As dog owners we all dread the day our dog gets an injury. It's generally not a matter of if but when an injury will occur. Whether your dog is running around in the backyard or competing in a sport, all activity comes with a risk of injury, it's a fact of life. Accidents happen and injuries occur but that doesn't mean we can't be proactive and help to reduce our dogs chances of an injury. So what can we as our dogs biggest advocates do to help reduce their chance of injury and give them the best chance of a quick recovery? Let's review some simple and effective strategies to prevent injuries with your dogs. 

You’re not you when you're hurting and the same is true for your dog!  
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Pain places both discomfort and emotional stress on our dogs and can make them out of balance both psychologically and physiologically. Pain can be acute or chronic and knowing the difference can really affect the way you go about addressing the situation. 
Recognizing pain is an important first step! So how do we recognize pain in an animal that has thousands of years of survival instinct screaming at it to pretend like nothing is wrong? ​