Postoperative behaviour as indicators of pain in dogs after elective ovariohysterectomy

The study was conducted in 12 clinically healthy nondescript bitches to investigate the postoperative behaviour for assessing postoperative pain in dogs after elective ovariohysterectomy. The dogs recovering from ovariohysterectomy were approached to record postoperative behaviour. Sedation score and pain score were measured using postoperative behaviours. Surgery resulted in an increase in pain score, sedation score and time spent sleeping. During interactions, greeting behaviour and overall activity were decreased after surgery. The purpose of this study was to establish a behavior based scale for evaluation of postoperative pain in dogs recovering from elective surgery.