Many of us have evaluated a spinal radiograph on a French Bulldog and thought “is this dog painful”? A recent study out of UW-Madison tried to evaluate this question in a prospective study.

Methods

Twenty-five client owned French Bulldogs, and 12 non-French Bulldog breed dogs were included as case and control animals, respectively. All dogs were perceived to be neurologically normal and non-painful by the owners. It is unclear if the researchers performed a neurologic examination to confirm this suspicion, but I assume that they did. All dogs had full spinal radiographs performed and mechanical sensory threshold (MST) testing was performed at 3 separate vertebral sites. The maximal force was 11 lbs. – which seems adequately weighted to assess for pain.

Results

What do you think they found? This study found no significant difference in MST testing between dogs with vertebral malformations and those without. This means dogs with only radiographic vertebral malformations do not need pain management. If you palpate a patient and elicit spinal pain, do not assume the pain is due to the underlying vertebral malformation. Keep digging! This pet may have a disc herniation, or articular cyst, or even meningitis causing its pain.

This week’s Tidbit Tuesday is short and sweet…just like summer! Enjoy the last few weeks of summer with those you love, and I look forward to working with you soon!

Reference: Pinal K, Zidan N, et al. Mechanical Sensory Threshold in Neurologically Normal French Bulldogs with Vertebral Malformations. ACVIM abstract 2025.