there are sudden changes, sudden, seemingly unexplainable changes in behavior. Okay, I say seemingly because often, you know, there is explanation. But for example, where your dog was not reactive and then over the course of, you know, let's say a few weeks or even a few days, suddenly they are reactive to the environment or, or suddenly they're not wanting to interact with people and are actually growling at people. Right. Or, you know, we even see this in the, in other struggles, like suddenly they are developing separation anxiety or they're showing signs of separation related behavior, or they're starting to resource guard any behavior struggle. It doesn't have to be kind of barking and lunging, only that might predict this. If there's been a sudden and rapid development, then you've got. And there is, there wasn't a behavioral event that we can relate to that, for example, they got attacked by another dog, or they got spooked by a noise or whatever, then we'd definitely be thinking, you know, we definitely need to be, you know, jumping up the list, screening for soreness. Now, equally, some dogs actually have underlying soreness their entire lives.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because they've, they've pretty much always had that soreness. For example, I'M thinking dogs that develop reactivity during adolescence, let's say, I don't know, nine months old. And actually down the line when they come for, you know, when, when we have. They have a behavior, remote behavior consultation with the team. And actually through a little bit of investigation, we find that that dog has hip dysplasia or elbow dysplasia, and that can also be part of it. So actually getting your dog assessed by a vet can be really, really valuable. And one step further that we'll often do in behaviour consultations is we will create something called a pain trial. Okay. Where we look to assume that the individual is in pain and treat them for pain. Okay. Through a very kind of specific process. And if we see changes in their behavior, pos. Changes in their behaviour as a consequence of going through that pain trial, then we can say actually there is some underlying soreness here that might not have been apparent on physical examination with a vet, but that now we can kind of look to get to the bottom of. Right. While also working on the behaviour plan. We don't put the behaviour plan on pause while we're working on the pain because actually there is always a behavior component here as well. And we want to get you, you know, we want to get you to the point of transformation as quickly as possible, but those would be the kinds of things that you're thinking. So really, I think that, you know, from, from your point of view of it, it sounds like you're. There are no. It sounds like your dog's been maybe struggled with reactivity for a little while. They're showing no other physical signs and it sounds like it's kind of reactivity, you know, a distance or not. And I'd say this doesn't scream to me. This is definitely pain and soreness. So hopefully that should, should give you some comfort. But it would suggest that if your dog is. Especially if your dog is tolerant of veterinary examination, then I would say. And you've now got this question mark in your mind. Well, let's, let's get them examined. Let's, you know, let's see. Let's see if that can find any source of soreness. Take with you to that appointment videos of your dog walking and trotting in a straight line so that again, the vet can. The, the vet can assess those videos. It. And, and the cool thing is is that you can do those walking and trotting videos in an environment that's comfortable to your dog, rather than the veterinary environment, where it might not always be as easy to as easy to see that. And the other thing that I think comes be useful for you to bring to that appointment is just reflecting on, yeah, your dog's not limping right now, but have they had episodes of limping in the past? Okay, how frequent were those? Can we get some dates on those? Can we think about what age your dog was when. When they struggled with that? Because, for example, some conditions like hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia, what you will find in terms of symptoms is that sort of 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 months, 13 months old, we might have six sporadic episodes of limping when. And we sometimes as owners, we might put it down to they overdid it a little bit, right? And we give them a little bit of rest, and we have a few episodes of limping in that period, but then everything seems to sort of settle down. And then what you will often find with hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia is then you will only start to see limping and changes in movement again when that dog is maybe then 6, 7, 8 years old. Because what will happen is that arthritis will set in because of an unstable joint. And actually, initially, that arthritis might actually stabilize that joint and might actually improve movement. The soreness might reduce a little bit. They'll still be sore, but actually they won't be in as much pain. And if you think you've been in pain for a little bit of your life and then your pain is less, well, you might think, okay, this is great. This is normal, right? And that might change the choices that you make with regard to your movement for the better. But then 6, 7, 8, 9 years old, it will increase again. So there are many orthopedic musculoskeletal conditions in dogs that actually there will be sporadic lameness, sporadic limping. And sometimes it's only when we sit down and we reflect on it and we go, you know what? Yet they had these bouts of limping around this age point, coupled with a conversation with your vet in an examination that actually, you know, we. We find, yeah, there's something that should be explored here. And of course, here at Behave Vet, we're always, you know, here to help, you know, if you want us to actually create a whole behavior plan for transformation for your dog's reactivity, we factor in all the health stuff as well. We, you know, consult remotely by video consultation. That's how we do it, because it works better. And so, you know, all you need to do to get in touch for a consultation with one of the Vet Behavior team is go to www.beha.vet or just google Behaver and submit an inquiry and the team will be able to explain how all that works. But it sounds like you're an amazing owner and your dog is super lucky to have you. And from the little bit that you put in your listener's question, it's certainly not an absolute certainty that your dog is struggling with soreness. And yet, what an awesome thing to completely rule out. And then we can pursue that behavior transformation that we are here to help with. That was this episode of the Help My Dog podcast, and we will see you next time.