Pet Pain Management

Name: Valley Animal Hospital
Address: 1171 Valley Road, Clifton, NJ, 07013, US
Telephone: (973) 509-5225

posted: May 15, 2020.

Pet Pain Management

Like humans, dogs can suffer from acute, persistent, and chronic pain. Unfortunately, they do not always have the ability or the inclination to let us know when they are in pain. Acute pain comes on suddenly and tends to be easier to identify. Chronic pain, on the other hand, tends to come on slowly. Many dogs will show few to no signs of chronic pain. The veterinary care professionals at Valley Animal Hospital in Clifton, NJ, want you to know just how important it is to have your senior dog examined regularly to ensure your pet isn’t in pain needlessly.

Pain Management & Dog Rehabilitation

Managing pain for an older dog can involve medication, nutritional changes, physical therapy, and sometimes surgery. For an aging dog, chronic pain can be caused by a neurological condition, inflammation, disease, or injury.

Pain medication can be a short term or a long term solution while a geriatric canine works toward rehabilitation. Often, surgical procedures are necessary, just as in the case with humans. Additional pain management will be necessary after a surgical procedure is completed.

For any aging dog suffering from persistent or chronic pain, a veterinarian will deploy all of the tools we have available to help the animal achieve the fullest possible recovery with minimal pain. Physical therapy is always a good option for dogs that are well enough to respond to it. Canine physical therapy can improve many musculoskeletal issues and can even make future injury less likely to occur in many cases.

For geriatric animals, advanced age makes active living and full recovery unachievable. Senior animals should be kept as comfortable as possible so that they can enjoy interacting with the family as long as possible. When managing pain for an aging dog becomes unfeasible, we can discuss the end of life options for your pet.