Study Finds Dog Owners May Miss Subtle Signs Of Pain

When a dog limps or holds up a paw, most people can tell something is wrong. But what about the quieter signals? A dog that starts following family members from room to room, can’t settle down at night, or stops wanting to play? A new study from Utrecht University found that dog owners, despite years of living alongside their pets, may be no better than non-owners at spotting these more subtle clues that a dog might be hurting.

That matters more than it might seem. Dogs can’t tell anyone when they’re in pain, and by the time obvious signs appear, a condition may have already gotten much worse. Earlier recognition means earlier trips to the vet and less suffering. Pain is also one factor that can contribute to aggression in dogs, and roughly 350,000 emergency department visits in the United States in 2018 were caused by dog bites.

Published in PLOS ONE, the study paints a complicated picture. Owning a dog helps in some situations, but it may actually create blind spots in others.

How the Dog Pain Recognition Study Worked

Researchers recruited 647 participants, 530 current dog owners and 117 people who didn’t currently own a dog, through an online survey distributed via social media between late November and mid-December 2024. Participants were told the study was about dog behavior, not specifically about pain, so their answers wouldn’t be skewed by knowing the purpose upfront.

Two tasks made up the core of the questionnaire. First, participants rated 17 dog behaviors on a scale from zero (very unlikely to indicate pain) to four (very likely). Those behaviors included yawning, nose licking, air sniffing, freezing, turning the head or body away, reduced play, changes in personality, paw lifting, and increased grooming, among others. Second, they read three written descriptions of dogs whose behavior had recently changed and rated how likely pain was as the cause.

One scenario described a dog showing subtle pain signs: increased attachment to family members, restlessness at night, and shorter walks. A second described obvious, movement-related pain signs, including hopping, keeping one leg raised, and less enthusiasm for walks and play. A third described a dog reacting to the neighbors’ new rabbits, a behavior change with nothing to do with pain.

Dog Owners Missed Subtle Dog Pain Signs Just as Often as Non-Owners

Across all participants, some behaviors were widely recognized as potential pain indicators. “Change in personality,” “hesitant paw lifting,” “fluctuating mood,” and “reduced play” scored highest. At the bottom sat “air sniffing,” “nose licking,” and “yawning,” behaviors most people didn’t associate with pain, even though some research suggests they can sometimes be linked to discomfort or pain.

For two specific behaviors, a dog turning its head or body away and freezing, people without dogs actually scored higher pain likelihood than dog owners. Non-owners were more inclined to consider that these behaviors might signal pain. A likely explanation is that experienced dog owners have already learned to associate these behaviors with stress or fear rather than pain, creating a mental shortcut that works against them when pain is actually the cause.

On the three case descriptions, the pattern held. Nearly all participants, 97% of dog owners and 92% of non-dog owners, correctly identified pain as likely in the case with obvious movement problems. For the subtle case involving shadowing and nighttime restlessness, there was no meaningful difference between the groups: about 53% of dog owners and 55% of non-dog owners rated pain as likely. Roughly half of all participants missed the pain connection in a scenario specifically designed around a painful condition.

Both groups performed well on the non-pain case. About 79% of dog owners and 87% of non-dog owners correctly identified pain as unlikely, which shows participants weren’t reflexively checking the pain box for every scenario.

Personal Experience With Pain Made a Noticeable Difference

One of the study’s most telling findings involved personal experience. Participants who had themselves gone through a painful accident, illness, or medical treatment were more likely to recognize subtle pain in the dog scenarios. Sixty percent of those with personal pain experience rated pain as likely in the subtle case, compared to just 46% of those without.

A similar pattern held for dog owners whose pets had previously gone through a painful event, whether surgery, injury, or illness. Among that group, 62% identified pain in the subtle case, versus 46% of owners whose dogs had no such history. Those same owners also rated individual behaviors like changes in appearance, reduced play, and increased grooming as more likely to indicate pain.

Personal pain history is linked to better recognition of pain in others, and that connection appears to extend across species. It also raises a practical possibility: a veterinarian’s guidance during a dog’s painful episode might have a lasting effect on an owner’s awareness long after the visit ends.

Why Recognizing Dog Pain Matters

Survey demographics are worth noting. Participants skewed heavily female at 88%, a common pattern in human-animal interaction research. Dog owners tended to be older, with 42% between ages 50 and 65, while non-dog owners were younger, with more than half between 18 and 35. Among non-dog owners, 54 had lived with a dog in the past, which could have influenced their responses.

Living with a dog doesn’t necessarily make someone an expert at reading that dog. It can sometimes do the opposite, building assumptions that crowd out alternative explanations. A dog that starts shadowing its owner or can’t sleep through the night might not simply be anxious. It might be hurting. And an owner who has been taught to read those behaviors only through the lens of stress or fear may never make the connection.

On the encouraging side, experience and education appear to close the gap. Owners who have been through a painful episode with their pet carry that knowledge forward. If veterinarians, trainers, and pet education programs can replicate even a fraction of that learning without requiring the dog to suffer first, both dogs and the people who love them stand to benefit.

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