The Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI) is a validated tool for assessing and quantifying pain in dogs, designed for use by veterinarians and dog owners in various settings. It consists of 11 prompts grouped into three categories: pain intensity, pain interference, and quality of life. Responses to these help measure the level of pain a dog is experiencing and can detect subtle changes over time, particularly in chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis and cancer. The CBPI aids in evaluating the effectiveness of any treatment plan, allowing for adjustments to ensure effective pain management. Overall, it is a valuable resource for understanding and managing canine pain. More information can be found on the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine website.

How to complete the questionnaire: Choose one number per row that best reflects your dog’s status over the last 7 days. Use your everyday observations (e.g. getting up, walking, running, playing, enjoying life). Lower numbers on the scale generally indicate less pain/impact. When all of the items and the Quality of Life question are completed, the final score, together with scores representing PSS (Pain Severity) and PIS (Pain Interference), will be available, and other options will be enabled, which allow you to print off the scores or copy the results to something like an email. 

Interpreting the results: Use the final score after completing all prompts as a quick guide to the level of pain your dog may be experiencing, where 0 = Normal, 1-30 = Mild, 31-60 = Moderate, 61-100 = Severe. The assessment can be repeated over time, and the scores compared to the initial baseline recorded. This comparison can indicate the type of treatments that are most effective for your dog and how the condition is developing over time. A consistent decrease in PSS/PIS or movement to a lower level usually indicates an improvement.