posted June 14, 2012 08:27 PM            

THE GIST

• Dog owners should watch for sudden changes in their dogs' temperament.
  
• Often sudden, more aggressive behavior is linked to pain.

Sudden changes in a dog's temperament, for example episodes of aggression, could be related to some internal pain they are feeling, which sets them on edge if they are touched, new research indicates.

"If the pet is handled when in pain, it will quickly act aggressively to avoid more discomfort without the owner being able to prevent it," study researcher Tomąs Camps, of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, in Spain, said in a statement. "Dogs that had never been aggressive before the onset of pain began to behave in this way in situations where an attempt is made to control them."

Irritability from pain can make otherwise affectionate dogs violent and already aggressive dogs even more aggressive. As such, the researchers say, their findings support the importance of the diagnosis and treatment of pain in dogs. -Continue-

posted June 17, 2012 06:51 PM            

The same thing happens for older folks when they're about to die too.. they stop wanting to eat.