What Your Dog's Body Is Trying to Tell You About Pain and How to Listen w/ Charlotte Speller

About this episode

Charlotte Speller discusses how to recognize pain in dogs and the importance of addressing physical issues rather than behavioral ones.

Charlotte Speller spent 15 years as a dog behavior trainer before becoming a veterinary physiotherapist. And the thing that changed her path was something she kept seeing that nobody was talking about. Dogs labeled as difficult, grumpy, or reactive who were actually in pain. Not a behavior problem. A body problem. Nobody had caught it yet. That observation sent her into physiotherapy, where she now combines her understanding of animal behavior with hands-on physical rehabilitation. She works with post-surgical recovery, chronic arthritis, and dogs who have been told there is nothing more that can be done. We talk about the subtle signs most pet parents miss, why your dog hesitating before jumping in the car might matter more than you think, how a tiny wince across her own dog's face turned out to be the first sign of osteosarcoma, and why she wants to make herself redundant by getting to dogs before there is ever a crisis to fix. This is a conversation about prevention, about paying attention, and about what happens when we stop waiting for things to get bad before we ask for help. KEY INSIGHTS: ✨ Dogs labeled as grumpy, reactive, or difficult are often in pain. Behavior changes…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Lily Chen

Guest: Charlotte Speller

Topics covered

• dog behavior
• pain recognition
• veterinary physiotherapy
• animal rehabilitation
• preventive care

Keywords

• dog pain
• behavior problems
• physiotherapy
• chronic arthritis
• early signs

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