Dog owners are being urged to “listen more carefully” to their pets amid warnings that thousands could be suffering in silence from undiagnosed injuries.
Julia Robertson, a leading canine therapist and founder of Galen Myotherapy, has spoken out about what she believes is a widespread lack of understanding in understanding dog pain, one that, in some cases, can lead to pets being put to sleep unnecessarily.
In the mid-1990s, Julia’s own dog suddenly became unable to lift his head: “I was told he should be put to sleep,” she said. “But then another vet arrived at the house and simply said, ‘It looks like he’s hurt his neck.’ No one had even considered it might be a soft tissue injury.”
Determined not to give up, Julia began gently encouraging her dog to move: “I worked with him, encouraging him to lift his head little by little. And he recovered. He went on to live until he was 17.
“That’s when my real nightmare started. I couldn’t stop thinking about how many other dogs might not be so lucky. How many healthy dogs could be lost simply because their injury hadn’t been recognised.”
That moment sparked a career that has since seen Julia treat more than 8,000 dogs and become one of the UK’s leading voices on the link between pain and behaviour.
Julia says many owners, and even professionals, may be missing the signs, she said: “An injury doesn’t just affect how a dog moves,” she explained. “It can change their behaviour, their digestion, their posture, their whole life. What people often see as ‘bad behaviour’ can actually be a dog trying to cope with pain.”
Julia began studying therapies from around the world before launching Galen Myotherapy in 2002. Since then, she says she has seen dogs on the brink of euthanasia make dramatic recoveries.
“I was treating so many dogs who had run out of options,” she said. “And time and again, when their pain was understood and addressed, they improved in ways people hadn’t thought possible.”
Her approach is based on a simple but, she says, often overlooked principle, letting the dog lead.
“The whole concept is that it’s taught by the dogs,” she said. “We learn from what the dog is telling us about their body.”
“Treatment can be uncomfortable, so it’s vital the dog has agency,” she said. “If you take that away, they can become anxious or even aggressive. But when they feel safe, something incredible happens.”
She describes sessions as “a non-choreographed dance” between dog and therapist.
“Most dogs will eventually offer an area of their body that no one has been able to touch before,” she said. “When they’re in the right emotional state, some even fall asleep during treatment.”
Julia, who lives in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, will be sharing her expertise at the Pet Remedy Emotional Wellbeing in Animals Conference in Torquay at the end of this month, and in the virtual conference which will take place online on April 11 and 12.
“I’m really looking forward to being part of it,” she said. “It’s exciting to be surrounded by like-minded people who are all working towards better understanding animals, both at the in-person event and through the virtual conference as well.”
With growing awareness around canine emotional health, Julia hopes more owners will begin to look beyond the surface.
“Dogs are communicating with us all the time,” she said. “Through how they move, how they behave, how they respond to touch.
The Torquay conference is sold out, but you can register for the virtual conference by visiting: https://live.petremedy.co.uk/events/ewm-conference-2026-virtual-seminar/
