Do Dog Breeds Differ in Pain Sensitivity? Veterinarians and the Public Believe They Do

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2020 Mar 18

PMID 32182261

Citations 10

Authors

Margaret E Gruen

Philip White

Brian Hare

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Humans do not respond to the pain of all humans equally; physical appearance and associated group identity affect how people respond to the pain of others. Here we ask if a similar differential response occurs when humans evaluate different individuals of another species. Beliefs about pain in pet dogs (Canis familiaris) provide a powerful test, since dogs vary so much in size, shape, and color, and are often associated with behavioral stereotypes. Using an on-line survey, we asked both the general public and veterinarians to rate pain sensitivity in 28 different dog breeds, identified only by their pictures. We found that both the general public and veterinarians rated smaller dogs (i.e. based on height and weight) as being more sensitive to pain; the general public respondents rated breeds associated with breed specific legislation as having lower pain sensitivity. While there is currently no known physiological basis for such breed-level differences, over 90% of respondents from both groups indicated belief in differences in pain sensitivity among dog breeds. We discuss how these results inform theories of human social discrimination and suggest that the perception of breed-level differences in pain sensitivity may affect the recognition and management of painful conditions in dogs.

Citing Articles

Parasympathetic tone activity, heart rate, and grimace scale in conscious horses of 3 breeds before, during, and after nociceptive mechanical stimulation.

Flores J, Terrazas A, Lara Sagahon A, Aleman M J Vet Intern Med. 2024; 38(5):2739-2747.

PMID: 39150630 PMC: 11423482. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.17174.

How does chronic pain impact the lives of dogs: an investigation of factors that are associated with pain using the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid.

Malkani R, Paramasivam S, Wolfensohn S Front Vet Sci. 2024; 11:1374858.

PMID: 38638643 PMC: 11025458. DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1374858.

Veterinary education and experience shape beliefs about dog breeds Part 1: Pain sensitivity.

Caddiell R, White P, Lascelles B, Royal K, Heugten K, Gruen M Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):13846.

PMID: 37620361 PMC: 10449809. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40671-y.

Pain sensitivity differs between dog breeds but not in the way veterinarians believe.

Caddiell R, Cunningham R, White P, Lascelles B, Gruen M Front Pain Res (Lausanne). 2023; 4:1165340.

PMID: 37435196 PMC: 10332458. DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2023.1165340.

Evaluation of the Analgesic Efficacy of Undiluted Intraperitoneal and Incisional Ropivacaine for Postoperative Analgesia in Dogs after Major Abdominal Surgery.

Henze I, Navarro Altuna V, Steiger J, Torgerson P, Kutter A Animals (Basel). 2023; 13(9).

PMID: 37174527 PMC: 10177421. DOI: 10.3390/ani13091489.

References

Trawalter S, Hoffman K, Waytz A . Racial bias in perceptions of others' pain. PLoS One. 2012; 7(11):e48546. PMC: 3498378. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048546. View

Park C, Lee M, Epstein A . Variation in emergency department wait times for children by race/ethnicity and payment source. Health Serv Res. 2009; 44(6):2022-39. PMC: 2796312. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2009.01020.x. View

Mogil J, Wilson S, Bon K, Lee S, Chung K, Raber P . Heritability of nociception II. 'Types' of nociception revealed by genetic correlation analysis. Pain. 1999; 80(1-2):83-93. DOI: 10.1016/s0304-3959(98)00196-1. View

Parker H, Dreger D, Rimbault M, Davis B, Mullen A, Carpintero-Ramirez G . Genomic Analyses Reveal the Influence of Geographic Origin, Migration, and Hybridization on Modern Dog Breed Development. Cell Rep. 2017; 19(4):697-708. PMC: 5492993. DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.03.079. View

Avenanti A, Sirigu A, Aglioti S . Racial bias reduces empathic sensorimotor resonance with other-race pain. Curr Biol. 2010; 20(11):1018-22. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2010.03.071. View

Hollingshead N, Meints S, Miller M, Robinson M, Hirsh A . A comparison of race-related pain stereotypes held by White and Black individuals. J Appl Soc Psychol. 2017; 46(12):718-723. PMC: 5421992. DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12415. View

Cintron A, Morrison R . Pain and ethnicity in the United States: A systematic review. J Palliat Med. 2006; 9(6):1454-73. DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2006.9.1454. View

Burgess D, Fu S, Van Ryn M . Why do providers contribute to disparities and what can be done about it?. J Gen Intern Med. 2004; 19(11):1154-9. PMC: 1494785. DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2004.30227.x. View

Diana A, Preziosi R, Guglielmini C, Degliesposti P, Pietra M, Cipone M . High-frequency ultrasonography of the skin of clinically normal dogs. Am J Vet Res. 2005; 65(12):1625-30. DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.2004.65.1625. View

10.

Meeson R, Todhunter R, Blunn G, Nuki G, Pitsillides A . Spontaneous dog osteoarthritis - a One Medicine vision. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2019; 15(5):273-287. PMC: 7097182. DOI: 10.1038/s41584-019-0202-1. View

11.

Qiao W, Powell E, Witte M, Zelder M . Relationship between racial disparities in ED wait times and illness severity. Am J Emerg Med. 2015; 34(1):10-5. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2015.08.052. View

12.

Schafer G, Prkachin K, Kaseweter K, de C Williams A . Health care providers' judgments in chronic pain: the influence of gender and trustworthiness. Pain. 2016; 157(8):1618-25. DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000536. View

13.

Haskins S . Use of analgesics postoperatively and in a small animal intensive care setting. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1987; 191(10):1266-8. View

14.

Dore R, Hoffman K, Lillard A, Trawalter S . Children's racial bias in perceptions of others' pain. Br J Dev Psychol. 2014; 32(2):218-31. DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12038. View

15.

Hollingshead N, Matthias M, Bair M, Hirsh A . Impact of race and sex on pain management by medical trainees: a mixed methods pilot study of decision making and awareness of influence. Pain Med. 2014; 16(2):280-90. DOI: 10.1111/pme.12506. View

16.

Kteily N, Bruneau E . Backlash: The Politics and Real-World Consequences of Minority Group Dehumanization. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2017; 43(1):87-104. DOI: 10.1177/0146167216675334. View

17.

Hoffman K, Trawalter S, Axt J, Oliver M . Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between blacks and whites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016; 113(16):4296-301. PMC: 4843483. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1516047113. View

18.

Norring M, Wikman I, Hokkanen A, Kujala M, Hanninen L . Empathic veterinarians score cattle pain higher. Vet J. 2014; 200(1):186-90. DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.02.005. View

19.

Burgess D, Van Ryn M, Crowley-Matoka M, Malat J . Understanding the provider contribution to race/ethnicity disparities in pain treatment: insights from dual process models of stereotyping. Pain Med. 2006; 7(2):119-34. DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2006.00105.x. View

20.

Crane S . Perioperative analgesia: a surgeon's perspective. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1987; 191(10):1254-7. View