Pooka has never had a bad vet visit.  She loves the vet even after getting spayed.  She has not even flinched for any one of her shots.  Pooka, if standing next to a wall and a ball flies over her head will turn to follow it as quickly as possible and smack her face against the wall/corner and it won't phase her.  When fetching down the hall, she does not put on the brake until it is much-more-often-than-not, too late and she smacks her head (or whole body!) into the door.

Could Pooka have like... a desensitization?  My husband and his younger sister have a diminished pain response (ex: his sister was placed in bath water that was too hot as a baby, but because she didn't even notice, ended up with burns before mom could realize it).  I don't see why this couldn't happen in dogs.

All the time I read about corgis on here who are super sensitive and getting hurt will cause them to fear things.  If Pooka hits her head on the wall as hard as she can, the only response she shows is smacking her jaw a bit, but only if I've halted the play time.  Otherwise she's focused!

She DOES feel pain, I know.  She was miserable after being spayed.  She once stepped on a sticker and hopped around til I took it out and then wouldn't leave my feet.  She had a minor leg injury when she was younger (still idiopathic).

SO!  Could she have a diminished pain response?  Or is she just a very focused, tough little dog who is not really sensitive about getting hurt.  I just worry because every time she hits her head on the wall I feel like she must've fractured her skull/jaw with the impact, because it sounds so bad!  But if she doesn't show pain, how would I know?  Another part of me says that it is unlikely she would be able to exert enough force to fracture her bones.  (The other parts I love!  Being really good at taking shots is just fine with me =) not holding a grudge if I accidentally step on her paw or close a door on her, great!)

Just wanted some thoughts!

(Valenpooka:

)


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Many breeds of dogs are bred to be this way. Imagine a retriever that could not take having a injured duck biting and hitting him with his wings. Certainly a corgi could be that way too although it is probably not such a dominant trait in herding dog. Also they really do have a instinct to not appear weak.
yes, I agree it would seem normal for a good working dog to have this trait but sooo many people on here talk about the issues they have with their corgis being sensitive about pain, I guess it just made it seem like this wouldn't be a breed trait. But, then again, sensitive corgis are still probably in the minority? Just the vocal minority since it causes issues.
Yeah Sparty is famous at our vets for yelping before they even start clipping! His is more of a discomfort threshold instead of a pain one!
Eh, Jack is my "sensitive" dog; he is bold and outgoing, but he gets very upset if we raise our voices, hates being forcibly held still, etc. But I've accidentally stepped on him and he does not flinch! He hates the vet not because it hurts, but because they loom over him and try to keep him still.

He's not very sensitive to physical pain, but is extremely sensitive to emotions or confusion on our part.
It is possible for some dogs to have a higher threshold for pain than others. The Volhard puppy aptitude test evaluates touch sensitivity along with many other things. Finnigan had a very high score on the touch sensitivity test when he was little and it shows through in how leash corrections don't faze him, touch corrections rarely work and he too smacks his face into things without caring and is unaffected by shots. He has only yelped with pain a couple times. One was when he was running with a stick in his mouth positioned like a straw and the tip caught the ground and it jabbed the roof of his mouth. The other was when my husband stepped on his paw with his full weight.

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