Assessment and monitoring of canine welfare is vital across a range of settings including veterinary medicine, shelter and assistance dog environments. Employing objective, comprehensive, and valid assessment tools is essential for animal welfare professionals to quantify welfare, monitor longitudinally, and examine the individual domains that are influencing welfare. This can allow for action to be taken to improve welfare.

This research employed a range of methodologies to adapt the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) for dogs into an online, user-friendly tool, which shows promising results in both validity and reliability. The AWAG was used to examine the scores of dogs with behavioural disorders and chronic pain. Both dogs with behaviour disorders and chronic pain show a wide variation in cumulative welfare assessment scores and are significantly different from those of healthy dogs.

Logistic regression showed that fears and anxieties frequency, the dog’s reaction to stressors, engagement with enrichment, and social interactions were significant predictors of chronic pain in dogs and aggression towards the caregiver, fears and anxieties frequency, and choice, control, and predictability were all significant predictors of behaviour disorders.

The AWAG also shows promise in its utility as a decision-making tool. Over 96% of respondents acknowledge the tool’s ability in aiding overall treatment and management decisions, and it is reported to facilitate discussions amongst colleagues and dog caregivers about welfare. Qualitative analysis revealed the tool is commonly described by users as helpful, objective, and useful.

This research contributes to the field of quality of life assessment and canine welfare as it provides a novel approach for animal welfare professionals to assess welfare, filling a gap in the existing literature. It provides valuable insight into how welfare is impacted across the domains of welfare in dogs with chronic pain and behaviour disorders as this has not been extensively studied previously.