Zoetis Australia, in partnership with the Veterinary Pain Advisory Committee (VPAC), is set to release the Australian Guidelines for the Diagnosis, Management and Monitoring of Osteoarthritis Pain in Dogs and Cats, the nation’s first clinical framework dedicated to the multimodal assessment and management of osteoarthritis (OA).
The release comes alongside a nationwide practitioner education series led by VPAC specialist panel members to support early recognition, diagnostic rigor, and long-term therapeutic planning in general practice.
Osteoarthritis remains one of the most widespread yet under-diagnosed chronic pain conditions in veterinary medicine. Industry estimates indicate that while up to 40 per cent of dogs live with OA-related pain, Australian veterinarians formally diagnose the condition in only 25 per cent of canine patients. Furthermore, consumer data indicates over a third of pet owners delay seeking veterinary advice until clinical signs become obvious.
The new guidelines advocate moving away from viewing OA strictly as a localised joint or cartilage degradation, reframing it as a systemic, whole-patient condition that profoundly alters locomotion, behavior, sleep quality, and owner interaction.
Sarah Goldsmid, specialist small animal surgeon and VPAC panel member, emphasised that diagnostic accuracy relies on structured history-taking alongside objective clinical evaluation.
“We used to think of osteoarthritis as a cartilage or joint disease. We are now understanding more clearly how it is a whole-patient disease, affecting how an animal interacts with their environment, their owner, and how they eat, sleep and move,” Goldsmid said. “Osteoarthritis in dogs and cats presents so differently, which is one of the reasons this condition is often missed. A thorough history can add enormously to a vet’s understanding of a patient’s OA risk.”
Goldsmid noted that diagnostic imaging should be used strategically to establish baseline severity and rule out concurrent pathologies, such as spinal or neurological conditions, that can mimic or exacerbate peripheral joint pain. While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides comprehensive visualisation of soft tissue and articular structures, standard radiography remains an accessible primary tool in general practice.
Addressing therapeutic strategies, Fernando Martinez Taboada, European Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, outlined the guidelines’ evidence-based framework for pain management, advocating for a fluid, additive approach to analgesia.
Rather than replacing ineffective monotherapies, the guidelines recommend layering first-, second-, and third-line analgesic modalities based on individual pain scores and disease progression.
“Vets can approach analgesia – that is, first-, second-, and third-line options – in a more fluid manner based on the animal’s needs,” Martinez Taboada said. “Once you have selected the pet’s first-line analgesic, you can layer in second- and then third-line medications depending on their response to therapy and disease progression, as these should be additive rather than replacements for the first-line therapy.”
Martinez Taboada added that selecting anti-nerve growth factor (anti-NGF) monoclonal antibodies as an initial therapeutic option does not preclude transitioning to or combining with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as patient needs evolve.
The guidelines also stress the necessity of baseline diagnostics—including biochemistry panels to evaluate renal and hepatic function—prior to initiating long-term pharmacological protocols, particularly in geriatric patients with complex comorbidities.
Practitioners can access the VPAC webinar series and pre-register for clinical guideline resources via the Zoetis Australia Expert Lounge.
