Stress, Fear and Pain in Canine Veterinary Patients: Behavioural Assessment and Clinical Implications

This thesis explores how stress, fear and pain manifest in dogs during veterinary care, and how these states can be reliably recognized through behavioural and clinical assessment. It focuses on the behavioural changes that occur in the clinic, the use of validated pain scales, and the practical limitations that make interpretation challenging in real-life situations. By integrating current evidence on canine emotional and pain-related responses, the work aims to provide a clearer, more structured framework for understanding what dogs are expressing during veterinary visits. The motivation for this topic stems from the growing awareness that many dogs experience veterinary care as highly stressful, and that fear and pain are still frequently underestimated or misinterpreted in practice. When signs of distress are overlooked or misread, either by veterinary staff or by owners, diagnostic accuracy can be reduced, treatment plans may be less effective, and the dog’s welfare can be significantly compromised. Recognizing these states is therefore not only a clinical requirement, but also an ethical responsibility in small animal medicine. A central objective of the thesis is to increase knowledge and awareness of canine behaviour related to stress, fear and pain, both among veterinary professionals and dog owners. For clinicians, this means learning to interpret body language, facial expressions and changes in interaction alongside formal assessment tools, so that decisions about handling, analgesia and overall case management are better informed and more timely. For owners, it means understanding that behavioural changes at home or in the clinic can be early indicators of discomfort or suffering, rather than “normal” ageing or “bad behaviour”. Ultimately, the work argues that a more informed approach to recognising these behaviours enables earlier and more appropriate interventions. By improving the ability to read the dog’s psychophysical state and respond correctly, for both in the veterinary setting and in everyday life, this thesis aims to contribute to safer, less stressful veterinary care and to a higher standard of welfare for canine patients.