Canine illnesses
In general, most canine illnesses are detected through a combination of various symptoms.
Pain should be thought of as the 4th vital sign –after temperature, blood pressure, and respiration (The American Animal Hospital Association/American Association of Feline Practitioners Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs & Cats, 2007). Behaviour changes also have to be closely watched.
Various signs indicate your dog may have an illness, including a runny or crusty nose, sneezing, vomiting, parasites or blood in the dog’s stool, or constipation, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, or a change in skin colour.
Cancer
Cancer is a disease process that can cause pain in dogs. This pain may be related to the tumour itself or to the treatment, for instance the surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
In entire bitches, mammary tumours are the most frequent cancers and can spread to different organs.
Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone tumour (90% of all bone tumours) in dogs. This disease is aggressive and very common in large and giant breeds such as Rottweilers, Great Danes, Greyhounds, Saint Bernards and Doberman pinschers. For example, osteosarcoma occurs in 6.2% of Greyhounds, 5.3% of Rottweilers and 4.4% of Great Danes.
Bone pain – from the primary bone tumour or from tumour spreading – is a very common cancer pain in dogs.
Information sources
The American Animal Hospital Association/American Association of Feline Practitioners Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs & Cats, 2007
Handbook of veterinary pain management. James S. Gaynor, William W. Muir III. Mosby Elsevier, 2nd edition, 2009
Pain management in small animals. A manual for veterinary nurses and technicians. Debbie Grant. Butterworth Heinemann, 2006
