Sudden pain is usually easy to see. Slow pain is not. The American Animal Hospital Association says owners tend to watch for the signs of sudden pain and miss the gradual changes in behavior that long-lasting pain brings. You find it by comparing your dog with its own normal: what it used to do, what it has stopped doing, what is new, and what its face and body show.
The order of the steps comes from Tabitha Kucera, a veterinary technician who specializes in behavior, writing in July 2026 for VETgirl, which trains clinic staff. The facts come from the sources named in each step.
The guidelines add that long-lasting pain can develop even in young dogs.
The checklist uses Cornell's four groups, and every line comes from Cornell's list.
Print this checklistThe American Animal Hospital Association adds that a dog shifts its weight off a sore leg, that a tucked-up belly can point to pain in the belly, and that straining can point to pain in the bladder or bowel. Pain is not only in the legs: the World Small Animal Veterinary Association's Global Pain Council lists dental disease and ear inflammation among painful conditions.
None of these signs tells you the cause. Cornell's advice is to book a visit, so the vet can examine the dog and find it.
Book the visit first. Then tick what you see each day until the appointment, for up to two weeks, with the date beside each tick. Two weeks is our own suggestion, not a figure from the guidelines, and it is not a reason to wait.
Cornell says videos of the dog at home are extremely helpful, because they show what the exam cannot. My Pet keeps a dated list of the changes you have noticed on your own phone and prints it on one sheet for the vet.
The vet starts with your account. Cornell lists the questions: when it started, whether it came on suddenly, whether it is getting better or worse, how the dog manages stairs and jumping, and which medicines it has had.
Then the vet watches the dog rest, stand, walk and trot, and feels along the spine and each leg and joint for a reaction. The American Animal Hospital Association calls this hands-on check the most widely used way to find pain in dogs. X-rays come after it: the guidelines say sore joints and x-ray changes often match poorly, so an x-ray confirms a cause the vet has already found and does not measure pain.
A pain scale turns what the staff see into a number. The Merck Veterinary Manual calls pain scales tools that vets use to rate how much pain an animal has. After surgery, the clinic scores appetite, mood, behavior and the reaction to touch on a form such as the Glasgow or the Colorado State University pain scale, and follows the score over time. For long-lasting pain the owner fills in a questionnaire, such as the Canine Brief Pain Inventory or Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs, about mood, mobility and daily life. The guidelines say these questionnaires can be downloaded and used at no cost.
Do not give a painkiller made for people. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says an anti-inflammatory painkiller meant for people, such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin, may last longer in a dog, be absorbed faster and reach higher blood levels. Among the serious side effects of this group of medicines it lists ulcers and holes in the stomach and intestines, kidney failure, liver failure and, in some cases, death. The page Ibuprofen and other human painkillers has the rest.
Do not wait it out either: Cornell says not to wait when a dog has limped for more than a day or two, or when the pain is severe, sudden or getting worse.
Ask the vet before you buy a joint supplement. The Merck Veterinary Manual says to check with the vet before giving a pet any medicine or supplement, and the American Animal Hospital Association cites a review that found the strength of evidence low for all joint supplements except omega-3 fatty acids in dogs. What the guidelines strongly support is keeping the dog lean, which slows arthritis and extends life, and Is my pet overweight? has the check. The home changes they name are carpet runners and a ramp or steps to places the dog can no longer reach.
Some pain cannot wait for a checklist. Cornell's emergency list for dogs says a dog that is crying out, shaking or unable to move should be seen right away. The same list has a swollen belly with retching and no vomit, straining to urinate or producing no urine, and injuries after an accident even when nothing shows. Dogs: is this an emergency? sorts the signs by how long you have. If you are not sure, call a vet.
The American Animal Hospital Association says owners should get their instructions both spoken and written, including when the next check is due.
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Sources read on 2 October 2026; every number is as the source gives it.