Non-Medical Pain Management Relief for Your Dog

Post surgical pain can be intense. This is magnified because a dog can't communicate their level of discomfort and therefore, pain levels can't be monitored as well as with humans.  If dogs don't get the necessary pain relief they need, they can lose their appetite and become stressed.  Both of these post surgical symptoms can  reduce the effectiveness of a surgery.

The most important thing to realize is that complete elimination of pain isn't always possible or even desirable.  The main goal is to keep your dog from intense pain which may lead to severe signs of stress and anxiety.  Pain management will allow your dog to at least continue on with some level of normalcy including eating, sleeping and simple interaction with people and other dogs.

Non-medical pain management goes beyond drugs.  Keeping your dog comfortable goes a long way towards recovery.  Here are 6 great ideas that will help speed your dog towards recovery:

1. Place their bed in a quiet area of the house to keep noise to a minimum.  Loud noises can cause discomfort which leads to stress.
2. Keep their bed in a well ventilated area away from strong smells such as purfume and cooking smells.
3. Monitor your dog's nutritional intake and general appetite.
4. Depending on the type of surgery, consider gentle post surgery massage.  Massage is a wonderful way to release toxins and can provide the personal touch they may need during this stressful time.
5. Gentle, spa type music can be very therapeutic.  Consider using music therapy before and after surgery to calm anxiousness and promote calm.
6. Bach Flower Rescue Remedy to treat the anxiety works wonders.  4-5 drops in their food will do the trick.

Surgery is painful enough, let's do our best to keep our dogs as comfortable as possible.