Pain Management

Osteoarthritis treatment aims to delay disease progression, decrease inflammation, and ultimately improve the patient’s quality of life.

OA is common in dogs. Management involves multiple modalities and must be tailored to each patient and its owner.

Effective pain assessment tools allow practitioners to identify the presence of pain in companion animals that may be disguising their discomfort.

Inadequately diagnosed and treated acute pain can result in serious, lifelong physiologic and psychologic consequences. Implementation of pain assessment tools can improve a veterinary hospital’s success in pain management.

Pain management is an important element of chronic conditions, and the use of gabapentin and amantadine for dogs and cats is a possible treatment.

The scientific mechanisms of gabapentin and amantadine support their use as part of analgesic protocols for chronic pain relief in dogs and cats. Each can effectively treat chronic pain, but how do you know when to choose one drug over the other?

Pain management in dogs and cats can be challenging because clinicians often have to rely on the observations of owners…

The second of a two-part article series that addresses the all-too-often overlooked problem of cancer pain and help practitioners provide a sound, objective assessment and treatment strategy when managing cancer pain in dogs and cats.

The American Animal Hospital Association and American Association of Feline Practitioners recently released the 2015 AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats, updating the original guidelines presented in 2007. In the following interview, Mark E. Epstein, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Canine/Feline), AAPM, CVPP, who cochaired the task force that authored the updated guidelines, shares insights …

The first of a two-part article series that addresses the all-too-often overlooked problem of cancer pain and help practitioners provide a sound, objective assessment and treatment strategy when managing cancer pain in dogs and cats.


 Travis Meredith, DVM, MBA, Diplomate ACT This year’s Practice Building column has been focused on building today’s veterinary practice. The series is dedicated to providing readers insight into issues and resources that support long-term practice growth. Previous articles have focused on areas of investment, lending and capital access, marketing and client communication tools, and …

Part 3 of a comprehensive look at managing chronic pain in dogs and cats. Here, an overview of nonosteoarthritic pain conditions.