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My beagle is 2 weeks post op from her 2nd IVDD surgery. Despite steroids and pain meds, she still yelps when picked up and sometimes when she repositions herself. I don’t recall her yelping after her first surgery, but I know this procedure was more delicate because of spinal cord maniplulation (removal of calcification from first surgery) along with nerve root issue, but is it reasonable to expect she’d still be in pain after 14 days post op? Her vet is continuing steroids and pain meds. So discouraging when she goes almost 24 hrs with no audible signs of pain only to end up yelping on a routine potty break. Truly feels like one step forward, two steps back.
Hi. I noticed an angry red lump on my 3-year-old Beagle’s foot, near her claw today. Pretty sure I didn’t see it yesterday. It doesn’t seem to hurt her at all. It’s not soft, but also not rock hard either. It’s not bleeding. She’s not licking it, so I don’t think it itches. She doesn’t have fleas or ticks. Her diet was recently changed from kibble to raw; not sure if it has anything to do with it, but I’ll mention it just in case. She seems to ber her normal self, NO vomitting / diarrhea / weakness. Brought her to the vet, and she was given 3 shots: dexamethasone, viccillin, and amoxicillin, and we were told to watch for the bump for the next few days. I’ve been surfing the web, and I think the bump could be histiocytoma orrrrr (God forbid) a mast cell tumor / mastocytoma. We live in Indonesia, and in the city we’re in, vets don’t really have labs where they perform tests and such. I’m losing my mind thinking about what my dog could possibly have. Please help if you’ve experienced a similar case. Pic attached.
Hello,
I would ask your vet about your concerns. I would also prepare for all of the skin lesions you are concerned about. Typically in cases like these I give my patients a few weeks to see if it resolves. If not I do a punch biopsy to submit for pathology through a veterinary diagnostic lab. If it gets larger ask your vet to remove it. It is small enough to allow many options at this point. Best of luck. Please let us know.
Hi Krista, thanks for your response. The bump has become smaller, drier, and much darker (like a healed wound), and I take that as a positive sign. Unfortunately, I have yet to find vets in my city that do biopsies or any kind of lab tests at all (not that she needs one right now that the bump has gotten better). I will still be on the lookout but am much less worried. Thank you again.
We are treating out 12 yr old beagle for IVDD with crate rest, prednosine, and tramadol. His back legs have been paralyzed for 14 days. For the past several days, when I hold him to urinate or massage his legs, I feel jerky movements and trembling. Is this a positive sign or simply his reflexes?
Thank you. I will talk to the vet tomorrow. I watched your youtube videos with Hank. Looks a lot like my Buddy. It was encouraging to see Hank’s recovery.
Hello,
Please check with your vet. But in general I try to posture them to stand at every instance I can to help them regain muscle mass and strength. I hope it is trembling to regain the nerve function that feeds the muscles to tell them to work. But please confirm with your vet.
My 6 yr old beagle ate chocolate a day ago, which we just figured out, and starting having seizures and posturing. He is also very lethargic. Can I still give him activated charcoal to absorb whatever toxins are still in his system and how much? Any help is appreciated.
I agree. Seizures always warrant help from a vet. Please go immediately.
I’m not a vet, but once a dog has started having seizures, you should skip giving him activated charcoal and take him to the vet. If he ate it that long ago, he’s already absorbed most of the toxins. Activated charcoal is only effective before he’s absorbed toxins, not after. It may be a costly visit, but seizures are never a good sign.
My beagle is 4 days out from IVDD Cervical Decompression via ventral slot and is still in horrible pain with all the same symptoms. Neck spasms, rigid stance, head lowered and will NOT lay down. He stands for hours on his bed then finally he lays down. He is on a very very strict medication schedule using Gabapentin, Tylenol 4, Diazepam, famotidine and Prednisone. He is taken out 3-5 times daily using a ramp to get to grass for potty breaks. How long should this take for even a small amount of pain relief?
Hello,
I know it is hard to watch andveey frustrating. Every dog is different but I can say that this is not uncommon. It took Hankrhe dog I wrote about in my blog 10 days before he showed much improvement or relief. I would ask about tramadol buprenorphine and/or a fentanyl patch. Or increasing one of the medications you have. You would have to ask your vet about these. Also I have to admit beagles are not the bravest souls.
Don’t give up. But do call your vet. Add more pain management.
Oh and ask about methocarbamol (robaxin). That was the most helpful medication in the early days f recovery.
Thank you. Yes, I did contact my primary care vet this morning and they added 50mg Tramadol 3x daily. I will be contacting the surgeon in the am.
I appreciate your response so much. I have researched and researched this online with no luck. Yes, he is a bit of a drama boy but his eyes show it all. So much pain. As of right now after 1/2 of a 50mg Tramadol his lying in his bed somewhat sleeping. Neck isn’t showing any spasms right now but the minute he gets up it starts again. This is what made me see the vet in the first place. Does this every go away? And why is it happening?
My beagle wiener mix dog has a bad rash under his belly leading to his back legs. He is getting sores now from nibbiling and licking himself by his legs, tail, and genital area. Is this something i can take care of or should i be really concerned and take him to a vet?
Hello
If the itching and chewing is resulting in open wounds you need to seek veterinary help. In most cases something to stop the irch is needed along with antibiotics and an ecollar. They can have him felling better very soon.
My dogs had that aswell, my vet put them on antibiotics to fight any infections and to help healing and also gave them steroids to stop them scratching so much
My 13-year-old Beagle has, over the course of the past five days, been in very poor health. It started on his birthday when he had an edible rawhide birthday card. He chewed on it all day and I don’t believe he ate dinner that night or if he did it, was a small amount. He did go to the bathroom normally, but the next morning, he wouldn’t eat again and from there the symptoms progressively worsened. He threw up some 24 hours after first eating the rawhide and it was mainly unchewed bits of his regular Science Diet dry food (about a handful). He did not go #2 at all that day and though I initially thought he might be constipated, I realized that’s not really a common thing with dogs so it must mean there’s something more going on. The third day, he refused food again and was still having trouble using the bathroom. Peeing fine, but not drinking enough water (maybe going to his bowl 2x that day). He was reluctant to move and didn’t want to climb the stairs. He normally likes to walk forever and ever as he is a Beagle, but he went to pee, slightly sniffed, and returned home. The fourth day, his breathing appeared quite short and in rapid bursts. He wasn’t wheezing or coughing or anything. It just seemed like he was constantly out of breath. Same symptoms as before. The fifth day, we took him to the vet as he was really beginning to worry us. Symptoms maintained and he was unwilling to walk down the stairs to go outside. The vet said it looked as if there was food or possibly a small bit of rawhide in his stomach. Considering his lack of eating, I assumed it was the latter. She ran a general blood test and said that his blood was thick coming out, but the results were perfectly normal and all of his organs seem to be in good standing. There were no specific tests, only the X-Ray of the abdomen as she was aware of his consuming the rawhide. The fourth and fifth days, his hind legs would cross over as he walked and his hind feet would drag almost like he’s dizzy and was trying to catch his balance, but only in his hind legs. Te vet said she didn’t feel anything obvious in his tummy and whilst performing an overview of his teeth, she found he had pus coming from his upper canine teeth and the gums were pale and swollen. She followed up with anti-diarrhoea meds and recommended anti-nausea meds, but didn’t say they were necessary. Nothing was given for his teeth or any possible stomach pain. He was then given 300mL of fluids before giving the go ahead to take home.
The vet visit was two full days ago, nearly three, and we’ve seen little improvement aside from him eating the wet Science Diet food the vet recommended we put his anti-diarrhoea meds in so he would take them. He is still having trouble getting food down and around 6 hours ago, we began force feeding Pedialyte as he threw up once tonight and we thought the electrolytes might help. I’m concerned he may have Renal Failure or IVDD. These seem to be the two which match up the most with his symptoms and breed type, but I wasn’t aware he may have one of them when I took him to the vet and therefore didn’t mention it. I’m concerned the vet may have also missed something considering she seemed to overlook his hind leg situation and his teeth situation. Please give me advice on what I should do and he obviously needs to go to the vet again, but I think I’ll take him to a different one with records from his visit a few days ago. I dropped all of the money I had on his visit then and can’t afford anything more than the exam fee, so any recommendations on what to tell the vet that way we can bypass anything that isn’t absolutely necessary would be amazing and if he does need surgery (I hope with everything in me he doesn’t as I don’t know if he would make it out of being sedated given his short breathing which is still going on), are there any pet surgery fund donation sites anyone could possibly recommend?? Please, I beg of you, any help at all would be great!!!
In your shoes, I would definitely get a second opinion. Has he passed any stool since this started?
I’ve called about fifteen different vets in and around my city, some of which said it could possibly be IVDD and two said maybe TCC. He has passed stool, yes. He hasn’t within the past 36 hours I would say, but he has done it 2-3 times since it all started. He hasn’t had food within the past 18 hours though and because he was refusing most everything we gave him before, he really can’t afford to involuntarily fast right now. He’s lost quite a bit of nutrients and we’re still doing Pedialyte hoping that will help to at least replace some of them. His hind legs seem to have worsened a bit as well. I saw it could also be a disc within his spine, but it seems none of the symptoms for any of these completely match his, so I feel there a million and one things it could be. I just realized I inadvertently failed to include in the post above that the vet said he seems to have a swollen colitis as well, but she attributed that to his lack of adequate food, dehydration, and vomiting. I’m not sure if that would tie in with everything else to point to a diagnosis, but any symptom shouldn’t be overlooked. Please do ask any more questions you may have if you feel you might have an idea as to what it could be and I’ll answer the second I can! Thank you!
You’ve done quite a bit. I’m tapped for ideas…hopefully Dr. Magnifico or Ferara will pop in with suggestions for you.
Thank you for your input though and yes, any suggestions from any of the other two doctors would be helpful as well.
My 7yr Beagle has a sore on his back leg about as round as a pencil eraser and is drooling a lot. What could cause this ?
Hi Elaine, perhaps a bite? Could toxin from it have got into his system? Thats just a wold guess from your description of his symptoms. Maybe you should pop him to your Vet for a firm diagnosis and the correct treatment.
Good luck!
Ok I’m really not sure with your description what is actually wrong with your dog. I recommend a vet visit to see if the 2 symptoms are related.
My beagle puppy, 8 weeks of age, is rather underweight and isn’t gaining weight as she should. She has already been to vet and been cleared but now refuses to eat. Have tried puppy milk formula, wet and dry puppy/dog food, etc. and nothing. The only thing she would eat after countless efforts was small pieces of prepared chicken. Any advice as to what to feed her that she may like and that will help her to gain weight?
neither do i kirsta beagles are the least picky eaters xD
My beagle puppy, 8 weeks of age, is rather underweight and isn’t gaining weight as she should. She has already been to vet and been cleared but now refuses to eat. Have tried puppy milk formula, wet and dry puppy/dog food, etc. and nothing. The only thing she would eat after countless efforts was small pieces of prepared chicken. Any advice as to what to feed her that she may like and that will help her to gain weight?
I would try chicken flavored puppy food. Otherwise, I would contact your local vet to be sure there is no underlying medical conditions.
Hello,
I’m so sorry to hear about your pup. I think it is super important to lean hard on your vet and their expertise. BUT don’t be shy and don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion if you are feeling lost and concerned. Sometimes it takes a second eye to see things in a different light. Also please reach out to a neurologist for help. They are excellent resources to utilize.