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Karen | 12 months ago
My 10 Week Beagle Pup Kiwi Was Diagnosed With Strangles. She Was Put On Clavamox And Prednisone. …

My 10 week beagle pup Kiwi was diagnosed with strangles. She was put on Clavamox and prednisone. I saw a lot of improvement fairly quickly with the swelling and now she is drinking again and is playful and no longer lethargic. My question is regarding the length of the prednisone treatment. She is on 5mg twice a day for 3 days and then 2.5 twice a day for 3 days and then 2.5 once a day for 4 days. I had never heard of this before she became sick and so I have been doing a lot of reading. Everything I have seen so far suggests a much longer course of steroid therapy. I am somewhat uncomfortable about beginning the taper so soon as she still has some swelling on the face and lymph nodes. Should the dosage remain the same until symptoms resolve and then begin to taper?

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,

    I’m so glad to hear your pup is doing better. I think this question is best directed to the vet who prescribed it.

    No one can provide a better answer than they can.

    Good luck!!

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Marcia | 1 year ago
What Are Signs Of IVDD Recovery In Dogs? My 13yr Female Beagle Is 6wks From Her …

What are signs of IVDD recovery in dogs?

My 13yr female beagle is 6wks from her injury and can now walk with rear sling support, but is still very wobbly with her rear right leg. What I don’t know is how to tell if there’s reason to believe she will walk on her own again or if this is the best she’ll be.

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Doug | 1 year ago
Hello And Thank You For Anyone Willing To Share Their Expertise Or Experiences With Toe Amputation. …

Hello and thank you for anyone willing to share their expertise or experiences with toe amputation. My dog Theo is a 14 year old beagle mix and was attacked by another dog a month ago and sustained many injuries but the most severe was a broken 5th metacarpal bone on his front right leg. He has been wearing a splint/cast for a month and just had his 4 week X-ray to check healing and unfortunately it doesn’t appear that much healing has happened. Ultimately my vet had recommended that the fastest and most effective way for him to recover and walk again. Would be to amputate the tie up to the knuckle. I am just concerned about his ability to walk after the surgery and how other people’s dogs, particularly older ones have handled this type of surgery. Because of his age and a previous herniated disc in his back which causes some weakness in his back end he has been unable to walk since the injury. Just hoping to find the right solution to get him back to normal as soon as possible. Any information you can provide would be helpful. Thank you!

1 Response

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    Have you spoken to your vet about splinting or using a half cast to allow the broken bone to heal. I only amputate when I am concerned about cancer.
    Also this fracture seems very high in the foot to allow amputation unless you remove the leg? And oh my that sounds very aggressive. Please ask for a referral to an orthopedic specialist or get a second opinion. Also it is imperative (!!!!!!) to cage rest. Strict cage rest with limited mobility. Your pet should only be leashes walk to use the bathroom. No free ranging or unsupervised activities.

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Erin | 1 year ago
7 Year Old Female Beagle With A History Of Allergic Reactions (bee Stings, Environmental/pollen/poison Ivy)…

7 year old female beagle with a history of allergic reactions (bee stings, environmental/pollen/poison Ivy)- started to exhibit serious scratching and head shaking. I have a cone at home so I used that to deter the scratching and head shaking. I also tried these “allergy aid” treats (picture attached), and /or Benadryl to try and calm down the allergic response.
She was starting to get small hives on her head and one of her ears was swelling . She’s had the ear hematomas before in both ears, and the hives before in her head and back.
I was worried it may be fleas or ticks with the smaller hives, so I did the topical flea &tick K9 Advantix with no improvement.
I also gave her a bath two days ago with her mild oatmeal shampoo, and gave her a good scrub just in case there were any mites or critters.
My other half said she threw up yesterday when I was out and had some anal leakage? And now she is not eating- she didn’t poop today when I took her out, instead she peed, did her usual walk around and then just sat down like she was uncomfortable. So I am wondering if she’s constipated and that is why she’s not eating.

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,

    What advice has your veterinarian given you. ? It seems like there are lots of options for you they should be offering.

    I think it’s a good idea to start with them. If you are worried about a budget be honest with them. They should be able to offer lots of things to try after they confirm it is allergies. These cases always start with a thorough discussion of history and a list of things to try. Some are over the counter and others are more expensive like apoquel or cytopoint.

    I hope this helps.

  2. Erin Post author

    Thanks Dr Magnifico. My dog is actually a current patient at Jarrettsville Vet and I plan on calling tomorrow to make an appointment. I called today but with the holiday they are closed. Totally understandable.
    We have some medicine from her bad reaction last summer, but I was worried to try those because I am not 100% sure what the cause of her symptoms are this time around.
    Only one of her ears is swollen this time, so I am curious if it’s an infection- but no foul smell or odd colors. Definitely red & swollen though.
    I was mostly concerned about her not eating. Thank you for the advice, again I plan on calling the office tomorrow to hopefully get an appointment if there’s been no improvement.

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Corinne | 1 year ago
My Almost 4 Year Old Beagle Was Diagnosed With IVDD Last July 2022. We Had No Idea What …

My almost 4 year old beagle was diagnosed with IVDD last July 2022. We had no Idea what was going on until we took her to emergency vet because she was in extreme pain, that’s when she was diagnosed. She was sent home with crate rest for 6weeks. About a week after the emergency visit she was yelping in excruciating pain, we took her back and she was given more meds. That day she walked out but by the end of night that same day she loss mobility in back legs. ???? we were devastated and didn’t know what yo to do. We got her a harness that was used to help support her back legs. We created a strict schedule and routine for her. We did everything possible for her because surgery wasn’t an option for her as we couldn’t afford it. Within 2 months our Mila moomoo gained strength and mobility back and was able to walk on her own again with any support but we still used the harness for support and to keep her from being more active. We were still cautious with her and it was until last month April, she had another episode and we were back in the emergency room, same diagnoses and treatment. Here we are 6 weeks later and she seems to be having another episode thank God we had some medication on hand to give her to ease the pain. This was earlier today and we are not sure what yo do, please help!

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Janie | 2 years ago
My 12 Year Old Male Dog Has Two Tumors On Him And I Took Him To The …

My 12 year old male dog has two tumors on him and I took him to the vet but they said there wasn’t anything they could do about it because of where he is so old what should I do about these tumors I just need somebody to help me with him I will travel. He is a lab mixed with a beagle and is 12 years old

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I would find a vet who helps you and your pet. If you aren’t comfortable with the answer you are being given keep looking for a vet who helps you. There is no such thing as being too old to be helped.

    1. Janie Post author

      Hello I have watched a lot of your videos and I have been very impressed with your work. I would like to know where you’re located to see if I could bring him to you. I have all of his records and he just got cleared blood work it came back good. I would like to see about getting them removed or at least see what you could do to maybe help me with my dog. I am willing to travel to help my dog. And pay whatever I need to pay.

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Marie | 2 years ago
My Dog (beagle, 4yr) Has Been Diagnosed With Potential IVDD. Vet Provided Meds For 2 Weeks To See …

My dog (beagle, 4yr) has been diagnosed with potential IVDD. Vet provided meds for 2 weeks to see if there is improvement.

She is still able to walk, eat and urinate/poop normally. However, when she gets spasms in her neck, you can see she is in pain and she cries.

Is there anything else I can do to release her pain? Massage? Ice pack? Heat pack?

Also, the Vet did not say that I needed to crate her. She is pretty much always laying down, getting up when she wants to go out to pee or to eat. Should I still crate her? She is not used to it so I’m afraid she will try to fight out.

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,

    I’m Sorry for the delay. I have a huge amount of information including the medications I use in these cases at my blog kmdvm.blogspot.Com and my YouTube chane. Go to each and search Ivdd.

    Your pet should be crate rested at all times and there are medications to help pain.

    Best of luck.

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Penny | 2 years ago
Hi Krista! I Have A 9 Year Old Beagle Who Periodically (at Least Twice A Month) Will …

Hi Krista! I have a 9 year old beagle who periodically (at least twice a month) will vomit all day. He vomits his morning food, then continues to vomit mucus and bile the remainder of the day. His vet has done a physical exam and blood work, and he kept him overnight once to give him IV fluids and anti nausea meds. He always bounces back within 12 hours, but this is getting to be really tiresome. His weight and energy levels are fine after this passes. And his stools look normal. Do you have any suggestions? I will share a picture of the last vomit from a couple of hours ago – this was about the 8th time he puked today. It went from food to mucus to this. I don’t feed him at all when he’s like this. As of right now, he’s perfectly fine and begging for food!

One additional note… we give him Purina One (vet’s suggestion) and use a slow feeder. We feed him small meals 4x/day, rather than 2 big meals. We are also very careful about making sure he doesn’t eat anything he shouldn’t.

Thank you!!

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  1. Laura

    Couple of thoughts.
    1 – how often do you clean the slow feeder?
    2 – how often do you clean and refill his water?

    My current dog is still very new to us, but I’ve learned if I don’t keep her water PRISTINE – meaning I wash the bowl twice daily – she’ll have a pukey day. My Doberman would get pukey if I didn’t wash her bowl daily.

    1. Penny Post author

      I will start doing this – good idea, thank you!

  2. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I would say a few things should be considered.
    1. Full blood work for me is a superchem with electrolytes a cbc thyroid urine and fecal. These all need to be done.
    2. Is he on a good preventative for fleas ticks heartworm and intestinal parasites. I like Credelio and interceptor plus. Cover for these vs wait for them to shown up
    3. A sensitive stomach formula like I/d from science diet. Ie a prescription gi food
    4. Look for addisons disease and Maldigestion. Whoever does your vets lab services should have an internal medicine consult available to discuss those.
    5. Surgery abdominal radiographs plain and with barium, or ultrasound. There should be local vets who can do this without the referral needed at this point.
    6. Rule out something simple and easy to fix like bilious vomiting syndrome.

    Ok. That’s my initial thoughts on this.

    Hope they help.

    Keep me posted

    Krista.

    1. Penny Post author

      Thank you! I will talk to my vet about all of these suggestions. He did mention an internal medicine doc, so I will ask for that referral. (PS… my apologies for misspelling your name, I corrected my post!)

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Megan | 2 years ago
Our 10 Year Old Beagle Bassett Hound Mix Has Been Down Since Last Wednesday. She Had What …

Our 10 year old Beagle Bassett hound mix has been down since last Wednesday. She had what we thought was a seizure, and couldn’t get up after. We took her to the vet, and they kept her but said that she wasn’t giving any indication to where the pain was or where the infection might be (a blood panel revealed high WBC) Sent her home with phenobarbital and clindamycin for the infection. Fast forward to yesterday, they decided to do an x ray and discovered she has degenerated vertebrae that have fused. They gave us prednisone and methocarbamol and advised us to call in on Friday if no improvement. Our poor girl can’t get up hardly at all, and the vet isn’t giving me any information as to what caused this, if it’s curable or manageable. I don’t know what I’m up against and a 2nd opinion isn’t something we can afford right now.

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I would probably go find a different vet and ask for more help. It doesn’t sound like your vet is helping you enough. I also think that a full patient care conversation is warranted. I talked about how to help manage these guys wrt feeding peeing pooping ambulating and pain meds. I also talk about methocarbamol as I think these guys need this. Also ask about gabapentin and acupuncture.

    I have a lot of information on my blog and YouTube channel. Kmdvm.blogspot.Com search Ivdd.

    1. Megan Post author

      Thank you so much. Does this seem like IVDD to you? That’s how I came across your blog, and to me, the symptoms you describe sound a lot like what our girl is experiencing.

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Beth | 2 years ago
Help Dr. Magnifico Of Jarrettsville Vet Our Beautiful 13 Year Old Husky/beagle Mix Sadie Was Struggling …

Help Dr. Magnifico of Jarrettsville Vet Our beautiful 13 year old Husky/beagle mix Sadie was struggling with getting up and climbing stairs because we thought her arthritis was getting worse. We took her in to the vet to get some pain medicine and they discovered that she has a large tumor on her spleen. We were told that the surgery is quite expensive. We are unable to afford much due to our current financial situation. The doctor suggested that we should euthanize her if we were not going to try to do the surgery. we have scheduled an appointment for tomorrow. 6/3 with lap of love.
My husband was looking for solutions because she is walking around and it is so hard for us to imagine putting her down. We saw the article by Dr. Magnifico. We tried to call Jarrettsville vet and they told us our only option was to put a question on here. Beth.a.acton@gmail.com

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  1. Krista Magnifico

    Hello,
    I’m sorry to hear about your dog. I am happy to see your pet at my vet clinic in Maryland. It is the only way I can offer pertinent advice that is specific to each patient.
    Without a biopsy it is impossible to know whether this is benign or not. Also in some cases the mass may be an incidental finding (no clinical relevance). We should always treat the patient and not make presumptive decisions, especially euthanasia.
    I feel it to be morally and ethically dishonest to ever recommend euthanasia without a definitive diagnosis AND a suffering patient.

    I hope this helps. I apologize for the delay.