Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
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J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. · Jul 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyMulticenter, randomized controlled trial of pain-related behaviors following routine neutering in dogs.
To evaluate the degree of postoperative pain in dogs undergoing elective castration or ovariohysterectomy (OHE); determine whether an association exists between surgeon experience, incision length, or surgery duration and degree of postoperative pain; and determine whether analgesic treatment decreases expression of postoperative pain behaviors. ⋯ Results suggested that dogs expressed behaviors suggestive of pain following OHE and castration, that analgesic treatment mitigated the expression of pain-related behaviors, and that surgeon experience and surgery duration did not have any effect on expression of pain-related behaviors.