How do you know when your dog is in pain?

I get asked this question a lot.  As an animal communicator, I don't read body language.  I almost never see my animal clients in person.  The communication happens via telepathy so the animals can be comfortably resting at home during a communication reading.  I am on the phone with the human and we are having a three-way conversation between the animal's human, the animal and myself.

I had a mischievous client, Rio the Wonder Dog, the black Portuguese Water dog pictured above.  I had the privilege of meeting him a few times in person and he was HIGH energy!  This dog, even into his senior years was full of goofiness and spunk.  Rio did pass recently at the beautiful age of 15 years.  I knew him for about 10 of those years so his story is extra special for me. 

Rio was nicknamed The Wonder Dog by those in his life who were close to him, his humans, vet and myself.  Rio seemed to put himself in near-death experiences and come back to life, shining brighter than before.  If he were a cat, he would have exceeded his 9 lives!

Rio, with his goofy, high-energy personality, got himself into a lot of trouble, so I was called to help with his behaviors.  Sometimes he would eat an entire piece of meat, left on the counter.  There were other times when he consumed an entire bottle of supplements. He had to be on a special diet for the last half of his life due to liver issues.  

Rio's humans were very attentive and loving but as soon as they would turn their backs, he was into mischief.  

I still remember one emergency call they made that was very concerning for them.  Rio would not eat.  This dog had an appetite as big as a Mack truck.  He would steal all kinds of food if given the opportunity.  

While on the phone with Rio's human, I asked Rio how he was feeling.  I knew there had to be a good reason for him to not eat.  Sometimes animals know what is wrong with their bodies and sometimes they don't.  

In Rio's case, he knew.  He said his stomach hurt him.  I asked him if he ate anything he wasn't supposed to.  He said no, not this time.  I confirmed that was true with his human.  I asked Rio to let me feel, in my body, what he was feeling. 

As an empath, I can feel animals' moods and physical illnesses.

What I experienced was a dull ache in my abdomen and a taste on my tongue that was metallic and salty.  I recalled the taste reminded me of when I've bitten my mouth and there is that taste of blood. I asked him if that's what he tasted.  He confirmed with me that, yes indeed he was tasting blood. He had no appetite because of the dull ache. 

I focused more on the dull ache.  I asked Rio to show me more about the ache.  What I saw, in my mind's eye were 3 red hot bleeding ulcers.  The poor guy should have been demonstrating more physical pain symptoms but he is stoic and pretty happy-go-lucky.  

I asked his human if he was on any medicines.  She told me that he was.  I asked what the side effects are and she read them to me.  Stomach upset was a side effect.  She felt terrible that the medicine that was prescribed to help him was causing more issues.

She took him immediately to the vet and described his symptoms.  They did a scan and it showed 3 bleeding ulcers in Rio's belly.  They discontinued giving him the medicine and he recovered, living an additional 5 years more. 

It amazes me how much animals put up with.  They can be stoic when it comes to pain management and pain tolerance.  Don't second guess yourself.  You know your animal best. 

If you feel something is off with your animals investigate what the root cause may be.  If you are unsure, let me help you to clarify the situation with an animal communication reading. 

You can learn more here:  https://www.thewhispersoflove.com

  ❤️ you Rio!